Fanzone locations for Rugby World Cup announced
Thursday 26 March 2015 13:27, UK
England Rugby 2015 has announced the 15 locations for the official Rugby World Cup fanzones.
The fanzones will be located within each host city as well as the birthplace of the game in Rugby and in London’s Trafalgar Square.
They will be free to enter and will be open on matchdays and at varying times across the six-week tournament, providing fans, residents and visitors with the opportunity to enjoy the build-up to matches and join in with the nationwide celebration of rugby.
The fanzone locations range from iconic town squares to city parks, match venue surroundings, and waterside spaces including the Docks in Gloucester and a fanzone on the beach in Brighton.
With capacities ranging from 2,000 to over 10,000, and additional events planned in the fanzones outside of matchdays, over one million fans are expected to attend them throughout the tournament.
Each fanzone will include a big screen; with some showing live matches, rugby activities, food and drink, entertainment and unique regional content to celebrate the host city and match venue’s role in Rugby World Cup 2015.
Trafalgar Square will be open from the weekend of the semi-finals until the final and include entertainment, food and drink, and rugby activities on the semi-final, bronze final and final matchdays, although there will be no live-screened matches.
A Rugby World Cup trophy tour has also been announced for the UK and Ireland, beginning on June 10.
The 100-day continuous tour of the Webb Ellis Cup will visit Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Wales and England and arrive at Twickenham on September 18 ahead of the opening ceremony prior to the first game, between hosts England and Fiji.
World Rugby chairman Bernard Lapasset said: "Rugby World Cup 2015 is a tournament that will have the fans and teams at heart and we are excited about the unprecedented opportunity that the Trophy Tour and Fanzones will provide for fans to really engage with the tournament no matter where they are.
"With six months to go until England 2015 kicks off, World Rugby is confident of a very special and record-breaking celebration of rugby that will inspire new fans and participants around the world."
