The Matariki drone show that lit up Rotorua skies has taken out the title of the nation’s best cultural event.
Rotorua’s Aronui Arts Festival was honoured at the 2025 New Zealand Events Association Awards, with its 2024 Matariki drone show named as Arts, Cultural or Heritage Event of the Year. The annual awards celebrate innovation and excellence across the country’s events sector.
Aronui Arts Festival marketing, media and communications lead James Wyllie-Miln described the award as proof their “bold new step” had paid off.
The award showed that risk-taking, cultural pride and innovation could unite powerfully, and Wyllie-Miln said the Aronui team were “overwhelmed with pride and gratitude” when the win was announced.
Wyllie-Miln said the national recognition reinforced Rotorua’s reputation as a home of Māori culture, creativity and innovation.
The accolade was “humbling”, Wyllie-Miln said.
Wyllie-Miln said the Aronui drone show acknowledged how the Matariki celebration continued to evolve, weaving traditional knowledge with new mediums so the stories of ancestors could be shared with future generations.
Hundreds of glowing drones created moving formations inspired by Māori stories, but Wyllie-Miln said the show’s success was about more than visual impression.
“We’re proud that excellence in this context isn’t just about scale or spectacle – it’s about manaakitanga, authenticity and creating something that uplifts our people.”
Each drone show takes almost a year to plan, Wyllie-Miln said.
Beginning with wānanga (discussion) through to technical programming of drones, there were layers of creative, cultural and logistical work.
“It’s a huge effort but one that pays off when you see tamariki looking up in wonder at the skies,” Wyllie-Miln said.
The award had already sparked fresh interest from collaborators keen to be part of future projects. Wyllie-Miln said it also provided reassurance for those investing in kaupapa Māori-led initiatives that “investing in kaupapa like ours has real impact”.
Since its launch, the Matariki Drone Show has become a centrepiece of the Aronui Arts Festival, blending technology, storytelling and te ao Māori into a unique celebration of the Māori new year.
As the festival looks ahead, Wyllie-Miln said the national recognition set the stage for even bigger projects that continued to combine innovation with kaupapa Māori, ensuring the stories of Matariki shine brightly across Aotearoa.
In the Arts, Cultural or Heritage Event of the Year 2025 category, the other finalists alongside Aronui Arts Festival’s 2024 Matariki drone show were:
Following on from the success of Aronui’s Matariki drone show, the Aronui Indigenous Arts Festival is returning to Rotorua next Thursday, September 11, with live music, contemporary dance and traditional Māori instruments.
Annabel Reid is a multimedia journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post, based in Rotorua. Originally from Hawke’s Bay, she has a Bachelor of Communications from the University of Canterbury.