‘Humbling’ tour inside damaged cathedral sells out in 30 minutes
Some members of the public will get a rare glimpse inside the Christ Church Cathedral and hear about the work to rebuild it as part of an upcoming architecture festival.
Te Pūtahi’s Open Christchurch festival on May 5 and 6 will celebrate some of the city’s best architecture and this year features a “humbling” inside tour of the cathedral.
The tour proved to be one of the most popular, with tickets selling out in just 30 minutes.
Those lucky enough to secure a ticket would get kitted up in PPE to see a space both familiar and unfamiliar, Te Pūtahi director Jessica Halliday said.
“They will get to see some of the bells from the spire that have been restored. They will get to see some of the damage that happened to the building way back in 2011.
“And, they will get to see the incredible work that is happening to repair and reinstate the cathedral.”
About 50 buildings will be opened up to the public for Open Christchurch 2024. Nearly all tours are free and of the 50, 34 don’t require booking.
“Open Christchurch is to celebrate the city’s architecture and what it means to us in society culturally, socially, historically and in terms of art and design and what that brings to us as a community,” Halliday said.
For the past couple of years, Open Christchurch attendees could only walk around the cathedral from inside the fences – this year will be the first time they are allowed inside.
Not much of the cathedral’s fabric could be seen behind the steel reinforcing or the scaffolding but it was still “quite phenomenal” to be inside, she said. “It is very eye-opening and very humbling to come here to see and hear about the amount of work that has already been done.
“The intelligence, innovation and creativity that has gone into making the building safe is amazing.
“You might have one idea about this project and its importance ... or its lack of importance, but you come here and hear about it from the team and you really feel quite humble.”
Buildings are open at different times across the festival weekend, bookable activities are timetabled, and a hand ful of buildings require advance bookings.