Mika's Aroha Mardi Gras was a 2011 concert show by

Mika Haka Mika X (born Terrance John Pou on 8 February 1962, later renamed Neil Gudsell, also known as Mika and as Mika Haka) is a New Zealand Māori singer, performance artist, actor, filmmaker, TV producer and comedian. He has toured across the worl ...

. It was staged in Takutai Square,

Auckland CBD The Auckland Central Business District (CBD), or Auckland city centre, is the geographical and economic heart of the Auckland metropolitan area. It is the area in which Auckland was established in 1840, by William Hobson. It is New Zealand's lea ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

on September 23 with two shows on the same day. The show was part of the New Zealand series of entertainment events that was put on for the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...

. In mid October,

Māori Television Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

aired the concerts as a one-hour special. The show was edited from footage of the second performance of the evening. The shows were a free non ticketed event available to the public. Combining both 6pm and 8pm shows, a total of 15,000 attended the event. The show had over 680 people participating in the event, including 400 kids as part of the KA 400. The event was choreographed by

Jay Tewake Jay Tewake (born 25 February 1990 Papatoetoe Papatoetoe is a suburb in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest suburb in Auckland by population and is located to the northwest of Manukau Central, and 18 kilometres southeast of Auckland CBD. ...

Rena Owen Renas may refer to: Places *Rena, Badajoz, a municipality in Extremadura, Spain *Rena, Norway, a village in Innlandet county, Norway *Rena, Washington, a community in Clallam County, Washington, United States People *Rena (given name), list of pe ...

was the presenter of the Televised special, presenting the show as a story teller. Mika also performed alongside

, Edward Ru of Sweet & Irie,

Keisha Castle-Hughes Keisha Castle-Hughes (born 24 March 1990) is an Australian-born New Zealand actress who rose to prominence for playing Paikea "Pai" Apirana in the film ''Whale Rider''. She was nominated for several awards, including the Academy Award for Best ...

Erakah Erakah is a New Zealand R&B and soul singer. In 2009, she featured on R&B singer J.Williams single " Your Style" of his album ''Young Love''. Inspired by Soul music Erakah states Alicia Keys, Lily Allen, Beyoncé and Brandy as influences on h ...

and more.

Maori TV Setlist

Concert dates

Personnel

;Lead performer *

Vocals, dance and choreographer:

;Additional performers *

Vocals:

, Edward Ru,

and more. ;Music department *

Musical director: Karl Moser ;Choreographer *

Choreographer and dancer:

Revised events

2014 Legend Bar

In 2014, Mika Haka recreated his Mika's Aroha Mardi Gras as part of the New Zealand Auckland Pride Festival. This time it was a smaller event held in a bar called Legend Gay Bar. The event was held on the 6 February 2014

Waitangi Day Waitangi Day ( mi, Te Rā o Waitangi), the national day of New Zealand, marks the anniversary of the initial signing – on 6 February 1840 – of the Treaty of Waitangi, which is regarded as the founding document of the nation. The first Wait ...

. The aim of the event was not only to shine a light on upcoming New Zealand talent but to also release his single Dress To Express featuring Zakk d’Larté and Hannah Martin.

Set List

The Red Light District

In 2016, Mika once again recreated Aroha Mardi Gras. The event was held on

Karangahape Road Karangahape Road (commonly known as K' Road) is one of the main streets in the central business district (CBD) of Auckland, New Zealand. The massive expansion of motorways through the nearby inner city area – and subsequent flight of resident ...

outside the infamous Auckland Gay bar Family. The event was held between 12pm and went on till 7 pm, which is a similar schedule to the Big Gay Out. The event was free to the public. This was the first time in 20 year that

has closed down for an event. Parts of the event was filmed for the reality TV series Queens of Panguru where Ramon Te Wake,

, and Maihi Makiha all performed.

Set List

References

External links

*
Official Website

Eventfinda Website
{{Mika Haka Music television specials 2011 in New Zealand television