CubaDupa through the years

This festival is none other than CubaDupa, which is known and loved by Wellingtonians, with thousands of people flocking to the streets every year.

With the 2025 season coming up, we’ve looked back on the highlights from the festival in the past couple of years.  

2023: Portal

The CubaDupa programme in 2023 had 246 acts and well over 1500 individual performers crammed into an unmissable 19 hours. 

An estimated 120,000 people attended over the week, on par with the huge crowds seen at the last festival in 2021.

The Wellington Airport Ngā Taniwha stage hosted an energetic Saturday evening performance from hip-hop artist Jujulipps, alongside stand-out, packed performances from Sam Manzanza’s Mass Afrobeat Band, Koizilla and Anthonie Tonnon, to name just a few. 

The Ngā Toi o Te Aro stage transformed Te Aro Park to showcase an inspiring lineup of Te Ao Māori and Tangata Pasifika musicians and artists. Interactive Wānanga were held throughout the weekend and the stage featured 15 acts, and 18 hours of programming across the two days. 

The creative zones brought to life some otherworldly costumes and artistic imagination while an interactive game of battleships using baroque trumpets was held down Cuba Mall.

BodyFX transformed attendees with colourful illusory body paint, with queues of people winding onto Marion Street. 

Parades of bollywood dancers, tubas, batucada dancers, and even a huge LED-lit dragon took over the streets for the weekend.

2024: Find your wild

In 2024, CubaDupa had more than 200 different performances, featuring 1470 performers, which took place across 42 programmed venues and zones.

The theme was ‘Find Your Wild’ and the programme was a wild jungle with something new at every turn. Attendees dressed in every colour of the rainbow and performers lit up stages in all areas of Cuba. 

The Wellington Airport Ngā Taniwha stage was a highlight of the festival, hosting some huge acts such as the dynamic pop-duo, Foley, and soulful rapper, MELODOWNZ. 

All over the festival there were areas dedicated to creation and expression. These ranged from the Wānanga area at Te Pā House, The Opera House — a place to learn about Māori culture, weaving, games and more — to the Kidzone, stationed on Leeds Street, a place for families to take a break and for kids to get creative! 

In true CubaDupa fashion, there were multiple roaming parades that the public were invited to join. Four batucada groups paraded through the streets, each with their own dress-up theme, highlighting them amongst the large crowds and bringing the vibes. 

CubaDupa also introduced Sunday crowds to Uke-a-Dupa—the first ever mass ukulele parade showcase at the festival. Multiple ukulele groups of all ages were stationed over the Cuba precinct, and came together as a parade, ending with a collaborated performance at the Glover Park stage, featuring more than 200 performers.

2025: Communal joy

CubaDupa 2025 will once again transform the city into a kaleidoscope of culture, music, kai, and performance, celebrating the rich artistic diversity of Aotearoa. This year’s festival features over 140 acts presenting over 170 performances spanning music, dance, theatre, visual arts and more.

Existing Cuba Street gig venues will open their doors to artists of each and every music genre, whilst galleries will be inviting attendees in, offering a break from the crowd paired with intriguing art. 

For the first time ever, CubaDupa will proudly host NZSL interpreters on the Wellington Airport Ngā Taniwha stage with the support of Platform Interpreting NZ and the Performing Arts Foundation.

Check out the 2025 schedule for CupaDupa on their website and head along on Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 March.