Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Perth will become home to the third-largest sporting event in the world next year.
The city is expected to host up to six of the world’s top 10-ranked teams, including New Zealand, Ireland, Australia and South Africa, for the Men’s Rugby World Cup.
The World Cup will be held from October 1 to November 13 2027.
Perth will host the opening match and, as part of celebrations, a festival with a stage and screen, food and beverages, music and entertainment will be held for at least 19 days at the Supreme Court Gardens.
It is also proposed to create “Union Houses” — dedicated fan hubs for visiting nations at local venues which would be alongside fan zones, hospitality experiences and other activities designed to increase visitor spending and time spent in the CBD.
Tourism WA major events director Hannah Rowlands told a City of Perth briefing last month the cup was one of the largest sporting events on the planet, behind only the summer Olympics and the men’s FIFA World Cup.
“Hosting a total of seven premium matches for the men’s Rugby World Cup is set to be one of the most significant events this State has ever hosted, and probably will, for a long time to come,” she said.
“This tournament forecasts 250,000 international visitors and $1.3 billion in direct visitor expenditure.”
Ms Rowlands said there was already great interest in the tournament.
“In the first ticketing phase release 18 months out from the tournament, nearly 50 per cent of the tickets sold for Perth matches were from international purchases,” she said.
“The super fan pass, which guarantees ticket holders a seat to their selected matches, sold out in under one hour. The Perth match content announcement in January this year alone generated 371 million unique impressions.”
The City of Perth council agreed at its August 25 meeting to give Tourism WA almost $1 million to support its plans for a rugby festival.
In a statement after the meeting, Lord Mayor Bruce Reynolds said it was a chance to showcase Perth on the world stage and bring benefits to local businesses.
“Working closely with Tourism WA, we can create an experience that goes beyond the stadium and brings fans into the city to eat, shop, explore and enjoy everything Perth has to offer,” he said.
“This is exactly the kind of major event that supports our vision for Perth to be the events heart of WA, while creating valuable opportunities for local businesses and driving activity across our city centre.”
