Inaugural
Antarctic Gateway City
Ball
On Saturday 31 October 2026, a strictly limited gathering of guests will be transported in Edwardian style back to the height of the Heroic Era of Antarctic Exploration.
THE DEPARTURE
Your Expedition Begins
Difficulties are just things to overcome, after all."
— Ernest Shackleton
Your evening begins where history began. Christchurch has been Antarctica's gateway for over 120 years — the place from which the great expeditions departed for the ice. Tonight, you follow in their wake.
SY Nimrod departs Lyttelton, January 1908 — Shackleton's British Antarctic Expedition
THE TRAVERSE
Crossing the Ice
"Victory awaits him who has everything in order — luck, people call it."
— Roald Amundsen, The South Pole, 1912
Step into Antarctica itself. An immersive encounter with the raw power of the frozen continent.
Endurance Expedition crew · Weddell Sea, 1915
THE HUDDLE
Meet Your Fellow Explorers
"Optimism is true moral courage."
— Ernest Shackleton
Fine libations and canapés as the evening finds its rhythm. New acquaintances are made, old friendships renewed — the spirit of exploration filling the room.
Sir Ernest Shackleton · Endurance Expedition, 1914
THE BANQUET
Dining in Splendour
"We are a very happy party."
— Robert Falcon Scott, Terra Nova Expedition diary, 1911
Dinner is served in the Atrium, transformed into an heroic era expedition hut. Fine dining, toasts and music — merriment in the finest tradition of Antarctic celebration.
Midwinter dinner, Terra Nova Expedition hut · Cape Evans, Antarctica, 22 June 1911
THE REVELRY
The Floor is Yours
"A toast - To the ice, to the night, and to those who dare."
The formalities give way to music and dancing. The evening is yours — celebrate in the finest Edwardian tradition as the Antarctic Gateway City Ball draws to a magnificent close.
An Edwardian ball, early 1900s
THE LAUNCH
A Moment of History
"I do not regret this journey."
— Robert Falcon Scott
As the evening proceeds, the International Antarctic Foundation is formally launched — marking the beginning of a new chapter in Antarctica's story.
Captain Robert Falcon Scott · Terra Nova Expedition, 1911
This Evening Made Possible By
Christchurch International Airport
International Antarctic Centre, HIND Management, Commodore Hotel
Antarctica NZ, NZ Antarctic Heritage Trust, Theme Productions, Blinkhorne Foods, Technical Event Solutions, BDO New Zealand, MAKE Creative, Hyde Park Hire