DISCUSSION | Rugby World Cup 2011

[IHaveNoLegs]

Yeah when I was up in Auckland the waka didn't strike me as anything overly impressive.

[viinniie]

are u a kiwi ?

[HavanaClub]

Originally Posted by viinniie

are u a kiwi ?

I'm with dogmeat. I thought that Auckland World Cup went really well and that all the things that were the subject of negativity before the event really shone through and showed their doubters wrong - except the tupperwaka.

I don't care about the expense of the thing (I guess $2m doesn't buy much plastic these days) but the thing itself was very much a disappointment in my opinion. I was there the day before it opened, and I went into it soon after. My "experience" was of a long queue to get in, some disappointing poster boards, an amateur Thai dance act (mildly entertaining, like the street performer outside, but not entertaining enough to stick around), and then a long queue to get out. The structure itself felt like any other marquee and was starting to look drab on Day 2; I had no sense of anything Maori about the place. There was a distinct sense that people were queueing because everyone else was queueing, not because they had a reason to be there. I thought it churlish that the night before it opened the Maori leaders in charge refused to let TV1 News film in it, or be interviewed. That says a lot about lack of respect and goodwill to the community I thought, despite whatever the perceived prejudices were. Overall I thought it was a pointless waste of time, but in the context of the whole world cup it didn't matter one iota. Some things come off, some things don't.

[viinniie]

hater lmao. get over it. its for tourists not you. u dont like it then go somewhere else mate

[cambennett]

Originally Posted by IHaveNoLegs

Yeah when I was up in Auckland the waka didn't strike me as anything overly impressive.

Agree it was just a cheap looking tent. Certainly did not look worth the money spent on it. People went through it because they couldn't help but do that it was between the viaduct and wynyard quarter thousands of people were walking between the two. What was inside was not particularly impressive either.

[buildemhigh]

Originally Posted by viinniie

hater lmao. get over it. its for tourists not you. u dont like it then go somewhere else mate

seriously viinniie whats happened.. of late the level of maturity in your posts has declined rapidly..

Having seen the waka I must say it was fairly average.. and the "tourist" i took through it thought the same.. the contents could have been housed anywhere frankly, and they tried to recapture the essence of the ball that travelled the globe.. white elephant tbh.. also am i right in saying that the running cost was $100k a day?

[KLK]

Originally Posted by buildemhigh

seriously viinniie whats happened.. of late the level of maturity in your posts has declined rapidly..

Having seen the waka I must say it was fairly average.. and the "tourist" i took through it thought the same.. the contents could have been housed anywhere frankly, and they tried to recapture the essence of the ball that travelled the globe.. white elephant tbh.. also am i right in saying that the running cost was $100k a day?

Agreed.

The location was my biggest issue. All the glitz and glamour of the swanky Viaduct bars and restaurants, apartments, flash yachts and new Wynyard structures, and there it was - a glorified tent. It blocked views in both directions and just made the area looked cluttered.

It would have looked perfectly fine in the middle of a park, but not there.

[Easty]

Originally Posted by KLK

Agreed.

The location was my biggest issue. All the glitz and glamour of the swanky Viaduct bars and restaurants, apartments, flash yachts and new Wynyard structures, and there it was - a glorified tent. It blocked views in both directions and just made the area looked cluttered.

It would have looked perfectly fine in the middle of a park, but not there.

Have to agree
Thought it was going to be a bit more for the location
However was not overtly concerned..nor were those with me
It would be good for events albeit of lesser importance maybe

Suggest some want to M Bash for the sake of it

[Nicco]

I miss the RWC

[Mr_kiwi_fruit]

What a great vibe! - can you spot Syd and I in the video?

[Nicco]

yeah nice boobs Sydney

[SYDNEY]

Originally Posted by Nicco

yeah nice boobs Sydney

That video is great and thanks for the compliment regarding my tits, I haven't had any complaints

[Sister Ray]

Looks like it was quite a party.

I didn't recognize either KF or Sydney but I did spot my father banging his drum outside 21 Queen St...

[mathlete]

Boobs? Where?

[Mr_kiwi_fruit]

Rugby World Cup visitor numbers put at 133,000
NZ HERALD 5:30 AM Wednesday Nov 23, 2011

The surge of Rugby World Cup visitors outstripped expectations - but the benefits could be mixed as a hangover of weaker tourism lingers through summer. Statistics NZ reported yesterday that 133,000 had ticked a box on their arrival cards to say they were here for the cup, exceeding pre-tournament forecasts of 95,000 World Cup visitors by 40 per cent. But the tally is not simply extra visitors. The actual increase in arrivals compared to last year is less than 80,000 - suggesting 55,000 fewer non-World Cup arrivals than last year, though this does not take into account any World Cup visitors who may have come anyway.

New Zealand Institute of Economic Research principal economist Shamubeel Eaqub said the benefits of the influx were "negligible". Visitor arrivals had been flat in the lead-up to the World Cup, and they could stagnate again during the crucial summer months. "What tends to happen around a big event is people who were going to come to New Zealand anyway [move their trip to] come during the event," he said. "The risk is that as summer unfolds, we won't see as many people from places like South Africa, England and Australia." The benefits were confined to pockets, and businesses outside them lost out. The main winner was, surprisingly, supermarkets - probably because people stayed in to watch games, Mr Eaqub said.

Tourism NZ chief executive Kevin Bowler said a key success of the cup was the good publicity from visiting journalists. "We had a very large programme of targeting media to experience New Zealand beyond the rugby field ... There's nothing more powerful than an independent opinion." The tournament made $269 million in ticket sales, $188 million of it from Kiwis. The $81 million worth bought by overseas visitors covered just over half of the International Rugby Board's hosting fee of $150 million. Tournament organisers expected to be left with a deficit of $39 million. About $1.2 billion in investments went into projects that contributed to the country's hosting of the World Cup, including $555 million in stadium upgrades and more than $200 million in local government expenses. About half of the total was directly funded by taxpayers and ratepayers.