More than 8 and a half thousand secondary school students are entered in the ASB Polyfest cultural competition which began this morning at the Manukau Sports bowl in Auckland.
The opening ceremony will include a kapa haka performance by 250 students and the entire event is said to be the world's biggest secondary school Maori and Pacific cultural competition.
Over the next three days, students from 62 schools will compete across a range of stages representing many Pacific nations.
The organiser says competitor numbers are up this year and more than 250-thousand supporters are expected to attend the event.
