Praneeta Mahajan
Hamilton, February 9, 2024
Haile Selassie once said, “We should accept diversity in culture and tradition, and co-exist peacefully.” But the youth today is taking it forward in a more positive direction and celebrating their culture, embracing the diversities and acknowledging the heritage of their peers.
One such vibrant and eclectic festival is ready to welcome and enthral the audience at ‘The ASB Polyfest,’ an iconic Auckland festival, which celebrates its 49th Anniversary from March 20 to March 23, 2024, at the Manukau Sports Bowl.
The largest Māori & Pacific Islands festival in the world, it will offer a great mix of traditional music, dances and speeches from Auckland secondary school students, making it a unique gathering of young minds and talents.
The mission of Polyfest since its conception in 1976 has been to demonstrate the pride of cultural identity and to bring high schools of Auckland region and the different cultures between them, together on one podium.
About the Polyfest
The ASB Polyfest is a celebration of youth performance and a showcase of New Zealand’s diverse cultures.
Participating students will compete in speech, song and dance on six stages – Cook Islands, Maori, Niue, Samoan, Tongan, and a Diversity stage which comprises different cultures that are a part of New Zealand’s weave, such as Chinese, Fijian, Tokelau, Indian, Korean and Sri Lankan.
The highlight of the festival is the pride and passion with which the students perform on these stages, to win the honour of being the top school in their respective culture.
Another key part of the festival is food and craft, with each stage surrounded by stalls from their respective Māori or Pacific culture, making it an experience like no other.
2024 ASB Polyfest
The 2024 ASB Polyfest starts with an official powhiri on Wednesday, 20 March before students hit the stage for the speeches and cultural performances. A special schools day programme will also take place on Wednesday with a dedicated programme for Primary and Intermediate students. It is expected that over 8,000 secondary school students from across the Auckland region will perform this year, with a crowd of over 75,000 people expected over the festival’s four-day duration.
This year’s theme is “Me anga whakamuri kia kohe whakamua” which translates to “looking to our past to determine our future”. Event Director, Seiuli Terri Leo-Mauu said, “This year’s theme has special relevance given we are a year away from our 50th anniversary. We are excited to see how student performers incorporate the theme into their preparation and performances.”
Leaders Conference
The ASB Polyfest Leaders Conference is a revered platform for students that aims to support young leaders as they prepare themselves and their groups for our four-day festival. The purpose of the conference is to empower our young leaders and foster meaningful relationships between schools.
With a busy schedule comprising Motivational Speakers, cultural Workshops, Video and Dance Challenges, Impromptu Speech Competitions and Song Competitions among other activities, the leaders’ conference provides a unique space for the voices of change to be heard and valued.
Journey so far
Polyfest, now one of the largest Pacific festivals in the world, began in 1976. Students Michael Rollo and Mata (Te Kii) Raela, and staff members, Mr Bill Tawhai, Mr Hone and Mrs Heni Green, envisioned the festival’s potential success.
Since the beginning, Manukau Sports Bowl has been home to Polyfest, catering to up to 100,000 visitors every year, and a mecca for Pacific arts and culture, food stalls from different cultures, and a growing number of student performers taking part in a diverse range of cultural groups and speech competitions.
These past few years have been challenging for Polyfest event organisers, especially for the school community, students, their families and friends, first with the cancellation of its final day in 2019 due to the Christchurch tragedy, and again in 2020 when the Covid 19 pandemic cancelled the festival. 2022 saw the festival delivered in a historic online livestream event with no audience. In 2023, Polyfest’s 48th anniversary once again saw the Manukau Sports Bowl come alive with the sounds of passion, pride, and culture as Auckland’s secondary schools returned for ASB Polyfest.
The organisers, students and the community at large are eagerly waiting to see what this year’s event has in store and with preparations in full swing, it promises to be a celebration like no other.
Praneeta Mahajan is an Indian Newslink reporter based in Hamilton.
