Electric Avenue’s Biggest Year Yet
Main Stage at Electric Avenue 2026, Photo supplied by Matthew Hattrill
53 acts, 90,000 tickets sold, and surprise tour announcements.
That sums up Christchurch’s Electric Avenue 2026, which has been named Australasia’s largest music festival -- for good reason.
“God, what a brilliant way to spend a weekend”, said one attendee on Reddit. “Dom Dolla and Kesha were my absolute highlights”.
The two-day festival took place at Hagley Park on February 27th and 28th and saw performances from some of the world’s most iconic music stars including Becky Hill, Dom Dolla, Split Enz and Kesha.
Splitz Enz’s Electric Avenue set marked the band’s 1000th show, ending with a surprise announcement of their first national tour in almost two decades, The Forever Enz Tour.
90,000 tickets were available for the festival, and they sold out in 20 minutes.
“It’s a beast, isn’t it?”, founder of Electric Avenue, Callam Mitchell, told Boiler Room’s Chris Schulz. “Every year we’ve grown, it’s been a reasonably consistent 15%”.
Electric Avenue’s first festival housed approximately 8,000 people in 2015, and this year 45,000 people attended on each of its two days.
Kesha’s first performance in New Zealand where she “had ownership over her own voice.”
Photo: Supplied by Matthew Hattrill.
Many students from the University of Canterbury put their papers aside to attend the festival.
One student said despite the large crowds, they “embraced it” and still had a good time.
Another student said trying to move from one stage to another was like “penguins walking in a huddle”.
The New Zealand Herald said with 45,000 people in attendance on each day, and 2000 other workers, artists, and crew, there was a 13% increase on the 2025 festival.
“Anything outside of that and you start pushing things in a way that becomes unmanageable. I’d rather do it incrementally”, said Mitchell.
New Zealand Police released a statement saying officers working the event were pleased with the behaviour of attendees.
Operational Commander Senior Sergeant, Karen Simmons, said some individuals arrived intoxicated to the venue on Friday, but Saturday was much better when the crowd overall was “well behaved”.
Some attendees said the sound quality wasn’t the best for some artists, and unless you were near the front, it was “very quiet”.
Despite the tight crowds and quiet sets, students agreed Electric Avenue was worth their money.
“Totally. I think for the A-list celebrities and artists you get to see play”, one student said.
Another said, “I think when you’re with your friends and you’re doing something fun and social, it’s always worth it”.
Electric Avenue has seen steady growth since its first festival in 2015, and this year’s attendees look forward to seeing what it will bring in 2027.