Giant Rugby Ball in Tokyo

On 9 September, 2009, two years out from the start of Rugby World Cup 2011 Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism John Key announced Tokyo as the next deployment for the Giant Rugby Ball.

The Ball will be open between 28 October and 3 November next to the iconic Tokyo Tower in central Tokyo, a high-profile site which draws around 3.2 million people annually and around 10,000 a day.

The latest positioning of the ball coincides with an All Blacks-Wallabies Test match and two major business and diplomatic events - The Japan-New Zealand Business Council and The Japan-New Zealand Partnership Forum. It is the first time the Bledisloe Cup game has been played outside New Zealand.

The Ball will host government and business meetings and a range of functions showcasing New Zealand’s produce, food, wine, business, education, tourism and immigration opportunities.

During the installation, over 7000 people are expected to enter the ball during the day while in the evenings, it will become the hub for New Zealand-hosted trade and industry events and functions, taking the best of NZ Inc. to the world.

>Find out more about the Giant Rugby Ball

> Watch a time lapse video on YouTube of the Ball being inflated in Tokyo