22 April 2025
In 2026, we will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Festival, marking four decades of unforgettable experiences that have invigorated our city and our lives. Since 1986, the Festival has brought over 22,000 artists to the stage and has been experienced by more than 6.2 million people.
Over the next few months, we’ll be reflecting on the extraordinary moments, artists, and individuals who’ve shaped the Festival’s journey.
The biennial New Zealand International Festival of the Arts (now Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts) was founded by a group of forward-thinking arts patrons and supporters, headed by former Prime Minister Sir Jack Marshall who said they started it with nothing but ideas and enthusiasm. Wellington’s mayor Ian Lawrence and the council supported the inaugural Festival, and the city has continued to do so ever since.
The first Festival kicked off in March 1986 with 21 days of arts, creativity, experimental performances, opera, rock, ballet, jazz, orchestral music and more. The first of its kind, it was a game changer for Wellington’s cultural identity.
“The Festival is the first truly world scale artfest to be held in this country, and for the next three weeks the Harbour Capital will be deluged by a flood of art and culture" - Evening Post, 1986
Church bells rang across the city and 5,000 ballons were released by schoolchildren to announce the beginning of the Festival season. In true mardi gras style, a vibrant parade burst through the streets, offering a preview of what was to come.
From experimental music to classical and rock, the Festival brought diverse artforms and international works to audiences. With many shows sold out, queues wrapped around the block from the Michael Fowler Centre and Opera House, with hopefuls looking to snag a ticket.
Dame Joan Sutherland and her husband Richard Bongyne
The atmosphere was electric for Dame Joan Sutherland’s sell-out opening night performance at the Michael Fowler Centre. The Australian dramatic coloratura soprano took to the stage with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, conducted by her husband Richard Bongyne, performing music from the iconic Lucia Di Lammermoor opera.
“Her voice is simply stunning, and she has a presence that can only be described as star quality.” - Stephanie Mills, Southland Times, 1986
Days later, legendary British rock band Dire Straits performed at Athletic Park. After being delayed a day due to Wellington’s infamous winds, a crowd of 45,000 came along to the ‘Brothers in Arms’ tour as part of the Festival.
Dire Straits 1986 Tour Poster
Among the artists that defined the Festival’s innovative edge was avant-garde American artist and musician Laurie Anderson. Her sell-out multimedia performances blended spoken word, electronic music, and visual art. As put by The Evening Post “If this is what they call performance art, it’s brilliant.”
“I remember coming down to the first festival from Auckland, and it was like this big deal. [We] came down for Laurie Anderson and Philip Glass. It was very exciting... this moment when suddenly we saw contemporary international art, for the arts community as well as the general public, that was a real change” remarked former Artistic and Executive Director Carla van Zon.
Laurie Anderson (left), Philip Glass (right)
Another highlight was the arrival of one of the most exciting imaginative composers in America at the time – the Philip Glass Ensemble. A composer beyond definition, with influences of classical, Indian music, jazz, and opera, playing his cult-followed compositions that pushed boundaries and brought new sonic experience to audiences. As Glass said to The Evening Post at the time “It’s not a question of being conventional or unconventional – it's a question of being inventive”
Philip Glass Ensemble
The Festival also welcomed the arrival of the Staatskapelle Berlin (Berlin State Orchestra) - at that time the first international orchestra to visit New Zealand shores in over twelve years. “The disciplines of the Berlin State Orchestra go beyond the techniques of playing. They involve thinking and imagination” said Owen Jensen with Dominion Post
The presence alone signalling a new era of international level collaboration and artistic ambition for Wellington.
The inaugural Festival set the stage for the ambitious, daring and diverse. As we celebrate 40 years of the extraordinary in 2026, we look back to those bold beginnings – the artists, the works, and the energy - that have shaped the Festival’s journey so far.
Join us as we celebrate the past and look boldly to the future.
