Brighton Dome chosen to host Rugby World Cup 2015 Welcome Ceremony for Japan and Samoa
Brighton Dome chosen to host Rugby World Cup 2015 Welcome Ceremony for Japan and Samoa
• One of 17 landmark venues selected across England and Wales
• Ceremony will feature presentation of Tournament Caps and Rugby World Cup 2015 Participation Medals
• World in Union to be sung during ceremonies by choirs from Westdene Primary School, from Brighton (for Japan) and Chestnuts Primary School from Bletchley, Milton Keynes (for Samoa).
• Cap and Medal Bearers for the ceremonies to be chosen from RFU’s Lead Up and Legacy programmes – including All Schools and Young Rugby Ambassadors
Brighton Dome has been chosen to host a Rugby World Cup 2015 Welcome Ceremony for Japan and Samoa on Friday 11 September 2015.
Brighton Dome is one of seventeen landmark venues across England and Wales that have been chosen to host the ceremonies for the 20 teams. With a rich history spanning over 200 years (starting life as the Prince Regent's stables and riding house), Brighton Dome Dome is the south coast's premier multi-arts venue - a three space, Grade 1 listed building made up of the Concert Hall, Corn Exchange and Studio Theatre at the cultural heart of one of England's most creative cities. A hub for artists across the region, the venue presents over 600 events spanning music, theatre, dance, comedy, literature, spoken word, visual arts, film, digital and more as part of its year round programme as well as producing the internationally-acclaimed Brighton Festival in May.
The ceremonies will be a celebration of the Team’s achievements and will include Team friends and family as well as the local community. The ceremonies will be an official welcome to England and Wales for the Team featuring their presentation of Tournament Caps and Rugby World Cup 2015 Participation Medals.
Taking place in venues including Hampton Court Palace, Eastbourne Bandstand and Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff, the 20 Welcome Ceremonies will help broaden the reach of the Tournament.
Managing Director of England Rugby 2015, Steve Brown, said: ‘We are delighted to have secured Brighton Dome to host the Welcome Ceremony for both Japan and Samoa. These landmark locations from across England and Wales broaden the reach of the Tournament and will be great settings for us to welcome the players and management. These events will be a celebration of the Team’s achievements, alongside a warm local welcome as the 20 best Teams arrive for Rugby World Cup 2015.’
World Rugby Chairman, Bernard Lapasset, said: ‘Rugby World Cup 2015 is about communities and Teams uniting to celebrate Rugby, sport and friendship and these official Team Welcome Ceremonies really will set the tone for the Tournament. Representing your team on the greatest of stages is the pinnacle of any player’s career and the culmination of years of dedication and passion. Britain is renowned for its exceptional warm welcome and love of major events and I am sure that these ceremonies the length of breadth of England and Wales will be very special and cherished by both the Teams and welcoming communities alike.’
Each ceremony will have four Cap and Medal Bearers which will be 16 to 24 year olds representing the legacy of Rugby World Cup 2015. They are selected from local clubs and educational institutions and include players, Young Rugby Ambassadors and students from schools that are part of the RFU’s All Schools programme.
RFU Rugby Development Director, Steve Grainger, said: ‘It is great that these Welcome Ceremonies are involving people who represent our ongoing legacy work. We have Medal Bearers from not only the All Schools programme, but also Young Rugby Ambassadors and young club players from the 16 to 24 age group. There will also be 1,000 people representing grassroots Rugby clubs invited to attend the ceremonies, which shows the strength of connection between all levels of the game.’
The ceremonies at Brighton Dome will feature a performance of World in Union from Westdene Primary School, from Brighton (for Japan) and Chestnuts Primary School from Bletchley, Milton Keynes (for Samoa).
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NOTES TO EDITORS:
Media will have access to the Welcome Ceremonies although space will be limited. Full details of how to apply for access will be issued later this month but submissions of interest can be sent to [javascript protected email address].
The other venues chosen to host welcome ceremonies are:
• Thursday September 10 – The Welcome Ceremony for Fiji will take place at Hampton Court Palace
• Friday September 11 – The Welcome Ceremony for New Zealand will take place at the Tower of London
• Saturday September 12 – The Welcome Ceremony for England will take place at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
• Saturday September 12 – The Welcome Ceremony for Tonga will take place at Cheltenham Town Hall
• Sunday September 13 – The Welcome Ceremony for South Africa will take place at Eastbourne Bandstand
• Sunday September 13 – The Welcome Ceremony for USA will take place at HM Naval Base Portsmouth
• Monday September 14 – The Welcome Ceremony for France will take place in the Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich
• Monday September 14 – The Welcome Ceremony for Argentina will take place at Haileybury, Hertfordshire
• Monday September 14 – The Welcome Ceremony for Italy will take place at Hampton Court Palace
• Monday September 14 – The Welcome Ceremony for Georgia will take place at St George’s, Bristol
• Monday September 14 – The Welcome Ceremony for Uruguay will take place at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff
• Tuesday September 15 – The Welcome Ceremony for Australia will take place at the Assembly Rooms in Bath
• Tuesday September 15 – The Welcome Ceremony for Canada will take place at Brangwyn Hall, Swansea
• Thursday September 17 – The Welcome Ceremony for Romania will take place at Christ Church Spitalfields, London
• Thursday September 17 – The Welcome Ceremony for Scotland will take place at Gloucester Cathedral
• Thursday September 17 – The Welcome Ceremony for Namibia will take place at Hampton Court Palace
• Monday September 21 – The Welcome Ceremony for Ireland will take place at Burton Town Hall
• Monday September 21 – The Welcome Ceremony for Wales will take place at the Guildhall, London
The other schools involved are as follows:
• The Maynard School from Exeter will welcome Australia
• St Aubyn’s School from Woodford Green, Essex, will welcome Romania
• Eastbourne College will welcome South Africa
• The Queen’s Church of England Primary School, Richmond, will welcome Italy
• Trinity School from Croydon will welcome France
• Longcroft School from Beverley, East Yorkshire, will welcome England
• Ysgol Dyffryn Ogwen from Bethesda, Gwynedd in Wales, will welcome Canada
• Bishop's Cleeve Primary Academy from Cheltenham will welcome Tonga
• Queen Elizabeth’s School from Wimborne Minster, Dorset, will welcome USA
• Thurstable School from Tiptree, Essex, will welcome Fiji
• St Brendan’s Sixth Form College from Bristol, will welcome Georgia
• St Mary’s Preparatory and Choir School from Reigate will welcome Wales
• Isbourne Valley School from Gloucestershire will welcome Scotland
• Hawthorn Primary School from Pontypridd Wales, will welcome Uruguay
• Chase Bridge Primary School from Twickenham will welcome Namibia
• St Angela’s Ursuline School from Forest Gate, London, will welcome New Zealand
• Alderman’s Green Primary School from Coventry will welcome Ireland
• Haileybury School from Hertfordshire will welcome Argentina
About Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival -
• Brighton Dome is the south coast's premier multi-arts venue - a three space, Grade 1 listed building made up of the Concert Hall, Corn Exchange and Studio Theatre at the cultural heart of one of England's most creative cities.
• Each year Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival presents over 600 events spanning music, theatre, dance, comedy, literature, spoken word, visual arts, film, digital and more as part of its year round programme as well as producing the internationally-acclaimed Brighton Festival in May.
• With a rich history spanning over 200 years (starting life as the Prince Regent's stables and riding house), Brighton Dome provides an extraordinary space in which to bring the arts alive. A hub for artists across the region, Brighton Dome commissions and supports both emerging and established artists and companies, enabling them to develop, take risks and deliver work of the highest quality.
• Brighton Dome is a registered arts charity which aims to champion the power of the arts, to enrich and change lives, and inspire and enable artists to be their most creative. Each year, the work of the Creative Learning team reaches over 15,000 people in Brighton & Hove and beyond through innovative projects such as Miss Represented - an arts collective of vulnerable young women who have been involved with the criminal justice system; the Umbrella Club - a membership club for children and young people with life-limiting conditions and their siblings and carers; and Three Score Dance Company, created to offer contemporary dance opportunities for men and women aged 60+ in Brighton & Hove.
• Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival are working with the Royal Pavilion & Museums to realize a future vision for the Royal Pavilion Estate. For updates and news please visit www.brightondome.org