A large crowd of people went to the harbour in Auckland on Friday evening to watch the celebrations and the fireworks. The Auckland City Council expected about 50,000 people but there were probably 200,000 crowded into a small space. This was unpleasant as well as dangerous. Alcohol was also a problem with some people behaving stupidly.
After the celebrations, many of those people wanted to catch a train to Eden Park to watch the game but there were not enough trains. Some people who had tickets to the game got there late and some did not get there at all.
The Prime Minister, the Mayor of Auckland and the Minister for the Rugby World Cup, Murray McCully, have all apologized. Murray McCully said that he will now be responsible for organizing future celebrations and transport to the games. Parliament has given him special power to close roads and do anything else that is necessary.
It is very important for the government that there are no major problems with any of the events. It looks bad for New Zealand when things go wrong. Also, there is an election in 10 weeks time and of course the government wants to win the election.
Questions
What mistakes were made and who was responsible?
If you were there on Friday evening, what did you think about the event?
Will the Rugby World Cup have any influence on the election results? Why or why not?