Christchurch's CBD will be filled with some of the world's best street performers from Friday, as the World Buskers Festival gets underway.
It has been running since 1993, and this year features 330 performances over a 10 day period.
There will be dancers, acrobatics, circus and comedy shows, meaning this year's festival has something for everyone.
"From cabaret to pogo jumping, comedy to burlesque, crowds will see a balance of beloved favourites and first-time entrants, with many world-famous and fresh off the plane from festivals across the world," festival co-director Pitsch Leiser said.
Back of the Bus transforms a bus into a stage. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
For those wanting a surprise, an act called 'Back of the Bus' takes the audience through Ōtautahi, with a bus transformed into a stage for physical comedy and outrageous scenarios.
Sacha Copland is the mastermind behind the show, first created in 2008, and got the idea from travelling the world for the first time.
"The way you look at the world when you travel is quite different. You look up and you notice the buildings and sort of see the beauty in it. When I came back I went, how can you take something you think is quite ordinary, like good but ordinary like a bus, and make that feel like there is infinite possibility."
Copland said this year's show was full of surprises.
"We take them kind of on a journey with people you would normally meet on the bus, but everything's really heightened and kind of exaggerated.
"There's that person [who] is really annoying on the bus and you meet them and then you meet the uptight one and the person who sees the world in a romantic way, so there's variety in it," Copland said.
Keith Preene is played by Shay Horay. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Keith Preene's Golden Goose Bingo is also gracing the stage this year, for the first time since 2017.
Keith Preene is a beloved character in the comedy world, who is played by Shay Horay and his act is a game of bingo, set in Keith's world of hilarious absurdities.
"They'll be obviously playing a game of bingo. There will be prizes and I will be having a bit of a chat about my general life. You'll be at Keith's house and he'll probably do a bit of dancing, maybe a couple of song and the occasional long story."
Preene said there would be some great prizes including a meat pack and some calendars and seats to his show were filling up quickly.
"Seven hundred and fifty people in the room playing bingo, it doesn't get much better than that. I don't think there's an RSA in the whole country that can match that."
Other acts include Sam Wills aka Tape Face, who started his career at the festival and is bringing his show back after nine years.
"It's great to be coming back to Christchurch for the World Buskers Festival 2025 to celebrate 20 years of Tape Face. Christchurch is where I was able to launch the show and it's exciting to bring it home again," Wills said.
Tumble Circus will also perform, as well as The Prince of Purple who has been performing since he was five.
Pitsch Leiser is the festival's co-director. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Co-director Pitsch Leiser said there had been a push this year to diversify the line-up, with a focus on Māori and Pasifika acts.
"That's been sort of missing a little bit in previous situations and we feel there's a strong kind of focus around what's happening in Māori performing arts and also in Māori circus arts. So that's great to kind of start that as a first iteration and then build over the years," he said.
One of those acts is Kura Turuwhenua, who has made waves with her relatable comedy, singing, making jokes and telling stories alongside Māori music duo Project Miere.
Turuwhenua is making her debut at the festival and said she was proud to be performing.
"I feel really lucky and grateful to be doing comedy, but also just performing in a time where there is an actual focus on getting our voices on stage and getting our people on stage."
The festival's Māori curator Savanah Tukariri brings 20 years' experience with kapa haka. She said it was not just about incorporating more Māori acts into the programme this year.
"It's about embedding our Ngāi Tahu narrative into the festival, incorporating te reo me ōna tikanga, and providing cultural context about the festival's performance locations.
"We aim to create a sense of manaakitanga that's felt throughout the festival, making it an experience that is uniquely special to Ōtautahi," Tukariri said.
Pacific curator Tanya Muagututi'a brings 30 years of experience working with Pacific artists and shows through Pacific Underground and is thrilled to bring a range of Pacific performers to the World Buskers Festival stage.
"I'm excited to offer this platform to our performers and for us to contribute to a festival that is about representing Christchurch but also representing different parts of the world.
"We have a long history of performance here in Christchurch. It's all about celebrating who we are, our identity. Who we are in this city, in Aotearoa, in this land and in this region and in support of our tangata whenua cousins," Muagututi'a said.
The festival runs until the 2 February, at a variety of locations including Cathedral Square, the Town Hall and The Bridge of Remembrance.
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