Auckland's Much-Loved Lantern Festival Is Back for 2021 in a New Waterfront Location

After being cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Auckland Lantern Festival is set to make its return this February in a new waterfront location.

The festival is New Zealand's biggest cultural event, annually attracting more than 200,000 people to enjoy the best of traditional and contemporary Chinese culture. The event originally started in 2000 under the stewardship of the Asia New Zealand Foundation. It has previously been held at Auckland Domain and Albert Park.

For this first time this year, Captain Cook and Marsden Wharves will host the Auckland Lantern Festival. The waterfront venue offers both easy access to public transport and views across the Waitematā Harbour and Rangitoto Island.

The 2021 festival will serve as the headline event for Chinese New Year celebrations in February. Celebrate the Year of the Ox by wandering between hundreds of illuminated Chinese lanterns, enjoying cultural music and dance performances and sampling traditional cuisine from local food vendors. An immense fireworks display rounds off the event.

The 2021 event will be ticketed to allow for crowd management and contact tracing. Tickets for specific entry times can be booked from 12pm on Thursday, 11 February at aucklandnz.com/lantern.

Auckland Lantern Festival will take place from Thursday, 25 February to Sunday, 28 February, 2021 at Captain Cook and Marsden Wharves.