Auckland’s Sky Tower turns 20

The centre point of Auckland city, a shining light for many causes, a focal point for orientation, and a welcome home for travelers; it’s hard to imagine Auckland’s skyline without the Sky Tower. 

Now, the Sky Tower proudly celebrates its 20^th birthday on Thursday 3 August having welcomed nearly 15 million visitors to enjoy the 360 degree views of Auckland, enjoy a picturesque lunch or dinner, or join Beyoncé, Michael Bublé and Tom Cruise in walking around or jumping off the Tower.

As part of the birthday celebrations, SKYCITY is offering New Zealand residents free entry on Thursday 3 August 2017, with proof of address.

For those New Zealand residents who can’t visit on 3 August, there is a special offer of $20 for a Sky Tower admission pass for one adult and one child (6-14 years) for visits from 4 - 31 August, with proof of address.

From 3 – 31 August, there will also be a special ’20 years’ projection on the side of the Sky Tower to celebrate the birthday and the Tower will be lit like a flickering candle. 

Finally, to celebrate two decades of lighting for the community, SKYCITY is handing over the reins to the public. The public are invited to the base of the Sky Tower, from 6pm-9pm each evening from 3-5 August, to select one of eight colours to light the top of the Tower for a special occasion, person, cause, or simply their favourite colour.

Lit for more than 100 different reasons, the Sky Tower has become a beacon of charitable awareness, a thermometer of the community’s moods, a focus for celebrations, a point of pride.

Built over two years and nine months, by Fletcher Construction, Craig Craig & Moller Architects, and Beca Carter Hollings & Ferner, the Sky Tower was unlike any construction project undertaken at the time.

To build the Sky Tower, Fletcher Construction developed a world first construction technique, a self climbing ‘Jumpform’, and the Tower has since embodied the innovative Kiwi spirit. AJ Hacket achieved the world record bungy jump from a fixed platform off the Sky Tower in 1999. In 2007 the SkyWalk opened as the southern hemisphere’s first walk outside a tower without rails or a balcony – just a safety harness. And in the early 2000’s, The Vertigo Climb (now closed) allowed the public to climb 193 ladder rungs up the mast of the Sky Tower, making it the Southern Hemisphere’s highest crow's nest climb, at 270 metres high (1000 feet above seas level).