Rugby World Cup 2011: Spotlight on New Zealand
Rugby World Cup 2011: Spotlight on New Zealand
The next
steps in New Zealand's four-year campaign build-up to
hosting
Rugby World Cup 2011 were announced by Rugby
World Cup Minister Trevor
Mallard, following the
conclusion of the 2007 event in Paris
today.
"Congratulations to the new World Cup champions
South Africa – and
congratulations to France for being
superb hosts. It has been a thrilling
tournament full of
surprises and highs and lows – and France has done
a
fantastic job ensuring it was an event to remember for
thousands of
visiting spectators. This all bodes well for
New Zealand in 2011," Rugby
World Cup Minister Trevor
Mallard said.
"New Zealand will be in the international
spotlight and we very much look
forward to welcoming
international guests in 2011 and showing New Zealand
and
all it has to offer to the world – as a great place to
visit, to work
in, to live in, and to do business
with.
''The tournament will not just be a superb sporting
event but it has
significant economic upsides as well for
communities around the country –
and is estimated to
inject more than $500 million into the economy,
including
an estimated $250 million into Auckland.
"Just as we did
with the America's Cup, the government will be using
this
major event to profile New Zealand to the rest of
the world – our
innovation and technology, our
fantastic scenery, our cities and our
culture.
"With
this in mind, I am pleased to announce that we will be
launching a
Rugby World Cup 2011 leveraging and legacy
project in the next couple of
months – aimed at
ensuring that this tournament delivers lasting
and
tangible economic, environmental and social benefits
to New Zealand.
"This new legacy project will be
championed by a soon-to-be-appointed high
profile
business person – as we want business to get involved,
engaged and
thinking seriously about the benefits they
can secure out of this very
major event. This tournament
presents an opportunity that New Zealand has
never seen
before.
"A Rugby World Cup government liaison office will
also open in the near
future, to work with Rugby New
Zealand (RNZ) 2011 Ltd, the tournament
organiser, and to
be the single point of contact for the
government
leveraging and legacy and other cross
government planning," Trevor Mallard
said.
"RNZ 2011
and the government will engage with communities, local
government
and
business groups in order to maximise
the benefits to be gained from
hosting the Rugby World
Cup and also to help ensure that New Zealand
hosts
a
tournament that we can all be proud of.
"I
would encourage people to get involved in the activities
that will be
happening in their communities. As with
other Rugby World Cup tournaments,
we expect that teams
will be hosted in towns and regions throughout
the
country - providing opportunities for all New
Zealanders to really be a
part of this tournament – and
maybe even adopt a team. This is on top of
the obvious
economic spinoffs that the Rugby World Cup will
provide."
Trevor Mallard said work had begun profiling RWC
2011 to rugby supporters
at RWC 2007 – using a "NZ Inc"
approach at the Rugby Ball Venue in front of
the Eiffel
Tower. More than 20,000 people have watched the audio
visual
presentation inside New Zealand's rugby ball, many
thousands more being
exposed to the brand outside the
ball and the message has also gone out to
more than 4000
media
outlets.
ends