One Love Festival at Tauranga Domain. Photo / File
One Love Festival at Tauranga Domain. Photo / File
Tauranga's One Love music festival has been crowned New Zealand's favourite event at the annual New Zealand Events Association Event Awards.
The festival joined two other top Bay of Plenty events in winning big at the award ceremony tonight.
Hockey being played at Anchor AIMS Games in 2019. Photo / File
Tauranga's AIMS Games nabbed wins in both the Best Regional orNational Event category and the Best Sports Event category, while Rotorua's Dancing for Hospice took away the title of the Best Not-for-Profit or Cause-related Event.
Crowd at Rotorua's Dancing for Hospice. Photo / File
The global events industry had faced "unprecedented challenges" this year but they were all ready for a "strong comeback" after the tough lockdown months, NZ Events Association (NZEA) general manager Ségolène de Fontenay said.
"While the outlook is uncertain owing to the unfolding global situation, the sector is ready for its recovery phase which in turn will help drive much needed domestic tourism.
"New Zealanders love their events, and that's been clear in the quality and sheer number of entries received for the 2019 season."
Anchor AIMS Games event director Vicki Semple. Photo / File
She said it had been noted that up to one-third of domestic travel was driven by people looking to take part in events.
"That's a multi-billion dollar spend directly linked to the work of event professionals."
She said the public vote option for New Zealand's favourite event of the year that was given to Tauranga's One Love showed that the festival was a "crowd-pleaser".
Event organiser Pato Alvarez at the One Love stage setup. Photo / File
She commended the industry for navigating the "most unusual of Covid environments" and for the "resilience and professionalism".
AIMS Games tournament director Vicki Semple said the win was an extraordinary way to finish the year and it gave them a massive boost with planning for the 2021 tournament.
"I'm a little bit stunned at the calibre of the other events we managed to beat but it just shows how far we've come as a tournament and just what passion and hard work can do alongside our partners and supporters," she said.
Last year's Anchor AIMS Games featured more than 11,000 entries and injected nearly $6.5 million into regional coffers but the 2020 tournament was cancelled due to the ongoing restrictions of the Covid-19 outbreak.
AIMS Games Trust chairman Henk Popping said the award was fantastic recognition for the strategic direction the tournament was heading.
"Many events around the country have had a body-blow because of Covid-19 but it's clear just how important the likes of the Anchor AIMS Games are to our schools and communities.
"We've set ourselves the target of making our tournament an exemplar event in New Zealand and this is the ideal way to show we're heading down the right path."
The winners:
Individual Awards
Best Emerging Event Professional 2019 (Sponsored by NZICC): Briar Jones
