If you’re not at Eden Park on Saturday, good luck finding somewhere to watch the final alongside other fans. David Skipwith reports.

This story was first published on Stuff.

There are no fan zones in place throughout the country for the Rugby World Cup final, despite there being a raft of such spaces for the 2011 men’s World Cup.

In 2011, when France played New Zealand in the final, fans gathered in their thousands at four fan zones in Auckland – at The Cloud in central Auckland, which attracted more than a million visitors over the course of the cup, as well as in Albany, Henderson and Manukau.

For the night of the men’s final, New Zealand musician Gin Wigmore headlined a free concert in front of an estimated crowd of 12,000 on Queens Wharf, which also featured performances by Avalanche City, Cut Off Your Hands and The Checks and Kids of 88.

An earlier concert was also staged ahead of the bronze final match, featuring rock bands Shihad and The Datsuns, while a total of more than 99 bands and musicians played shows over the course of the tournament, making it the biggest line-up of New Zealand musicians ever seen in this country.

This year, despite a crowd of more than 40,000 expected to watch the Black Ferns take on England in the tournament final at Eden Park on Saturday, those sites are standing empty.

There are also no plans to recreate the fan trail that linked Auckland’s waterfront to Eden Park for matches at the 2011 men’s World Cup.

In 2011, more than 120,000 people walked the fan trail route throughout the tournament, taking in a range of entertainment that included musical performances, and more than 30 acts from Kermit the Frog to a local Auckland Harley-Davidson Club.

When asked for a rundown of activities taking place in the lead-up to the final this week, World Cup organisers said there would be prize giveaways at the tournament Fan Store at Te Komititanga Plaza in Downtown Auckland on Friday, where a World Cup Player of the Match trophy is also on display.

Schools throughout the country were also chipping in, a spokesperson said, with children making hundreds of poi to give away to fans at Eden Park on Saturday.

There would also be a meet and greet between children from Ko Taku Reo school for the deaf and hard of hearing, with players from the French team at Eden Park on Wednesday.

However, the onus had been put back on fans to make their own fun on game day, with World Cup organisers asking rugby clubs and provincial unions to host viewing parties.

“We are calling on fans throughout the country to host watch parties in their homes, local rugby clubs and neighbourhood pubs, bars and restaurants,” a spokesperson said.

Both Wellington City Council and Christchurch City Council confirmed that at this stage there were no events planned to take place in the lead-up to Saturday.

Part of the reason for the absence of events around the country was the fact that the successful bid in 2018 to host the first women’s Rugby World Cup in New Zealand didn’t include hosting matches south of Auckland – a decision that was also the most cost-effective.

“The main reason there were no events organised for the women’s RWC is because there were no matches in Wellington, there was no obvious demand from fans – and because the matches are being shown free-to-air – especially the final,” Wellington City Council spokesperson Richard MacLean said.

MacLean said fan zones set up for previous events had been jointly organised by local councils and the international sports organisations. The council generally only set up fan zones when tournament matches had been held in Wellington, he said.

According to a Rugby World Cup policy document, New Zealand put forward an “exceptional” bid to host the cup that “reflected the desire to evolve the tournament and the women’s game”.

“The bid expresses a desire to build a colourful and energetic atmosphere at all of the match venues through fan zones and trails, music and community festivals,” the document said.

New Zealand Rugby, which had staff working as part of the Women’s Rugby World Cup organising committee, had no plans to stage any events independently.

In a statement, the organisation said it was “proud of the contribution our people have made, including their work on the tournament’s organising committee”.

“The RWC organising committee’s strategy of focusing investment on the two main venues in Auckland and Whangārei has been borne out with unprecedented crowds, unforgettable match day experiences and large television audiences,” the statement read.

“The fan zone set up at Te Komititanga Plaza on the Auckland waterfront has been a resounding success by all measures.

“We look forward to supporting the Black Ferns this week, and during what promises to be an enthralling RWC Final at Eden Park on Saturday.”

Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development – now Tātaki Auckland Unlimited – would be contributing $650,000 towards the cup and had “several” event plans, the document said.

Chris Simpson, head of major events at Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, said the agency had fulfilled its promotional commitments that were agreed upon as part of New Zealand’s bid to host the tournament.

That included “a range of marketing and leverage activities”, including filming a launch video of the trophy tour, delivering a Taste of Pasifika event at Eden Park, putting event flags up in the city centre and the wider Auckland region, and promoting the cup through the agency’s social channels.

“The decision by the tournament organisers to make the match venue the focal point for fan engagement is one that Tātaki Auckland Unlimited has supported,” Simpson said.

“The response we have seen so far speaks for itself – record-setting crowds in stadium and massive audiences watched the games on television.”

The lack of public events in Auckland this week comes despite the Black Ferns’ matches in their first World Cup on home soil attracting unprecedented attendances for women’s sport in New Zealand.

The anticipated crowd on Saturday would be another world record for women’s rugby, surpassing the figure of 34,235 set on the tournament’s opening day when the Black Ferns were the finale in a triple header and fought back for a 41-17 win over Australia on October 8.

That was also the highest standalone crowd for a women’s sports event in New Zealand.

Meanwhile, organisers of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 – which is being jointly hosted in New Zealand and Australia from July 20 to August 20 – will next year announce details around a planned World Cup Fan Festival to run throughout the tournament.

Aucklanders and visiting football fans can look forward to a range of different events as part of Elemental AKL 2023, with the dates of the winter arts, food and music festival shifted to coincide with the tournament from July 20 to August 6.