Rugby World Cup off to spectacular start in New Zealand

A spectacular fireworks display in a cloudless sky lit up Auckland's waterfront Friday evening as the Rugby World Cup 2011 got underway in New Zealand's largest city. A reported 3 tonnes of fireworks were set off to mark the start of the country's biggest ever sporting event. The display followed an opening ceremony in the Eden Park, the home of New Zealand rugby, that celebrated the game and the cultures of the Pacific in what is the world's largest Pacific city. A traditional Maori greeting was followed by a dazzling light display that traced Maori motifs and the country's landscape. Then came a wittily choreographed performance in which a young boy with an oversized rugby ball ducked and weaved and fended off an army of grown men in a mock rugby match, before he was hoisted into the air to land in a path emblazoned with the names of legendary players of all nations. Thousands of performers then took to the central pitch playing traditional Pacific island instruments and dancing to Pacific music, before a welcome from New Zealand Prime Minister John Key. In the city center, thousands of people waving national flags and draped in their national colors brought traffic to a standstill earlier in the afternoon. Cars came to a halt and blared their horns in Queen Street, Auckland's main thoroughfare, as fans hung out the windows screaming support for their national teams. Flags hung from office and apartment windows as their occupants poured into the streets. By far the noisiest crowds after New Zealand's were the Tongans, whose team faced off against the All Blacks at Eden Park, home of New Zealand rugby, after the official opening ceremony. Schools and businesses closed early so Auckland residents could beat the traffic home or join the mobs in the city center. The celebrations came at the end of a perfect spring day in Auckland, when leaders from around the Pacific wrapped up four days of talks as part of the 42nd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting. At a closing press conference, Prime Minister Key said preparations couldn't have gone better. "We're really pleased with the weather - it's been a magnificent day in Auckland," said Key. "New Zealand's done everything it can to be prepared - you can feel the atmosphere out there." Asked which nation he had adopted as a "second team" as New Zealanders had been asked to do, he quipped, "I'm adopting Tonga because I want them to come second tonight." Gates to Auckland's waterfront, which the government has nominated "party central" and erected a purpose-built venue dubbed The Cloud after it wavy white roof, shut about an hour before the official opening ceremony. Trains, buses and ferries in the city were stopped or delayed as the authorities said it had reached capacity. Sally Woodfield, spokesperson for the Real New Zealand Festival, which is organizing a series of events around the country for the tournament, said in The Cloud that she could not estimate the numbers at the venue. "There's been nothing like this in New Zealand before, but it's gone off amazingly well," said Woodfield.