Fan Zone, Festival Area for Christchurch
The plan to turn part of Hagley Park into a giant Fan Zone and Festival Area for Rugby World Cup 2011 is being welcomed by Canterbury’s tourism industry. People will be able to watch Rugby World Cup matches live on giant screens and spend time remembering past rugby heroics in the inflatable dome which is the World Ruck venue. The dome will be divided into nostalgia zones which capture Christchurch’s rich rugby history.
There will also be an i-SITE Visitor Centre in the zone where visitors can get all the information they need to make the most of stay in Canterbury and the South Island. Stages will be set up in the fan zone and festival area for live concerts and there will be market stalls where people will be able to buy food and other mementos of their visit to Christchurch.
A festival of dance and physical theatre, BodyFest, will be staged in the city at the same time as the Rugby World Cup, along with REAL Canterbury Market Days and the Southern Opera Gala Concert.
Says Christchurch & Canterbury Tourism chief executive Tim Hunter, “We’re really hoping that fans coming over to New Zealand for Rugby World Cup will still keep Canterbury on their itineraries because no other region has such a rich rugby heritage and there is no where they will receive a warmer welcome than here. ”We’re absolutely determined to put on a
great show during the six weeks of the Rugby World Cup and to show the rest of the world that despite the setbacks we’ve faced Christchurch still knows how to party.”
