Hamilton’s debut in World Rugby’s Rugby HSBC World Sevens Series kicks off this Friday evening with a special central city launch event.
FMG Stadium Waikato will host the New Zealand leg of the series for the first time this weekend, 3 and 4 February. The event was secured for the city through a partnership involving events company 37 South, New Zealand Rugby, and Hamilton City Council.
Friday evening’s launch event will be held in Garden Place from 5pm to 7pm, and will feature music and entertainment, TV personalities, food trucks and a competition for free tickets to the Sevens.
“We wanted to mark the start of the Sevens weekend with a free launch event,” says Sean Murray, the Council’s General Manager of Major Events and Venues.
“It’s important to us to give the teams, officials and supporters a warm welcome to Hamilton and we’ll do that in Garden Place tomorrow night. As a city we’re really embracing this event and we’re rapt Hamilton is the only place in New Zealand where rugby fans can cheer on the All Black Sevens team in person.
The HSBC New Zealand Sevens will be a cashless event, with patrons using special wristbands to purchase items at the stadium. The launch event will provide ticketed patrons with a chance to collect and load credit to their wristbands before they head to the stadium to catch the action.
Among the activities at the launch event is a dunk tank, with local celebrities – including three Hamilton councillors and The Breeze Waikato breakfast radio hosts Stu Smith and Camille Guzzwell – set to get wet when participants hit the target. People can try their luck hitting the dunk tank target by making a gold coin donation which will be passed on to the Mental Health Foundation, the tournament’s official charity.
Veteran radio host and tune-spinner DJ Sirvere will provide the soundtrack to the event, which will also feature appearances by international Sevens teams’ captains. TV personality James McOnie will act as the MC.
Food trucks from Gourmet in the Gardens event will also be on-site for Friday’s launch event.
For more on the Hamilton Sevens, visit sevens.co.nz or hamiltonhostcity.co.nz