Bread & Circus World Buskers Festival 2022 Cancelled

Due to ongoing uncertainty surrounding the current Omicron outbreak in New Zealand, organisers have made the difficult decision to cancel the 2022 Bread & Circus – World Buskers Festival in Ōtautahi Christchurch.

The festival, which was re-scheduled to take place over Easter from 22 April – 1 May 2022, was re-formatted to be an open-air event precinct in Victoria Square and The Commons.

Scott Maidment, Strut & Fret Director and Festival Director, said the event “could only take place under orange or green settings and the ongoing uncertainty regarding when traffic lights will change prevents us from delivering a successful event for all artists and stakeholders involved”.

“We had great expectations for the event after the festival reimagined itself in 2021 to deliver an incredibly successful ‘Backyard Buskers Festival’ celebrating the local industry,” Maidment said.

“While we are incredibly disappointed not to be able to deliver a festival in 2022, we can’t wait to get stuck into planning the 2023 return of Christchurch’s beloved event and celebrating our 30th anniversary.”

He said the arts and entertainment industry “have been battling internationally for the past two years”.

“Unfortunately, this well-loved event has also been claimed by COVID-19 in 2022, but we look forward to bringing a revitalised version of this excellent event back to Christchurch in 2023.”

Festival organisers would like to thank all event partners, suppliers, artists and staff who have worked extensively on this event since the January 2021 festival.

Karena Finnie, ChristchurchNZ Head of Major Events, said ChristchurchNZ supports the Government’s health-lead approach to COVID-19, and in the interest of public safety will wait until January 2023 to present this beloved event.

“We have worked hard to bring Bread & Circus to Ōtautahi Christchurch this year but ultimately the current Omicron wave across New Zealand has made it impossible”,” Finnie said.

“We look forward to hosting the 30th anniversary of the World Buskers Festival in 2023.”

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