George Tupou V July 2008, a "Taumafa Kava" (Royal Kava Ring ceremony) was held on Malaʻe Pangai, the open space to the east of the Royal Palace. During the ceremony, Tupou V sat on a pile of handwoven "pandanus" mats in an open pavilion facing the sea, while more than 200 Tongan nobles and chiefs dressed in woven skirts and sea shells circled him. He wore the traditional Tongan "ta'ovala" (woven mat skirt) and a garland of flowers. During this ceremony, Tupou V was formally recognised as the "Tuʻi Kanokupolu", and the rightful descendent of King George Tupou I, who united Tonga in
George Tupou V the 19th century. The ceremony involved having "kava", hundreds of baskets of food, and seventy cooked pigs presented to the King and the assembly of chiefs and nobles, Later that night, schoolchildren held 30,000 torches to proclaim the coronation in what is known as a "tupakapakanava". The traditional torch spectacle was held that time at a spot overlooking the Pacific and is an ancient honour reserved solely for the Tongan sovereign and Royal Family. A second, European-style coronation ceremony took place on 1 August 2008 in the Centennial Chapel, Nuku’alofa. Anglican Archbishop of Polynesia Jabez Bryce invested George Tupou V