Aucklander's Keen to Show Waterfront to the World
Aucklanders want our waterfront to be the centrepiece of the city's Rugby World Cup 2011 celebrations, a survey of nearly 800 residents shows.The survey asking Aucklanders how they wanted to celebrate this once in a lifetime event showed strong support for live screenings of matches (81%) and cultural events (62%) with the location of choice being the city's waterfront.
Nearly half the respondents (42%) said the CBD/waterfront was their preferred location for RWC 2011 events, while just over a third of people would like to see celebrations in a major park in their area.
Another popular activity was supporting visiting teams and meeting the players. The outcomes of the survey show strong support for fan zones where matches are screened live in a festival setting, and the adopt-a-second-team initiative encouraging Kiwis to get in behind teams as well as the All Blacks.
Fan zones, adopt-a-second-team programmes and incorporating existing cultural events eg Diwali, into the RWC 2011 celebrations will all form part of Auckland's extensive festival programme.
Barnett says there are numerous opportunities for Aucklanders to be part of this world-class event. As well as engaging with the community, Auckland has an extensive RWC 2011 business engagement programme.
One of the key parts of the programme, a business speaker series, kicks off next week with RWC-winning captain David Kirk as the guest speaker. The series, aimed at informing businesses of the opportunities RWC 2011 presents, involves six events that run through until the end of September. For more information on the series click here...
There will also be a RWC 2011 presence at the Bizzone expo from 2-4 June at the ASB Showgrounds which will reach small to medium-sized businesses.
For more information on Auckland's preparations for RWC 2011 click here...
