Bigger crowds, bigger laughs!

Bigger crowds, bigger laughs!

After 10 days of deliberation, the verdict is in: This year’s World Buskers Festival was the best ever.

"It’s been a fantastic 10 days - for the performers and for the crowds. Everybody has had a great time and genuinely sad to see the event come to an end," says festival director Jodi Wright.

The 450 shows staged over duration of the 10 day festival attracted bigger crowds than ever before, with Cathedral and Victoria Squares proving a favourite venue for the performers.

"We had some huge crowds in Cathedral Square, particularly at the weekends. The buskers think it is the best pitch in the world and they loved working there," says Jodi Wright, who estimates the festival attracted well in excess of 300,000 people this year.

Many people had come to Christchurch specifically for the festival and had planned their holiday around performances. One such person was Auckland businessman Warwick Finn, who brought his eight-year-old daughter Briana to Christchurch to see the buskers.

"We had a fantastic time," Warwick Finn says. "We purchased a two-day tram pass and got on and off at all the buskers along the way. We’re already planning to be back for next year’s event!"

The World Buskers' Festival not only lifts people’s spirits, it also lifts Christchurch’s profile on the national and international stage. This year’s event captured widespread media attention.

Christchurch & Canterbury Tourism chief executive, Christine Price says such publicity is invaluable and should help attract even more out-of-town visitors to Christchurch in subsequent years.

"People now know that Christchurch is the place to be if you want non-stop entertainment, great weather and a chance to laugh your socks off," says Christine Prince.

With this year’s festival now over it’s time for Jodi Wright to turn her attention to next year’s event.

"Each year the bar gets set higher and higher," she says. "Next year’s festival will be even more amazing so mark your calendars now - January 21 to 31, 2010."

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