The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 is being held in Aotearoa this year, and one of our host cities, Auckland hosted the highly anticipated Draw Ceremony in October last year.
However, before this could happen we needed to welcome the famous trophy and all of the VIP dignitaries to Tāmaki Makaurau. NZ Story and Tātaki Auckland Unlimited engaged Uno Loco to produce the official pōwhiri to welcome the FIFA international delegation, representatives from all competing teams and the trophy itself. Transforming Karanga Plaza and working alongside our partner Rawstorne Studio, manaakitanga was at the heart of the space and event.
Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei were our hosts and our team created a symbolic recreation of their whare with digital and physical pou around the space. The event was picked up internationally and was the perfect beginning for what will be a sensational year for women’s football not only globally but locally. As we partnered with key strategic technical suppliers, this allowed us to ensure all suppliers delivered above and beyond to the short timeline we had to deliver this event. The colours of FIFA and the participating countries were brought to life with young wāhine (with a passion for football) waving country flags.
Uno Loco and our key partners were extremely proud to be part of such a successful event. The water, the boats, the pōwhiri, our people all sitting in front of the stunning backdrop of the city showcased our manākitanga for our guests and the world to see. We feel like this event with its structures and use of all the surrounding locations has set a precedent and legacy for events and pōwhiris in the future. In fact, we had several senior figures from central and local government agencies and large venues that said that this format and structure should be used again in the future. Finally, we all genuinely enjoyed being part of this project and were very grateful for the opportunity.
