Buskers Festival review looms after $100,000 losses two years in a row

The World Buskers Festival is under review after it lost more than $100,000 for the second year in a row and had to be bailed out with Christchurch ratepayer money.

The annual event lost $160,000 in January due to poor ticket sales and unexpected operational and venue costs related to its return to the city streets.

Councillors voted in February to grant the festival $160,000 in extra funding to cover the loss and ordered a review of how it operates.

Festival director Melissa Haberfield said the 2017 loss was caused by the move from a cluster of temporary venues in Hagley Park to permanent venues and busker pitches on city-centre streets.

‘‘We have been in Hagley Park for five years and last year we made the decision to move into the city centre again as we are a street festival.

‘‘When you change how a festival is run, there are a number of costs. Some were anticipated, but there were some that were higher than we anticipated. That was a significant factor.’’

Ticket sales for some shows were worse than expected, she said.

Councillors requested ChristchurchNZ review the festival’s performance. ChristchurchNZ was formed in July in a merger between the Canterbury Development Corporation, Christchurch and Canterbury Tourism, and the council’s events unit.

ChristchurchNZ attraction general manager Linda Falwasser said the review would look at the past two years of the festival and monitor the financial performance of the 2018 event. It would make recommendations to the council early next year on the future of the festival. ‘‘We are looking to ensure that any red flags are picked up and any risks are mitigated,’’ she said.

‘‘Is it meeting the needs of the community? Is it meeting the needs of attracting visitors to the city? Or does it need to take some other form?’’

Falwasser would not go into detail on what options could be considered for the festival. ‘‘I don’t want to predetermine what that would look like.

‘‘At a high level, it could stay status quo . . . it could be enhanced, or it could take shape into something else.’’

The festival made a $115,000 loss in 2016 due to poor weather. The loss was covered by the trust’s $121,000 reserves, which meant it could not cover the 2017 loss. The 2018 festival has been granted $195,000 in council funding, but future funding is dependent on the review.

Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel said she supported the extra funding for the festival. ‘‘The World Buskers Festival brings people into the city and it creates a sense of vitality and fun which Christchurch always gets right behind.’’

Cr Deon Swiggs said he was ‘‘not happy’’ with the festival’s losses.

‘‘I was personally in favour of the festival having a break so we can reassess the whole thing and start again.’’