Thursday, February 12, 2026

Eden Park hosts major Jehovah’s Witnesses convention

Jehovah's Witness convention at Eden Park starts today
Image – edenpark.co.nz.

One of New Zealand’s largest faith-based gatherings in decades has opened at Eden Park, with more than 20,000 people attending a three-day Special Convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses from January 9 to 11.

The event has drawn about 3,500 international delegates from 20 countries, filling 38 Auckland hotels and is expected to contribute an estimated $20 million to the local economy. Delegates have arrived from nations including the United Kingdom, United States, Greece, Colombia, Fiji, Australia, Chile, Korea and Malaysia, with Auckland selected as one of only 15 cities worldwide to host the international convention.

Jehovah’s Witnesses National Spokesperson Victor Ioramo described the gathering as a milestone for the city, noting it is the first time in nearly 50 years that members from across New Zealand have assembled in one place, returning to Eden Park for the first time since the 1978 international convention. “We’re thrilled to welcome guests and showcase Auckland’s unique character—from its iconic landmarks and world-class dining to its breathtaking landscapes,” said Ioramo.

Eden Park chief executive Nick Sautner said hosting large-scale international conventions aligns with the stadium’s role as the country’s national venue. “Hosting events of this scale is part of Eden Park’s DNA. Large international conventions like this deliver significant economic benefits for Auckland and New Zealand, particularly when thousands of visitors are travelling from overseas, staying in hotels and supporting our hospitality, retail and tourism sectors.”



The free convention is open to the public and features Bible-based videos, interviews, talks and personal accounts suitable for all ages, including new episodes of the global series The Good News According to Jesus.

More than 7,000 unpaid volunteers are supporting the event, including organising tourism and cultural activities for overseas visitors.

Support DTNZ

DTNZ is committed to bringing Kiwis independent, not-for-profit news. We're up against the vast resources of the legacy mainstream media. Help us in the battle against them by donating today.

No login required to comment. Name, email and web site fields are optional. Please keep comments respectful, civil and constructive. Moderation times can vary from a few minutes to a few hours. Comments may also be scanned periodically by Artificial Intelligence to eliminate trolls and spam.

18 COMMENTS

    • Your first sentence condradicts every encyclopeida – then your link is to a 390 page religious ramble by a Douglas Marcathur supporter lawyer named Bertrhand Comparet who died in 1983.
      If you are afraid of weird cults, you should check the mirror.

  1. A cult dressed up as a respectable religion. Wacky, ever changing beliefs, long standing CSA issues- look up the Australian Royal Commission on CSA as just one example and the compulsory shunning of ex members. I could go on as the list is endless.
    Glad I got out and don’t have to attend this borefest.

    • Religious cults orbit around a charismatic religious leader and fall apart after a few years.
      Jehovah’s witnesses will never top 2000 people and will be gone by 1903.

    • At least these guys don’t force you to join them, or want to hurt children, women, or dogs. They eat bacon, and respect you for your choice. See the difference? So when you guys try to push the ol ‘religion is bad’ stuff is really quite stupid. Perhaps the religions that want to kill other religions and non-Muslims are the bad ones …

  2. I can’t comment on what goes on within jehovah church as I don’t know. The people I know who are JW are all very welcoming, generous and friendly when I spend time with them.

    Maybe a bit wacky, and some can be a bit of a dick at times, but, isn’t everyone a bit of dick sometimes.

    As Ben Harper sings;

    Your choice is who you choose to be, and if you’re causing no harm then you’re alright with me

      • They run away from me after knocking on my door and finding themselves in a conversation about the history of Christianity, which is very interesting but not something the Jehovah’s Witnesses want to talk about.
        They are quite pleasant though, and their women are usually well presented and often quite attractive.

  3. Being pleasant or attractive is irrelevant. This is part of how they try to attract the unwary. It is a high control cult. No critical thinking permitted, no questioning the beliefs. There’s much more but I’ll leave it there.
    I spent decades in this cult and it’s easy to say ‘each to his own’. A glib comment, but I’ve seen the damage it causes to people and their families.

  4. Given the world is run by absolute psychopathic clowns hellbent on collapsing everything just to save their own sorry asses, maybe the Jw’s are right in saying Armageddon is coming!

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Wellington
overcast clouds
14.8 ° C
14.8 °
14.3 °
94 %
1.5kmh
100 %
Wed
19 °
Thu
21 °
Fri
20 °
Sat
17 °
Sun
16 °




Sponsored



Trending

Sport

Daily Life

Opinion

DTNZ News Network