Hawaii is hosting the 13th Festival of Pacific & Arts Culture this summer, a large event where nearly 3,000 delegates representing 28 nations are slated to attend to showcase cultures and discuss climate change.

This is the first time the public event will be held in Hawaii.

It is scheduled to be held June 10-21 at multiple venues in Honolulu and Waikiki. The Hawai‘i Convention Center will serve as the main site where seminars will be held.

The festival is held every four years and hosted by a different Pacific island nation. The South Pacific Commission, now known as the Pacific Community, held its first event in Fiji in 1972 to showcase arts and culture in an effort to halt “the erosion of traditional practices through ongoing cultural exchange,” according to organizers.

Thousands are anticipated to attend FESTPAC Hawaii as an estimated 90,000 visitors attended the previous festival, held on Guam.

At a news conference Thursday at the state Capitol’s Senate Chambers, Sen. J. Kalani English (D, Hana-­Upcountry Maui-Molokai-­Lanai-Kahoolawe), who serves as chairman of a nine-member commission that oversees the planning of the festival, said, “This is not just a regular festival. In fact, it is the Olympics of the Pacific.”

English, who has attended past festivals, said, “It’s something that changes your life, and it changes your point of view. It makes you understand where we are in the world, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the region that we belong to, the great diversity in our region and also the unity that that creates.”

Delegations from American Samoa, Aotearoa, Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Hawaii, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Pitcairn, Rapa Nui, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Wallis and Futuna are expected to attend. Organizers also have invited the indigenous peoples of Taiwan to participate.

The state Legislature has allocated $2.4 million for the event, and the Hawaii Tourism Authority will be providing $500,000.

HTA CEO Chris Tatum said, “Our investment in this historic event is to ensure that all who come to FESTPAC Hawaii will experience the beauty of our state and learn about our unique history and what guides our values today.”

Festival preparations underway include daily tracking on COVID-19 (the new coronavirus) and the measles outbreak in the region.

“We’ve been working very closely with the Department of Health in ensuring we have the highest standards for the festival, and we’re working with the State Department and the embassies within the region to ensure that everyone is properly vaccinated and has the clearances when they come in to Hawaii,” English said.

The theme of FESTPAC Hawaii is “E ku i ka hoe uli (take hold of the steering paddle).”

English said the event is vital because “Hawaii is looked upon as the big brother in the Pacific, the older sibling. For many years we have tried to reach out to the Pacific, tried to work with the Pacific in small ways. Well, this is a big way to do it.”