Glow in the Park will move to the Ashburton Domain for 2024.

The light show runs over King’s Birthday weekend and next year will be based in the domain, where there is room to grow the event.

The 2023 Glow event attracted 17,000 visitors on just two nights, with the third cancelled because of bad weather.

Compliance and Development Group Manager Jane Donaldson said there was room in the Ashburton Domain to expand and grow the show, as the footprint of the domain is larger than the current Tinwald location.

“Plus 2024 is also a 160-year celebration of the Ashburton Domain, so it would be a nice fit to hold the popular light show there.”

Glow in the Park has been held at the Tinwald Domain for the past two years; it was originally planned for the Ashburton Domain in 2020 but moved to Tinwald so visitor numbers could be better managed because of covid restrictions.

Ms Donaldson said the Tinwald site had worked well, though huge numbers this year had highlighted the need for a more central location to avoid congestion on State Highway 1 and the Ashburton River bridge.

“We asked visitors this year to take part in a survey and they were overwhelmingly positive about Glow in the Park, but said traffic management and parking could improve.

“With thousands of people coming to see the show each night, it’s always going to be busy and we’ll be thinking about options like park-and-ride, where people could park and catch a shuttle to the domain. We’ll be encouraging people to walk where they can too.

She said it was also exciting to showcase a new location.

“The Ashburton Domain is the jewel of the town and we’re looking forward to showing it off to visitors from around the region.”

The 2023 event was made possible through the generous support of local businesses, including EA Networks, who returned as a major sponsor.

King’s Birthday weekend in 2024 will be from 1-3 June.