Christchurch has seen tens of thousands of music fans descend on the city for the Electric Avenue concerts, with police saying the event was largely safe and well run.

An estimated 43,000 people attended each night of the two day festival, with many travelling from outside Canterbury to be part of the event.

Christchurch police were on safety patrol across the city on Friday and Saturday, working alongside 440 security personnel to manage the large crowds.

Operational Commander Senior Sergeant Karen Simmons said there were some issues on the opening night.

“We did have some issues on Friday with individuals preloading on alcohol and arriving intoxicated to the venue.

“Drunk and disorderly behaviour in Riccarton and the suburbs around the university were problematic and took valuable staffing resources away from where they were most required.

“It was a much better result on Saturday and the crowd overall was well behaved.

“My team enjoyed the positive interactions with the partying public who were in great spirits.

“A small number of arrests were made, and minor disorder was reported.

“Team Events and Live Nation have run another successful festival this year that was much bigger than previous years.

“We are lucky to have this very cool event in Christchurch.”

Police said the large scale operation focused not only on the venue itself, but also surrounding suburbs and transport routes as concertgoers made their way to and from the site.