Te Matatini 2015, Aotearoa’s national Māori Kapa Haka championships attracting performers from around the country and Australia, will be held in Otautahi / Christchurch from 4 – 8 March 2015.

Regional representative kapa haka organisations and local iwi will no longer be required to bid to host Aotearoa/New Zealand’s premiere biennial national kapa haka championships following changes instituted by Te Matatini Society.

The unique Maori art form of Kapa Haka has been on display in New Zealand, Australia and around the globe as large numbers of online viewers flocked to the Maori Television website to witness Te Matatini 2013 National Championships in Rotorua last week.

Four days of quality kapa haka performances came to an end this afternoon with the naming of Auckland group Te Waka Huia as winners of Te Matatini 2013 National Championship at Rotorua International Stadium.

Te Matarae i Orehu, the winners of the 2011 Te Matatini National Kapa Haka Championships from Te Arawa, have made the top nine for the finals of this year’s competition but will have to beat off a strong showing from the East Coast and Bay of Plenty if they are to repeat their success, says Te Matatini Society.

One of the largest Maori carvings in Aotearoa, erected to frame the stage at the 2013 Te Matatini National Kapa Haka Championships, has received rapturous applause from festival-goers, performers and politicians attending the event.

More than 15,000 people are expected to tolerate sweltering conditions for the final day of Te Matatini 2013 kapa haka championships in Rotorua tomorrow.

Two uniquely New Zealand institutions, New Zealand Post and Kiwibank, have become strategic partners with Te Matatini Society to support the uniquely Maori performance art of kapa haka.