The biggest ever Polynesian secondary school festival in the world gets underway in South Auckland today.
Almost 10,000 secondary students are taking part as 200 culture groups compete on five stages - Cook Islands, Maori, Niue, Samoan and Tongan.
The festival showcases traditional music, dance, costume and speech.
It has been organised by an event management company.
The smallest school to play host this year is Wesley College, whose deputy principal, Roger Biddle, says it is the biggest festival in the event's 32-year history.
"We devote a lot of our time in preparation for it because this is one of the biggest opportunities for Maori and Pacific youngsters to display their talents and their culture."
The event is on at the Manukau Sportsbowl until March the 15th.
