ASB Polyfest is the world's largest Polynesian youth festival, a secondary-school kapa haka and Pacific performing-arts competition held at Manukau Sports Bowl and Due Drop Events Centre each March and April. Founded in 1976 at a single Auckland school, its 50th anniversary in 2025 drew around 11,000 student performers from 77 schools.
Polyfest's origins sit inside a specific and difficult moment in Auckland's history.
Polyfest began in 1976 at what is now Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate in Otara, founded by teacher Ian Mitchell and his students out of an existing school Poly Club, at a time when anti-Pacific sentiment and the Dawn Raids were shaping the lived experience of many Pacific and Maori families in Auckland
It ran as a schools-hosted event for two decades before outgrowing individual campuses and relocating to Manukau Sports Bowl in 1996
The festival now runs six distinct cultural stages, Te Paparewa for Maori kapa haka, plus Samoa, Tonga, Niue, Cook Islands, and a Diversity stage covering nations including China, Japan, Korea, India, and Fiji, with secondary schools competing formally for placings judged and announced across the festival's final days
The Maori stage
Te Paparewa
functions as a youth-level kapa haka competition distinct from the adult national competition Te Matatini
while each Pacific stage showcases performance and dress traditions specific to its nation
including Samoan siva
Tongan tau'olunga
and Cook Islands drumming
Dates TBA · Usually March
Stay close enough to the part of Auckland you will actually use, especially if the event runs late.
Casual outdoor clothing suited to a full day at an open-air sports ground; competing students wear formal traditional dress specific to their stage, which spectators should treat with the...
At ASB Polyfest, agree on a meeting point and plan food, water and the return route before crowds thicken.
Base yourself where the last trip of the day stays easy, especially if ASB Polyfest runs late.
Ticketing varies by venue and stage. Confirm official passes before booking travel.
NZD
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ASB Polyfest is listed for Past edition: 18–21 March 2026. Always re-check the official or local source close to travel.
The festival is listed in Auckland, New Zealand. The map coordinate is a planning reference, not a guarantee of a ticket gate or exact venue.
4 days is the listed festival span. Add time for arrival, local transport, queues, and any route changes during the event.
Official source linked. Eventisimus separates source confidence from travel suggestions, so check final details before booking.
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
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Festival dates, schedules, ticket conditions, access rules, and local arrangements can change. We aim to present useful and accurate information, but travelers should confirm important details with the official event source before booking transport, accommodation, or tickets.
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