4 February 2014
Sevens Wellington is this weekend, and with Rugby Sevens now an official Olympic sport the tournament has taken on a
whole new significance.
Sevens Wellington is this weekend, and with Rugby Sevens now an official Olympic sport the tournament has taken on a
whole new significance.
Wellington hosts the fifth leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series, and there’ll be 15 exciting international teams in
action, as well as our own world champion All Black Sevens. While the qualifying for Rio begins next season, players
already have their sights firmly set on the medal table. Many of the teams will also be in Glasgow mid-year to compete
in the Commonwealth Games.
Tomorrow, the Sevens Wellington street parade is a perfect chance to escape the office and give the sporting superstars
the welcome they deserve. The procession kicks-off at 12.45pm at the northern end of Lambton Quay, and finishes with an
official welcome in Civic Square at 1.30pm.
As well as the visiting teams and their support crews, there’ll also be thousands of sports enthusiasts from all over
the country making the most of a summer weekend in the Capital. Accommodation providers, bars and restaurants, and of
course costume hire stores are all gearing up for a fun few days. In 2013, 23,837 out-of-town visitors came to
Wellington to enjoy the Sevens, making up 63 percent of all Sevens attendees. The 2013 Sevens provided a direct economic
contribution of over $18 million to Wellington city.
On Saturday night, Courtenay Place and surrounding streets including Dixon, Manners and part of Tory streets will be
closed to traffic until 6am on Sunday morning.
A limited number of tickets are still available at:
Road closures
Street parade road closures
Wednesday 5 February
7am - 1.30pm: The following roads will be closed for the Rugby Sevens parade to assemble:
• Stout Street between Lambton Quay and Ballance Street – people will still be able to access the Creative New Zealand dock-way.
• Ballance Street between Lambton Quay and Stout Street – there will still be access for court vehicles. Parking will be restricted in
this area from 6am.
12.15 - 1.30pm: The following roads will be closed for the parade:
• Lambton Quay between Whitmore Street and Willis Street
• Willis Street between the Lambton Quay / Willeston Street intersection and Manners Street
• Mercer Street between Willis Street and Victoria Street
• Victoria Street between Harris Street and Mercer Street – this includes the Mercer / Wakefield Street intersection drop-off area
• Wakefield Street - the northern side between Victoria Street and Cuba Street
Rugby Sevens road closures
4.30pm (Saturday 7 February) - 6 am (Sunday 8 February)
• Courtenay Place from Cambridge Terrace to Taranaki Street
• Blair Street – closed with limited resident access
• Allen Street – closed with limited resident access
• Tory Street between Wakefield Street and Tennyson Street, including Holland Street and Forresters Lane – limited resident access
• Taranaki Street between Wakefield Street and Ghuznee Street, includes York Street, Lukes and Halleys lanes – limited resident access
• All of Inglewood Place – limited resident access to the parking building
• Dixon Street between Taranaki Street and Victoria Street, including Christeson Lane
• Manners Street between Taranaki Street and Victoria Street
• Cuba Street between Manners Street and Wakefield Street