Splore Music Festival to End in 2026 After 28 Years as Aotearoa's Longest-Running Music and Arts Event
Splore, Aotearoa's longest-running music, arts, and camping festival, will hold its final event in February 2026 after 28 years of operation. Festival curator John Minty announced the decision following persistent low ticket sales and financial challenges stemming from the cost of living crisis and the pandemic's impact on attendance patterns.
Splore via Splore Website
Splore began in Kariotahi in 1998 and has operated continuously for 18 years with financial viability before encountering significant headwinds. The festival maintained stability through its early decades but faced disruption from Covid-related postponements and cancellations. The subsequent cost of living crisis led to substantially reduced ticket sales for the 2024 event, forcing organisers to reassess the festival's future.
The festival took a year off in 2025, hoping that market conditions would improve and ticket sales would return to sustainable levels. However, Minty stated that ticket sales have not tracked at levels necessary to feel confident about the festival's financial sustainability going forward. After extensive consideration over the previous two years, Minty made the difficult decision to end the festival rather than continuing with reduced quality or depth.
Minty expressed concern about the global festival landscape, noting that festivals are struggling internationally across Europe, England, and Australia. He indicated that a generation of young people who did not experience camping or festival attendance during Covid may have changed the market fundamentally. The commitment required to attend a three-day camping festival combined with ticket costs and broader cost of living pressures has reduced demand significantly.
Minty stated that the government's $70 million Event Boost Fund declined to provide financial support to Splore, removing a potential lifeline for the struggling festival. After 20 years of involvement with Splore at Tāpapakanga Regional Park, Minty decided it was an appropriate time to move on. Rather than diluting the festival's quality and depth through reduced operations, Minty chose to end the event while it could finish with excellence.
The final three-day music and arts festival will take place at Auckland's Tāpapakanga Regional Park from February 20-22, 2026. The closing event will feature an extensive lineup including Sister Nancy, Nightmares on Wax, Mind Enterprises, General Levy, Tami Neilson, Miss Kaninna, Parson James, Illustrious Blacks, Beatles Dub Club, Coco Solid, Christoph El Truento, Te Kura Huia, Romi Wrights, Jess B, Franca, Dick Move, Estere, and Half Queen.
The festival's closure represents a significant loss for Aotearoa's music and arts community. Splore had established itself as a flagship cultural event, attracting multiple generations of attendees and maintaining a reputation for quality programming and community atmosphere. The festival's 28-year history reflected the evolution of music, arts, and festival culture in New Zealand.
Minty expressed hope that the festival might have continued indefinitely after his departure, but acknowledged the harsh realities of operating a festival in the current economic environment. The decision reflects broader trends affecting cultural events worldwide as cost of living pressures, changed consumer behaviour following the pandemic, and reduced government arts funding have created challenging conditions for festival organisers.