Rhythm and Alps Statistics: Attendance, 2026 Dates and Tickets

At a glance

• Rhythm & Alps is the biggest New Year’s festival in New Zealand’s South Island, drawing about 10,000 partygoers to the Cardrona Valley near Wānaka¹².
• The 2025 festival marked its 15th anniversary, with more than 10,000 people expected¹.
• Rhythm & Alps 2026 runs on 30 and 31 December in a new two-day format, and tickets went on sale on 4 June 2026³.
• A full-festival ticket costs NZ$350 in the second release, and single-day tickets cost NZ$210 for 30 December or NZ$240 for 31 December⁴.
• Camping is sold separately, and a 2-day Valley Camp pass costs NZ$80⁴.
• The festival is strictly R18, so everyone attending must be 18 or over⁵.

About 10,000 a year. Rhythm & Alps has drawn crowds of that size every year since 2017, and a similar crowd was expected in 2025⁶.

• After almost 10,000 came to its first Cardrona Valley festival in 2013, Rhythm & Alps slumped to about 3,000 in 2014⁷, then rebuilt to more than 6,500 in 2015⁸ and 7,000 in 2016⁹.
• It got back to about 10,000 partygoers in 2017¹⁰, and has stayed there since, with 10,000 expected in 2018¹¹, and up to 10,000 people, 5,500 of them camping, expected in 2019¹².
• Crowds held up through the pandemic. The 2020 festival sold out, with an average of 10,000 people a day expected¹³, and in 2021 its consent allowed 10,000 ticketed people on site each day¹⁴, with about 24,000 expected across the three days¹⁵.
• Reports since then have kept it at that level, with 10,000 partygoers in 2022², 10,000 expected in 2023¹⁶, 10,000 a day expected in 2024¹⁷ and more than 10,000 expected for the 15th anniversary in 2025¹.

No official attendance figures are published, so most of these numbers are expected or daily crowds quoted in news reports.

A full-festival ticket for Rhythm & Alps 2026 costs NZ$350 in the second release, and single-day tickets cost NZ$210 for 30 December or NZ$240 for 31 December⁴.

• Everyone needs a General Admission (GA) ticket to get in¹⁸.
• A full-festival ticket covers both days, 30 and 31 December¹⁸.
• Single-day tickets are sold for either 30 or 31 December¹⁸.
• Camping, VIP and premium camping are add-ons on top of the GA ticket¹⁸.
• Prices rise in tiers: each release has a set number of tickets, and the earlier you buy, the cheaper it is⁵.

Usually around 5,000 to 6,000. Campers made up more than half the crowd in the late 2010s, with 5,500 of about 10,000 partygoers camping on site in 2017¹⁰, but only about 3,000 were expected to camp in 2024¹⁷.

• About 6,000 were expected to camp in 2021¹⁵, when the festival’s consent allowed up to 6,300 campers¹⁴, and more than 6,000 camped in 2022².
• Earlier, about 5,000 of the 7,500 people expected in 2015 were campers⁷, and 4,000 of the 7,000 revellers camped on site in 2016⁹.
• A campervan pitch costs extra: Roadie Camp needs a 2-day camping pass at NZ$80 per person and a NZ$125 Vehicle Pass per vehicle⁴, so two people in a campervan pay NZ$985 with their full-festival tickets, before hiring the van.
• Hiring the van is the bigger cost. In October 2026, typical quotes for campervan hire picked up in December were about NZ$384 a day from Queenstown and NZ$250 a day from Christchurch, for a 7-day hire¹⁹.

Camper figures are a mix of reported and expected numbers from news reports; none were found for 2018, 2020, 2023 or 2025.

Bring valid photo ID, your ticket, a bank card and warm clothes. Rhythm & Alps is cashless, and even after a hot day, nights in the valley often drop into single digits⁵.

• Only a current New Zealand photo driver licence, a Kiwi Access card, or a New Zealand or overseas passport is accepted as ID; expired cards and student IDs are turned away⁵.
• Bring an empty plastic bottle to top up at the free water refill stations, and if you’re camping, a sturdy tent, sleeping bags and the rest of your gear⁵.
• The festival is strictly no BYO: any alcohol brought in is confiscated, and glass, illegal drugs, fireworks, nitrous oxide and weapons are all banned⁵.
• BBQs and cookers, couches, drones, professional camera gear, and skateboards, scooters or bikes are also not allowed, and personal Bluetooth speakers must be no longer than 30 cm⁵.
• Prescription medication is allowed only in its sealed, pharmacy-labelled container, with the name on the label matching your ID⁵.

Rhythm & Alps 2026 takes place on 30 and 31 December, ringing in the New Year in the Cardrona Valley in a new two-day format³.

• The festival began at Terrace Downs in 2011²¹ and moved to the Cardrona Valley near Wānaka in 2013.
• Earlier editions ran over three days, from 29 December to 1 January in 2019¹² and from 29 to 31 December in 2020¹³.
• The 2025 festival marked its 15th anniversary³ and ran from 29 to 31 December, opening with a Campers’ Night on 29 December limited to 1,000 tickets²², while 2026 is the festival’s 16th year³.

Dimension and Swae Lee headline Rhythm & Alps 2026, with BENEE, Fat Freddy’s Drop, MPH, Shapeshifter and Shy FX close behind, as of the second line-up announcement²³.

• Music runs across four stages: Alpine Arena, Jeff, Log Cabin and Red Bull Eclipse²⁴.
• Organisers promise more than 50 acts²⁴.
• Further down the bill are Belters Only, Charli Brix, Ely Oaks and FOVOS, plus Wax Mustang in what is billed as a final New Zealand festival set²³.
• In 2025, Dizzee Rascal headlined the 15th-anniversary festival, with Rudimental, The Black Seeds, Chaos in the CBD and Corrella also on the bill³.
• In 2024, Lime Cordiale, Montell2099 and DJ Aroha were among the acts³.
• The 2019 festival had 53 acts, with up to 10,000 people expected, including 5,500 campers¹².
• The 2023 licensing decision allowed for 16 food vendors on site²⁵.