AUCKLAND – Four thousand rugby-mad fans from 150 teams around the world have so far signed up for the Air New Zealand Golden Oldies World Rugby Festival in Sydney next year.
Air New Zealand’s general manager direct sales, Leeanne Langridge, says the volume of bookings and interest has been outstanding.
“This is the most number of participants we’ve ever had and we’re still a year out from the event.”
More than 6,000 players and supporters are expected once bookings close on July 30, 2010.
Teams from 11 countries around the world have signed up to participate, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Cook Islands, England, France, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Scotland and USA.
The Festival will run from September 26 to October 3 and utilise more than 30 playing fields at Sydney’s Centennial Parklands over the three days of competition.
The last rugby festival was held in Edinburgh in 2008 and was enjoyed by more than 3200 participants. It injected nearly UKP6.5 million into the Scottish economy.
The Golden Oldies World Rugby Festivals have been held biennially in Auckland (2), Long Beach, Sydney, London, Toronto, Perth, Dublin, Christchurch, Vancouver, Cape Town, Adelaide, Toulouse, Brisbane, San Diego, Wellington and Edinburgh.
