Friday 24 June 2011

Christchurch Events Village starts to take shape

Work begins today on preparing part of North Hagley Park to host a temporary events village.

The work will include laying a temporary foundation, which will allow a large inflatable dome to be erected. A sand and gravel base will be covered with wood, which will then be used as the CCC Dome floor.

Three large containers, which will become the entrances to the dome, have already been craned on to the site. After the foundation and floor is completed, the exterior of the dome will be lifted on and inflated. In the next few weeks, temporary paths will also be laid and the area fenced off.

The dome will be first part of the Christchurch Events Village to be set up and will be used for the first time to host Laughs in the Park – a night of comedy – from 8-9 July. TV2 KidsFest will be the first major Council event to be held in the dome, from 16-30 July.

In September and October, the dome will be transformed into the Mastercard Ruck, which will be part of a Rugby World Cup 2011 ‘Fanzone’, where rugby fans will be able to watch matches live on big screens.

Christchurch City Council Marketing Manager Richard Stokes says there will be a number of different venues on the site at any given time which can be used to host events. Another structure called the Pacific Crystal Palace will be erected for the Christchurch Arts Festival in August and a ‘geodesic’ dome will be used alongside the inflatable dome later this year for events such as New Zealand Cup and Show Week.

Mayor Bob Parker says the events village will provide the city with some desperately- needed events and performance venues.

“Many of the facilities that have traditionally hosted events in the city were unfortunately severely damaged in the February earthquake so we’re excited to be able to provide these venues in a very accessible, central city location. This village will allow Christchurch people to still enjoy many of the events that have been such an important part of our city for so long. It will also ensure our city can still join in the fun of the much-anticipated 2011 Rugby World Cup.”

The Council has decided to set up the events village, with the support of Government.

New Zealand Major Events Manager Kylie Archer says Government was particularly interested in supporting the events village because many venues were severely damaged in the February earthquake. "These venues are much needed to support the city's events sector right now," she says. "They are going to be well utilised and provide Christchurch communities with things to do over the next year that wouldn't otherwise be possible."

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