The Giant Rugby Ball

Last Updated on: 2 September 2010

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New Zealand's Giant Rugby Ball Venue

Since launching in Paris during the 2007 Rugby World Cup, New Zealand's giant Rugby Ball venue has hosted more than 40,000 visitors including royalty, dignitaries, sports stars and celebrities. The audio-visual experience showcases New Zealand, our culture, lifestyle and attractions.

The giant Rugby Ball last appeared in Tokyo in October/November 2009, where it was exposed to millions of people through media coverage.

The giant inflatable Rugby Ball is a unique venue that has already gained huge exposure for New Zealand as the host of Rugby World Cup 2011. Since 2007, the Ball has appeared in Paris, London and Tokyo, exposing New Zealand to an estimated media audience of 300 million people around the world.

New Zealand's Giant Rugby Ball is a New Zealand Government project led by Tourism New Zealand designed to maximise the benefits to New Zealand of hosting the Rugby World Cup in 2011. Appearing in some of our key visitor markets, it is part of Tourism New Zealand's strategy to raise awareness of New Zealand as the event's host country and encourage visitors here in 2011.

By day, the Ball is open to the public, giving visitors a stunning audio-visual experience of New Zealand, our heritage, landscapes, culture and tourism offerings. As queues of visitors line up outside, New Zealand entertainers and cultural performers entertain waiting crowds with Māori songs and dance.

By night, the venue becomes a hub for New Zealand-hosted trade and industry events, showcasing the best of New Zealand food, wine and hospitality.

While managed by Tourism New Zealand, the Rugby Ball Venue is a joint project with New Zealand Trade & Enterprise, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Trade and the New Zealand 2011 Office.

So far, the Ball has appeared in Paris, France (2007); London, England (2008); and Tokyo, Japan (2009).

Sydney - September 2010

Download image of the Ball in Sydney

The Giant Rugby Ball will make its fourth and final international appearance at Sydney's Circular Quay between 2 and 12 September. The Ball will be placed alongside the Overseas Passenger Terminal, with views of the iconic Sydney Opera House.

This appearance in Australia - New Zealand's largest tourism market - is timed for the beginning of the one year to go countdown to Rugby World Cup on 9 September, and the Bledisloe Cup match to be played in Sydney on 11 September.

  • The Ball will be open to the public from 3 September to 12 September 2010. It will be officially opened on 2 September
  • Entertainment and cultural activities outside the Ball during the day will be managed by New Zealand 2011
  • Tours will be run every half hour from 11.00am each day the Ball is open. It is free to the public
  • In the evenings, the Ball will provide a unique setting for a number of planned corporate and sector showcase events
  • Up to 18,000 people are expected to visit the interior of the Rugby Ball venue while it is in Sydney. The daily shows will promote New Zealand as a place to live, work and do business

Read more about the Giant Rugby Ball's visit to Sydney

The facts

  • The Ball itself is a temporary inflatable venue that measures 25 metres long, 17 metres wide (at its widest point) and 13 metres high. It can hold up to 220 people
  • A key feature of the Ball is a 10-minute audiovisual show that transforms the interior of the Ball into a variety of New Zealand environments from the depths of the ocean, beaches, volcanoes and bush walks, to the sidelines rugby games
  • The venue takes five days to construct
  • The air system works by two air pumps expelling 8,000 litres per second. A revolving door allows the movement of people in and out of the Ball while maintaining the interior air pressure
  • The Ball can house an estimated 600,000 conventional rugby balls
  • 1500 sq metres of PVC blockout fabric is used in the Ball
  • The Ball was created by New Zealand's Inside Out Productions, which was also responsible for the three-storey Louis Vuitton suitcase that toured the world for Louis Vuitton's 150th anniversary celebrations
  • It was designed and built by New Zealand's Fabric Structure Systems, global specialists in inflatable and temporary structures
  • In October 2008 the Ball was awarded a Gold Award in the Design Institute of New Zealand's BeST Design Awards

Highlights so far

The Eiffel Tower, Paris, France - October 2007

New Zealand 's innovation and creativity were on display during the final stages of the Rugby World Cup 2007 when the giant Rugby Ball was installed in front of the Eiffel Tower in central Paris. During the 15 days the Ball was open, an estimated world-wide audience of 137 million readers, listeners and viewers were exposed to media coverage of the Ball; 24,000 people passed through the interior of the Ball.

 

The audiovisual experience really transports you to the heart of New Zealand and in 10 minutes I had discovered a country that I could never before have imagined."

Julia Fouquet, L'Equipe

Potters Field, London, UK - November 2008

Timed to coincide with the All Blacks tour in the UK in November 2008, the Ball hosted the Queen, Prince Phillip, Mayor of London Boris Johnson and New Zealand's newly-elected Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism John Key. 7,500 people visited the Ball while it was installed alongside London's iconic Tower Bridge.

The Ball was the venue for numerous events including the International Rugby Board's Rugby World Cup 2011 pool draw. Media coverage reached an estimated 200 million people around the world.

The Tokyo Tower, Tokyo, Japan, October 2009

An average of 2,000 people per day visited the Ball while it was in downtown Tokyo, with crowds queuing around the block on each of the six days. It also created a sensation in the Japanese media with coverage on television, radio, in print and online reaching millions of people.

The event caused an increase in visitor numbers to Tourism New Zealand's Japanese website. Visits went from an average of 1,500 visits per day to a peak of almost 8,000 visits on Sunday 1 November, the day following the Bledisloe Cup match played in Tokyo.

Maori welcome Rugby Ball in London