New Zealand Cup and Show Week 9-18 November

Tuesday 7 November 2006

Good morning. New Zealand Cup and Show Week is a very special time. It’s our biggest event and there’s something for everyone.

It is a mix of high action, high energy, and high stakes - not to mention high fashion and maybe some high jinx.

The 10-day festival has become a “must do” on New Zealand’s social calendar, and it attracts a huge number of out-of-town visitors to Christchurch.

It’s a week of glamour and black tie events, kicking off with the Canterbury Fashion 2006 Collection and Awards. Showcasing Canterbury's fabulous fashion designers.

The action shifts to thoroughbred racing at Riccarton Raceway on Saturday, and on Tuesday Addington Raceway hosts the Christchurch Casino New Zealand Trotting Cup which is the highlight on New Zealand’s harness racing calendar.

A major highlight of the week is the Royal New Zealand Show. This annual show hosted by the Canterbury A&P Association has delighted visitors, young and old alike, every year since its inception in 1862. It’s our oldest event. It was great news when the Royal Show status was announced late last year for the next four years.

Preliminary figures suggest total number of exhibitors will be close to 7000. This is a huge increase on last year with some 40% of exhibitors coming from outside Canterbury.

The Show promises to be bigger and better than ever before. For townies who dream of a life without a neighbour in sight the show offers the chance to get face-to-face with everything from sheep and alpacas to tractors and ten-tonne harvesters.

For children, there is all the fun of the fairground with its adrenaline rides, candy floss, and endless sideshows.

Christchurch City Council has provided more than $71,000 in funding to collectively market the festival, which three years ago was estimated to inject $24 million directly into the local economy.

Over the next few years more effort will be put into promoting the festival internationally.

Most important is that this is a great week for the people of Christchurch. Congratulations to all those who put the programme together. I know it will be a great success.