Overview of Events
FANZONE and The REAL New Zealand Festival
The centrepiece of Rugby World Cup 2011 in Christchurch is the Official Fanzone at the Events Village in North Hagley Park. The Fanzone is the perfect place for people to come together and watch the matches, providing an alternative entertainment area to the closed-off CBD.
The Fanzone is made up of ’The MasterCard Ruck’ and ‘Stadium Christchurch’, including big screens, bars, local bands, live performances, food vendors and a stage for entertainment. It will be operating for the duration of the Tournament with all day entertainment and all forty eight matches screened live.
If New Zealand progress beyond the quarter-finals there will be extra entertainment at the Fanzone on the semi-final and Final days.
The MasterCard Ruck and Nostalgia Lounges
The MasterCard Ruck, which is free to visit and open daily from 9am to 6pm, is an inflatable dome that features seven Rugby Nostalgia Lounges. These lounges, designed by CPIT students, present seven decades of New Zealand living and New Zealand Rugby.
Each lounge, from the 1900s-1950s bach to the State of the Art Millenium lounge, show our nation’s evolution in the home and demonstrate its obsession with Rugby. For example, the 1900 to 1950 era has a period radio with a recorded broadcast from the British Lion’s 1953 tour of New Zealand. Each decade after the 1950s features a period television displaying a game of Rugby that encapsulates the nation’s Rugby triumphs and losses of that time. Domestic Rugby will also be featured.
The seven lounges are:
- 1900s-1950s: Kiwi bach
- 1950s: Kitchen
- 1960s: Cocktail Set
- 1970s: Think Big lounge
- 1980s: Crash – student flat
- 1990s: Y2K – Home Office
- 2000s: State of the Art
The MasterCard Ruck will also host interviews with players, officials, referees and organisers from the different eras live on radio. The interviews will take place in the lounge associated with the relevant era of the interviewee, from 12:30pm to 1:15pm, Wednesday through Sunday for the duration of the Tournament.The MasterCard Ruck will also have an i-Site with information on other RWC 2011 activities.
Stadium Christchurch
Stadium Christchurch is a mini Rugby stadium located in the heart of Hagley Park which includes a half sized Rugby field, complete with goal posts and seating for one thousand fans, as well as standing space for four thousand more. It is here fans can watch all forty eight matches live on the two twenty square metre big screens.
Stadium Christchurch will also feature local bands, Junior Rugby Tournament, the New Zealand Army Band and the Outwits production of The Complete History of World Rugby (Abridged).
Junior Rugby Tournament
Organised in conjunction with the Canterbury Rugby Football Union, the Junior Rugby Tournament will comprise of over 60 teams from Christchurch schools and Rugby clubs. Every Saturday and Sunday for the first five weeks of RWC 2011, from 9am to noon, the Fanzone in North Hagley Park will be teeming with children competing for the Junior Rugby title.
The Complete History of World Rugby (abridged)
Penned by The Outwits, Christchurch’s most experienced corporate entertainment group, specifically for Rugby World Cup 2011, The Complete History of World Rugby (abridged) will be performed live in the Fanzone on 17 occasions.
The Outwits will romp through the annals of world Rugby history, tackling its greatest achievements, players, officials, coaches and tragedies in a fast-paced, action-packed presentation. This show has to be seen to be believed as it takes in the history of world Rugby in under ninety minutes.
Lunch time and evening concerts
Featuring local artists and promoting top local talent, the lunch time and evening concerts will provide entertainment throughout the tournament. Well known in the Christchurch and Canterbury region, around forty-five acts will fill the schedule offering music suited to all audiences.
Two major national and international acts will bring the series to an end on the day of the Rugby World Cup 2011 Final.
COKE Rugbyfest at Hagley
Christchurch may have missed out on hosting the big RWC 2011 quarter final match featuring New Zealand being played this Sunday 9 October – but it won’t be missing the party.
COKE Rugbyfest @ Hagley is set to be a huge celebration in North Hagley Park right next to the Fanzone this Sunday from 4pm to late, with Rugby celebrities, high profile entertainers and two giant screens showing live RWC 2011 quarter final action.
Prime Minister John Key is in Christchurch for the event and SKY will be doing live crosses between Eden Park and the Hagley Park Fanzone in the lead up to the New Zealand v Argentina match.
A crowd of 40,000 is expected at the free Rugby themed entertainment spectacular. The 24/7 alcohol ban in North Hagley Park has been enforced by police during the Tournament and will be in place for COKE Rugbyfest @ Hagley.
Patrons are advised to allow plenty of time for travel and parking, and to watch for signs indicating closed roads.
COKE Rugbyfest @ Hagley programme of events:
4pm
MC: Simon Barnett
New Zealand Army Band
All Star Pride Cheer Team
Performance by Ngai Tahu cultural group
5:15pm
ZED reunites for Christchurch
5:50pm
RWC 2011 quarter-final: Australia v South Africa (LIVE on big screens)
Half-time
ZED "Renegade Fighter"
7.30pm
The United Utilities of Christchurch Band
8:15pm
RWC 2011 quarter final: New Zealand v Argentina (LIVE on big screens)
Half-time
The United Utilities of Christchurch Band
10:00pm
COKE Rugbyfest Fireworks Finale
The REAL New Zealand Festival
The Rugby World Cup 2011 experience will come alive with a nationwide celebration of New Zealand arts, food and wine, heritage, culture, entertainment, business and lifestyle.
The festival runs throughout the six weeks of the Tournament to remind us proud Kiwis of where we come from.
The Body Festival of Dance and Physical Theatre
Christchurch's annual dance festival features a programme of dance performance, workshops, masterclasses and film installations, as well as an outdoor cultural spectacle specially for Rugby World Cup 2011.
With leading dance companies from New Zealand and overseas, the Body Festival covers a variety of dance entertainment for locals and visitors to the Canterbury region.
Artists from the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, Southern Opera, The Court Jesters, The Loons Circus Company, The Body Festival of Dance and Physical Theatre, local bands, Tablo (the national theatre company of New Zealand), Jazz School and many more, will entertain and amaze as they appear in tree tops, from the pathways and greenery of the gardens.
Presenting Canterbury
With a strong line up of exhibitors, including She Chocolat, Wines of Canterbury and several local artisans, the Presenting Canterbury festival in North Hagley Park is offering more entertainment to local residents and visitors during the final two weeks of Rugby World Cup 2011.
The Festival is operating from Saturday 8 to Sunday 23 October, 11am to 5pm in the area across from the Fanzone with retail stalls, face painting, a bouncy castle, court jesters, buskers and dance acts.
The free event is a chance for locals to take a second look at the treats on offer just outside their doorstep and for visitors to see there’s still a lot to see, do and taste around Canterbury despite the recent earthquakes.
Entertainment also includes morning puppet shows, celebrity chef cooking demonstrations at midday and 2pm daily and live music acts in the afternoons.
A series of marquees will be grouped around a central stage with a picnic area, where guests can relax and enjoy the products on offer. Entertainment will run throughout, encouraging visitors to make a day of it and it will change daily so locals can return for more.
The two week event will be a key component of the REAL New Zealand Festival; a nationwide celebration of Kiwi arts, food, wine, heritage, culture, entertainment, business and lifestyle.
Science Alive presents the Rugby Challenge
Test your rugby skills in ten full-bodied interactive experiences.
We are open from 10.30am to 6pm, seven days a week from September 9 - October 23. Entry just $5.
For more information check out www.sciencealive.co.nz/rugbychallenge