Te Ao Māori
Seven Sharp

World’s largest Kapa Haka festival celebrates 50th anniversary

April 23, 2022

Now Te Matatini is one of the largest cultural festivals in the world. (Source: Seven Sharp)

This year the world’s largest Kapa Haka festival, Te Matatini, celebrates its golden anniversary.

To mark the occasion, it's releasing one waiata each weekday for 50 days before its 2023 showdown.

It was formerly known as The New Zealand Polynesian Cultural Festival, but since 2004 the festival has been known as Te Matatini, which translates to “The Many Faces”.

Pere - a kaihaka or performer - is one of those faces.

To mark the 50 golden years, Te Matatini has released a book, a web series and a special album with the most iconic songs from the festival, with the guidance of Te Matatini OGs, Koro Trev, Tangiwai Ria and musician Rob Ruha

Te Matatini has been postponed twice due to impacts of Covid-19, but in 2023 it'll be hosted at Eden Park, with organisers expecting 2000 performers.

For the full story, watch the video above.

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