Wellington on song with international music conference win

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. New Zealand’s capital was announced as host of the 48^th ICTM World Conference in 2025 at the 47^th World Conference held in Ghana last month. 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, and the event is expected to attract scholars from many parts of the globe. 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. He says: “ICTM 2025 will be a fabulous cultural event for the city and a historical undertaking for New Zealand. “ICTM 2025 also demonstrates the global value of music research and scholarship.” Business Events Wellington 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.” Tourism New Zealand general manager NZ & Business Events Bjoern Spreitzer added: “This is a great opportunity to showcase New Zealand. Visitors will not only get to experience our unique music and dance cultures but enjoy Wellington’s world class food and beverage scene, spectacular natural landscapes and entertainment offerings, too. I’d also encourage delegates to seek further and explore more of our beautiful country while they are here.” ICTM world conferences are fully international events with scholars visiting from more than 60 countries. The 2025 conference will be the first time that this meeting is hosted in New Zealand since the formation of the council in 1947. Photo: Mount Victoria. Credit: Wellington NZ