50th Anniversary Of The ASB Polyfest Starts Tomorrow

The Manukau Sports Bowl will burst into life tomorrow with the 50th staging of the ASB Polyfest. From Wednesday to Saturday this week, the venue will reverberate with traditional song and dance from Auckland’s youth.

Students will perform and compete in speech, song and dance across six cultural stages - Cook Islands, Maori, Niue, Samoan, Tongan, and a Diversity stage comprising cultures such as Chinese, Fijian, Tokelau, Indian, Korean and Sri Lankan.

ASB Polyfest Director Seiuli Terri Leo-Mauu can’t wait to get the festival underway saying “we are so excited to welcome our youth back and see them on an ASB Polyfest stage. While they will be nervous, we can’t wait to see the pride they have in representing themselves, their families, their culture and their school.”

When reflecting on ASB Polyfest turning 50 this year, Leo Mauu said - “It’s massive. It shows the impact that the ASB Polyfest has had over the years. Many generations of families have come through this festival. We have stallholders that have come to sell at the festival every year and this income has helped them put their kids through University. The festival has been very special to lots of people.”

ASB Polyfest 2025 will see 11,000 secondary school students from across the Auckland region perform on stage, with a record 291 performing groups entered from 77 schools.

Leo-Mauu said – “we are back to our pre-Covid levels of entries. Due to this record number of entries this year we have extended our programme of each of the days and moved our flag raising ceremony and powhiri to this morning.”

Another reason for the increase in entries this year is 50th Anniversary celebration. Leo-Mauu added – “we always knew that the 50th Anniversary was going to be special and that people would want to come back for this. Several schools that haven’t taken part in a while are coming back for the 50th Anniversary. A good example is my former school – St Mary’s College back on the Samoan stage after a 30 year absence.”

The festival was officially opened this morning with a flag-raising ceremony at 7am, followed by a powhiri at 9am which included a mass haka from Kura Matua Schools – Nga Puna o Waiorea – Western Springs College and Kia Aroha Campus.

The theme for this year’s festival is – “He oha nō tua, he taonga tuku iho!” which translates to “LEGACY - a treasure handed down.” In discussing the theme, Leo-Mauu said – “it is important to remember where we have come from. A lot of our young people might not understand the struggles that people have gone through to get the festival to where it is today. We want them to remember where we have come from, celebrate that we have overcome various struggles, and that we look forward to a brighter future.”

ASB Executive Manager Commercial Partnerships Mark Graham said ASB is proud to be involved in ASB Polyfest, this year celebrating 40 years of support. Graham said - “ASB Polyfest brings many cultures together, creating one community. It’s been amazing to be part of this event over so many years and to see it progress into the festival it is today. We look forward to supporting the students as they proudly perform for their families and their schools this week.”

ASB Polyfest continues to be the largest cultural festival of its kind and organisers are expecting huge crowds next week. People are encouraged to purchase tickets online at iTICKET to save money and avoid long queues.

Key Details:
Dates: 2-5 April 2025
Website: www.asbpolyfest.co.nz
Venue: Manukau Sports Bowl, Te Irirangi Drive, Manukau 

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