Fiche festival
Oceania
Te Matatini
Traditional and popular parties · Hopuphopu (Waikato), New Zealand
Dates
22-27 February 2027
Venue
Hopuhopu (Waikato), Nouvelle-Zélande
Genres
Traditional and popular holidays
The festival
Te Matatini is the national championship of kapa haka, the top of the māori living arts: every two years, the country's best troops, qualified in regional competitions, compete in singing, dance and haka before judges of a legendary demand. The 2027 edition, Te Matatini o Ngā Taniwha, will be held in Hopuphopu, near Ngāruawāhia (Waikato), from February 22 to 27, 2027: host pōwhiri on the 22, four days of preliminary and the great final Te Matangirua on the 27.
With 57 troops and some 2,000 performers — a record — co-organized by Kiingitanga and Waikato-Tainui, it will be the biggest edition in the festival's history.