The first Auckland Festival of the Arts was held in 1953, after four annual music festivals were held from 1949 to 1952. A bigger festival was planned due to the coronation of
Queen Elizabeth II. The festival continued annually until the 1980s and the last one was held in 1982. In September 2003 the inaugural event of the "new" Auckland Festival took place. Subsequently, the dates were moved to March and festivals were held in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2015 before becoming annual in March 2016. In 2020 most of the festival's shows had to be cancelled as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic. However, four concerts by the
Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra were streamed live online. The 13th Auckland Arts Festival took place from 3 to 21 March 2021, although some events had to be cancelled as a result of Auckland entering into a
lockdown in late February.
Shona McCullagh became the artistic director from 2021 onwards, taking over from Jonathan Bielski. The Festival is run by an independent not-for-profit trust, the Auckland Festival Trust. It is principally funded by
Auckland City Council. == Programme ==