Overview
Auckland's iconic Harbour Bridge will be sporting a fresh look throughout Waitangi Day and Lunar New Year with new and improved light shows set to dazzle Aucklanders.
To commemorate Waitangi Day on Tuesday, February 6, energy company Vector, Auckland Council and Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei have joined forces to create a light show based on the waiata (song) 'Maunga' by Majic Pāora and Robbie Pāora. The brother and sister duo are widely respected in the local music industry, going from street busking to award-winning singing and songwriting.
The Waitangi Day show will begin playing each night from Thursday, February 1 until Waitangi Day. Each show lasts 15 minutes and plays every 15 minutes from 9pm–11.59pm.
Following the Waitangi show, the Harbour Bridge will also be lit up to celebrate Auckland's upcoming Lantern Festival, which is taking place at the Manukau Sports Bowl on Thursday, February 22–Sunday, February 25.
The special show, which also marks Lunar New Year, will begin on Tuesday, February 20 and run until Sunday, February 25. The show will honour both the Year of the Dragon and the Lantern Festival itself, through the use of colour and lanterns sailing through the sky, every evening from 9–11.59pm.
While you will be able to enjoy the light show from anywhere you can see the bridge, there are a few prime spots, including Silo Park, Little Shoal Bay, Hinemoa Park, Princes Wharf and Queens Wharf, just to name a few. Both light shows will be accompanied by audio, which viewers can listen to on the Vector Lights website.
Waitematā Local Board Chair Genevieve Sage said she was excited for Aucklanders to experience the bridge in a different way. "The Auckland Harbour Bridge is an icon of our city, and a canvas of illumination for the incredible Vector Lights shows that tell the stories of this whenua," Sage said.
The Waitangi Day show will be lighting up Auckland's Harbour Bridge from Thursday, February 1–Tuesday, February 6. The Lantern Festival light show begins later in the month, from Tuesday, February 20–Sunday, February 25. For more information, head to the Vector Lights website.