Electric Avenue

ROCKHAPPENZ Public Collection

Electric Avenue  —  Australasia's largest rock festival ......

Electric Avenue is a premier annual music festival held in Hagley Park, Christchurch and founded in 2015 by Callam Mitchell to boost city spirits post-earthquake.  It evolved from an 8K-person one-day event into a major, two-day, 90K-attendee event by 2026, cementing its continuing reputation as one of Australasia's largest festivals.

Headliners: Split Enz (reunion), Dom Dolla, Kesha, Pendulum (live), The Streets.
Electronic/Dance: Basement Jaxx, Sammy Virji, Röyksopp, Leftfield, Disco Lines, Frank Booker, Greg Churchill.
Rock/Pop/Indie: Ocean Alley, Royel Otis, Supergroove, L.A.B., Kora, Fazerdaze, No Cigar, The Streets.
Special Acts: The Streets, Split Enz 50th Anniversary.

Launched on Waitangi Day (6th February) 2015, featuring Kiwi acts like Shapeshifter and Fat Freddy's Drop and initially intended for a smaller location, it moved to Hagley Park at the request of the Christchurch City Council.  The 26th February 2022 event was cancelled due to the Covid Omicron variant.  The festival expanded to two days in 2025, with 35K+ people attending daily.  It brought 22,848 visitors to Christchurch and created a record economic impact on the city.  The Festival's name refers to a famous shopping street in Brixton, London, which was the first to be lit by electric lights in 1888.  This London street inspired Eddy Grant’s 1983 hit song of the same name.  In its 11th year, as of March 2026, the festival continues to attract local and international acts, solidifying its place as a cornerstone of New Zealand's summer festival scene.

The 2026 iteration of Electric Avenue featured a reunion of New Zealand's most famous group, the inimitable SPLIT ENZ

An ownership change occurred in 2025 with the Organizer Team Event selling to international promoter Live Nation.