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Events Fund

We're committed to supporting a balanced portfolio of events across the district. This includes providing an annual contestable events fund that is open for both commercial and community events.

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2026-2027 Events Fund

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Previous Fund Recipients

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2026-2027 Events Fund

The 2026-2027 Events Fund is for people looking to organise events that benefit the community. The fund is open to both commercial and community-level events. It supports events that are committed to environmental sustainability, economic impact, event diversity, and positive community benefits. 

Applications for this funding round are open from 1-30 April 2026. Applications should be made through our
new Smartygrants platform

SmartyGrants Application Form

See a list of recipients for the Events Fund 2025-2026 and fund guidelines below:

Previous Fund Recipients

Our 2024-2025 events funding recipients were:

$30,000 and over

  • Challenge Wānaka $30,000

  • LUMA Light Festival $35,000

  • Queenstown Marathon $32,100

  • Wānaka Festival of Colour $30,000

Under $30,000

  • Ripe – Wānaka Wine and Food Festival $25,000

  • Wānaka A & P Show $25,000

  • Wheels at Wānaka 2025 $20,000

  • Arrowtown Autumn Festival $20,000

  • Winter Games NZ $20,000

  • NZ Golf Open $20,000

  • Proving Grounds (mountain biking event) $20,000

  • Motatapu $20,000

  • Lake Hayes A & P Show $15,000

  • NZ Junior Rugby – Global Games $15,000

  • The WILD (trail running event) $15,000

  • Wao Summit $12,000

  • Central Lakes Polyfest $10,000

  • Queenstown Multicultural Festival $10,000

  • NZ Mountain Film Festival $5,000

  • OUT & About Wānaka $5,000

We continue to work in partnership with our sustainability and climate action teams to develop and support events' sustainability measures.