CEO Column: Welcome to New Zealand

RNZ 2011 CEO Martin Snedden takes a look at the final preparations and extends a warm welcome to all visiting fans...

It’s hard to believe that we are now only a few short days away from RWC 2011 kicking off.
To be honest, for all of us who have been working on this project for so long, we now can’t wait for the event to start. We are ready to roll!

And what a start it will be when, on September 9, the celebrations begin early evening down on Auckland’s spectacular harbour waterfront then move into Eden Park, first for what we are certain will be a brilliant Opening Ceremony at 7.30pm (NZT), to be immediately followed by the start of the Rugby action with New Zealand playing Pacific neighbour Tonga in the Tournament’s opening match.

The first of the teams are just beginning to arrive and start settling into their first host communities. There are also plenty of travelling international supporters who will be here for that first weekend of play. There are eight matches that first weekend with venues spread all over New Zealand.

At our end, Kiwis are gearing ourselves up to give our travelling guest teams and fans the warmest possible welcome to our shores. Whilst we will be giving our New Zealand team huge support for their on-field endeavours, we know that some of the best times we will have during September and October will come off the field as we get to know our guests.
Indeed Kiwis everywhere are responding warmly to our “adopt a second team” initiative so I’ve no doubt that each of our 19 visiting teams will gather in strong Kiwi supporter bases, a feature of which will be fans at every game dressing up in the colours of their adopted team to show their support.

And the colour of the Tournament won’t just be apparent in stadia on match days but also throughout the many towns and cities all over the country that are now ready to play their part in the REAL New Zealand Festival. This festival, with over 800 events, will rage up and down the country for the full 45 days of the Tournament. We want our guests to have a truly authentic experience of our country and our people.

So, from all of us at RNZ 2011 - haere mai! We offer the warmest of Kiwi welcomes to New Zealand to all teams and fans. We hope you have an amazing time with us.

Lets the games begin!