Te Whanganui a Tara Wellington will welcome music and dance scholars from around the globe in 2025, as the World Conference of the International Council for Traditional Music (ICTM) comes to New Zealand for the first time.
The conference will take place at Tākina Wellington Convention & Exhibition Centre in January 2025 and is expected to attract at least 800 delegates to the city for a programme of scholarly papers, workshops and concerts. Conference themes will include a focus on Indigenous music and dance.
The conference bid was led by Brian Diettrich, senior lecturer in Ethnomusicology at the New Zealand School of Music, of Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington, with support from Business Events Wellington and Tourism New Zealand.
Diettrich, who is also an executive board member of ICTM and a member of the Wellington Advocate Network, will be the local arrangements chair for ICTM 2025.
Business Events Wellington’s manager Irette Ferreira said: “Partnering with Victoria University is crucial to our strategy in attracting conferences, especially conferences that align with the city’s reputation and strength as New Zealand’s vibrant cultural capital.
“This conference, taking place in January 2025, is also a great example of business events boosting the city’s hospitality sector during what would traditionally be its off-peak season.”
New Zealand’s capital was announced as the host of the 48th ICTM World Conference in 2025 at the 47th World Conference held in Ghana last month.
