Get in the Zone for Rugby World Cup 2011 in Taupō

Taupō District Council invites Rugby fans to come together at the two official Rugby World Cup 2011 Fanzones in Taupō. Each venue will be showing RWC 2011 matches live with special themed nights at the Great Lake Centre hosted by King Country Rugby and our ex-pat communities which include activities, competitions and awesome prizes.

Taupō district will have two official RWC 2011 Fanzones, a family friendly indoor venue at the Great Lake Centre showing some of the pool matches and quarter-finals, and a licensed outdoor venue on Tuwharetoa Street for both semi-finals and the Final.

The family friendly Fanzone at the Great Lake Centre will show 10 matches in total, including key pool matches and all four of the quarter-finals. The matches will be projected onto the 5x3m screen in the main hall and all are invited to come along and make the most of these community events. Each event will have fantastic prizes available, including signed Rugby balls and jerseys. These Fanzones are alcohol free in the main hall, although the Great Lake Centre bar will be open and alcohol can be consumed in the foyer only.

“The Fanzones are about bringing people together,” says Deputy Mayor Mike Downard, Chairman of the RWC 2011 Host Coordinating Committee. “Big matches like this have an awesome live atmosphere, so we are trying to recreate that for those of us that can’t make it to the stadiums. They will be a lot of fun and the more people that attend the better the atmosphere. I’ll be going to as many as I can.”

The first Fanzone will be the opening match between New Zealand and Tonga on 9 September and will be hosted by the King Country Rugby Union from 6.30pm. The union has organised games and Rugby drills for the kids to get into the Rugby spirit, as well as some extra prizes and giveaways.

To recognise their teams being hosted in Taupō, the South African, Welsh and Irish ex-pat communities have each been invited to host their own Fanzone at the Great Lake Centre. South African ex-pat Tania Lord is rallying the other South Africans in the district to attend a “bring ‘n braai” on Sunday 11 September from 6.30pm for the South Africa v Wales match (live from Wellington at 8.30pm). “We’re really looking forward to it, its going to be a great night, with South African music and food. It will be great just to get together and support our team.”

Irish ex-pat Aine O'Donovan is organising an Irish themed night for the Ireland v Australia match on 17 September, with Irish soda bread, music and games from 6.30pm.

Cr Downard says these ‘themed’ nights are not just for ex-pats. “The ex-pat hosted Fanzones will be lots of fun and a good opportunity to learn about other cultures. It’s also a really great idea to adopt a second team for the Tournament.”

For the semi-finals on 15 and 16 October, and the Final on 23 October, Tuwharetoa Street in Taupō’s CBD will be partially closed off, with the matches showing live on two big screens. The venue will be licensed until 11.00pm for the semi’s and until 1.00am for the Final.

For Finals night, an afternoon of activities and entertainment has been planned from 2.00pm, including the Quintessential NZ Concert featuring New Zealand music scene heavy-weights KORA. District Events Manager Nick Reader says funding obtained from the Lotteries Commission has helped Taupō to secure the act. “KORA has a huge following in the international ‘dub’ scene, and are currently at the top of their game. We are privileged to have such an awesome Kiwi band playing for us before the big Final.”

All of the Fanzone dates and times are listed on the website, www.taupo2011.com, and are also on the Taupō 2011 Calendar, which can be downloaded from the website.