NZ2011 nationwide festival

In 2011, New Zealand will welcome the world! During Rugby World Cup 2011, New Zealand will showcase the best our country has to offer, with a nationwide festival. For the first time in New Zealand’s history, one festival will be held right around the country for six weeks. The goal: to create an unforgettable visitor experience that excites, engages and entertains both New Zealanders and international visitors.

What is the nationwide festival?

The NZ2011 festival will:

• run alongside the Rugby World Cup Tournament from September 9 to October 24, 2011, giving visitors and New Zealanders irresistible reasons to take the long way round, as they travel from match to match
• be a series of regional festivals, events and visitor experiences coordinated and developed at a national level by the New Zealand 2011 Office
• be a nationwide showcase of New Zealand cultures, people, stories, landscapes and industries – 100% New Zealand content
• engage all of New Zealand as a nation of four million hosts and showcase the best of each region and the best of New Zealand, in a comprehensive programme of events, attractions and experiences that bring to life what’s important to New Zealanders, and what we love most about our part of the world.

Festival Director, Briony Ellis, says it will be the biggest festival ever staged in New Zealand, with every part of the country invited to take the opportunity to showcase its uniqueness and distinctiveness, as well as its own regional flavours and attractions. She says the festival will connect all of New Zealand, stretching well beyond the 23 centres hosting RWC 2011 games and teams. Every part of New Zealand is committed to creating and showing off the best elements of their region.

The nationwide festival will be communicated to visitors and New Zealanders in phases that time with the ticket sales and marketing for Rugby World Cup 2011. The key communication tool for the festival is the NZ2011 website [link to: http://www.nz2011.govt.nz/cms/festival-2011]. There’ll be an official launch of the festival on 9 September 2010, a year out from the start of the Tournament. The name of the festival will be announced at that time too.

What is the opportunity?

There will be an estimated 85,000 international visits to New Zealand during the 45 days of Rugby World Cup 2011, and a host of New Zealanders travelling around the country over that time as well. They’ll be looking for a diverse range of authentic Kiwi experiences – some they expect, others that they will seek out when they are on the road. So it’s a great opportunity for artists and arts organisations to tell New Zealand stories, to connect with those visitors, provide an excellent visitor experience for them and create fantastic word of mouth about our rich cultural life.

More than 2,500 international media will also be in New Zealand during the Tournament and they will be looking for a whole range of engaging stories about New Zealand and what we have to offer international visitors.

How can I be involved?

You can be part of your region’s celebrations, by contacting your local Rugby World Cup 2011 coordinators. [Link to pdf NZ2011 Regional Festival Coordinators]

If you need an alternative avenue to getting involved, you can contact the NZ2011 office. [Link to pdf: NZ2011 Festival contacts]

If you are looking for funding, check out the Cultural Funding Guide. [Link to: http://www.mch.govt.nz/funding-guide/]