500 Days And Counting...

Tomorrow, Tuesday, 27 April, marks 500 days until the beginning of Rugby World Cup 2011, and planning is well underway.
Dunedin is familiar with the requirements of staging national and international events. Rugby World Cup 2011, however, sets a new standard and the Dunedin City Council, under direction from Rugby World Cup 2011 and NZ 2011, is well down the track in the nuts and bolts preparation for this tournament, working closely with the Otago Rugby Football Union, Tourism Dunedin and Otago Stadium.
The group has formed 13 steering groups to ensure nothing slips between the cracks. DCC Marketing and Communications Manager, Debra Simes, says, “From city beautification to traffic management, from training grounds to team hosting, the DCC, through these steering groups, will plan so that Dunedin is fully prepared and makes the most of the huge opportunities that the world’s third largest sporting tournament presents.”
The events calendar is beginning to fill up, with planning for the proposed Fan Zone in the Octagon and an eclectic range of Dunedin-wide events in the pipeline, from Port Chalmers, where locals are investigating a seafood festival, to sports event in Middlemarch where supporters can be the players and ‘represent their country’ for fun rather than the glory. The Celtic Arts Festival, the Last Night of the Proms and other regular Dunedin events in October are ramping up their preparation and calendars to ensure the city has events to suit everyone.
The Otago Stadium construction schedule is progressing to plan and David Davies, CEO, Dunedin Venues Management Limited, says, “Rapid progress has been made on the construction of the Otago Stadium, and we are on track for completion in August 2011, well on schedule for the Rugby World Cup 2011. The finished product will be a world class venue that the region can be proud of and an important catalyst for the city’s future development.”
Workshops are already taking place for community and business groups to learn about how they can get involved, whether in the volunteer, hospitality, business or entertainment sectors. CEO of Rugby New Zealand 2011, Martin Sneddon, will be speaking at a lunch hosted by the DCC, Otago Rugby Football Union and Chamber of Commerce to encourage and inform the business community to embrace the opportunity presented by Rugby World Cup 2011.