Rugby players on the beach

The Rugby World Cup Trophy Tour reached Brighton & Hove on Bank Holiday Monday  August 31. After a morning trip to Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, the famous Trophy was taken along to the seafront for a gathering with local Rugby players.

The Webb Ellis Cup on display

Players of all ages from Brighton Rugby Club and Hove Rugby Club came along to Yellowave Beach Sports Venue on Madiera Drive. The players had a friendly throw about on the sandy courts and took a close look at the Webb Ellis Cup.

Young players from the Brighton and Hove clubs

Brighton Blues boys with the Trophy

The next opportunity to see the Trophy will be from 10am to 12.30pm on Saturday September 19 at the official Fanzone on the beach near the Brighton Pier. The Trophy will be on display inside a viewing box on a RWC 2015 Land Rover.

More more information about the Fanzone and many other activities happening in Brighton & Hove during the first weekend of the Tournament have a look at the Fan Guide. 

Spanning the nations, rare artefacts at the museum

The Rugby World Cup Trophy Tour reached Brighton & Hove on Bank Holiday Monday August 31. Crowds gathered to see the prestigious Trophy on display at Brighton Museum & Art Gallery. 

Jacob Thomas-Brooks, aged 10, came along with his family. Jacob said: “I can’t wait until the Rugby starts, it’s going to brilliant. The Trophy was very impressive, very gold.”

Jacob, far right, with his family
and the Webb Ellis Cup

To celebrate the Trophy Tour, activities and displays were set up around the museum building. Staff looked after a range of rare objects taken out of museum storage for only one day to mark the occasion. The items were from the nations of Japan, Samoa, South Africa and USA, representing the four teams competing in Brighton & Hove during the Tournament.

Bark cloth as made in Samoa

South African beading

Visitors could see intricate South African beading, Native American Indian quills dating from the 1800s, decorative wrapping clothes called Furoshiki which are used instead of carrier bags in Japan and Tapa cloth made from the bark of the mulberry tree as found across Polynesia including Samoa.

Downstairs in the art room, children were encouraged to have a go at designing a Rugby shirt or flag for the team or teams of their choice taking part in the Tournament.

Alex Gilbert enjoyed making a Japanese inspired Rugby shirt design before going to see the Webb Ellis Cup with his mum, dad and older brother.

Alex with his Mum Gail

The Webb Ellis Cup was on display all morning before heading off to be the centre piece of a beach rugby session taking place later in the day.

The Webb Ellis Cup at Brighton Museum & Art Gallery

Find out more about the amazing artefacts at the museum and exhibitions on display

Celebrating Rugby in the city

Our Festival of Rugby fan guide is out today. Have a look at what is happening around the city during the Tournament weekend - festivals and fun for all. 

www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/FanGuide

Clock the Tower

Local community arts charity Same Sky has been busy preparing to 'dress the city' to celebrate Rugby in Brighton & Hove in September 2015. This week the Clock Tower in central Brighton was adorned with flags as the artistic creations start to make an appearance on the city’s streets. 

Same Sky artist Bec Britain explained: “Continuing our continents’ flag theme which can be seen dressing the city in a variety of forms, I chose the four most commonly used flag colours and produced them en masse for a bright swirling effect around the Clock Tower. In total there was 710 metres of webbing with over 2000 flags.”

The flags went up during days of heavy summer rain. Bec added: “Despite the deluge, we were incredibly lucky to escape with two dry nights to put it all up, much to the delight of clubbers on West Street. When the wind gets going the flags start to whistle, and when they are really flapping it sounds like a huge crowd bursting into applause. How very appropriate!”

Check out some of Bec’s other decorations in our previous blog entry:

http://brightonandhoverugby2015.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/dressing-city.html

Pitch Perfect

Celebrate with Pitch Perfect, a two day music & dance festival, taking place on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September, midday to 6pm.

Come along to New Road in Brighton to watch a free two day festival of music and dance taking place on the street in the heart of the city’s theatre district. 

The Pitch Perfect (music & dance festival) will see local bands, musicians, dancers and performers take to an outdoor stage to bring a mix of live entertainment to audiences and passers-by as we celebrate Rugby in the city. 

The show has a dance focus on Saturday and a music theme on Sunday. Look out for vibrant dance troop Maracatu Cruzeiro do sul and the 600 strong choir of the Brighton & Hove Youth Big Band.

The very colourful Maracatu Cruzeiro do sul
Photo credit: Sofia Barbas (sofiabarbas.com)

Here’s what’s happening!

Line up for Saturday 19 September

12pm Caiçara

A four piece band of indigenous people from Brazil who live by the sea, Caiçara perform roots music with a funky wave that’s gets everyone up and dancing. Crowd participation and involvement is a must you can’t help but have fun.

 Caiçara in Brighton
Photo credit: Rafael Ribeiro

12.45 Southern Knights
The Southern Knights perform precision marching and dance displays to music using flags, imitation rifles, imitation sabres and pom poms.

2pm Project Zulu

A choir of 26 children aged 10 to 15 years, performing with just their voices and Zulu drums. The performance is a mixture of Zulu folk songs, gospel songs, gumboot and traditional Zulu drums and dances. Project Zulu arranges for choirs from the Madadeni Township schools in South Africa to tour the UK and share their incredible Zulu musical talents. 

3pm Amazona Arts
Performers of Capoeira dance - fusing acrobatic moves from dance, music and the martial arts into a skillful display. 

4pm Maracatu Cruzeiro do Sul 

A Brighton-based drumming, singing and dancing group performing styles from the North East of Brazil, including Maracatu, Coco, Baiao, Ciranda and Afoxe. The vibrant costumes and dynamic movement the atmosphere and bass-heavy sound never fail to get people dancing!

5pm Savoy Kicks Dance Troup

Savoy Kicks is a group of six dancers who will perform two sets and lead a mini dance lesson with the audience. Savoy Kicks is the professional performance troupe for local dance company I Charleston Brighton.

Line up for Sunday 20 September

12.15pm Unified Rhythm          

Unified Rhythm is an integrated carnival arts music group based in Brighton.

           

12.45pm  Shannon Dixon                      

At just 15, Shannon is a rising talent. A passionate and uplifting vocalist, singing pop favourites form the heart.

           

1.15pm The Wildest Way        

Banjo led folk from the Appalachian mountains and beyond.

           

1.45pm Brighton & Hove Youth Percussion Ensemble          

An exciting young percussion ensemble playing everything from drums to dustbins.

Brighton & Hove Youth Percussion Ensemble

2.15pm  Alternate Function                  

Razor sharp alternative rock from local boys on the verge of making a real noise on bigger stages.

                       

2.45pm Shining Brighter: Brighton & Hove Schools’ Massed Choir            

Shining Brighter celebrates the strength and resilience of our Rugby superheroes. An ensemble of more than 300 singers from primary and secondary schools along with The Brighton & Hove Youth Big Band will be united in a rowdy and uplifting celebration. Lyrics and melodies created by young composers from local schools, and arranged by James Redwood, also incorporate body percussion taking inspiration from the world of Rugby. 

           

3.15pm  Drive Up Jazz

Drive Up Jazz is made up of students from Cardinal Newman Catholic School & Newman College.

           

4.15pm Daniel Wakeford        

Daniel is a singer and songwriter from Brighton, heartfelt songs from a true entertainer.

4.45pm  Shining Brighter: James Redwood's Massed Choirs           

A new song-cycle celebrating the strength and resilience of our rugby superheroes. Performance of massed primary school choirs and The Brighton & Hove Youth Big Band.

5.15pm Beat Express

For more than a decade this boogie rock band has been crafting and performing heart felt, honest, catchy tracks that never fail to get an audience moving. The boogie train is coming!         

           

5.45pm Brighton & Hove Youth Big Band      

The Brighton & Hove Youth Big Band has an exciting programme, including performance opportunities, projects and international tours. The band performs some of the most exciting repertoire written for this medium.  

(Please note: While every effort will be taken to ensure the performances go ahead as planned, all timings and performers are subject to change)

The Pack is getting ready!

By Bill Hadgkiss

Last month I went to Twickenham, where I joined 130 other members of the Pack for a full training session in the St George's Suite situated under the East Stand.

It was a very informative morning session, interactive, as we worked in both small and larger groups to learn about and discuss the various skills we would use to give the spectators a truly memorable experience when attending Rugby World Cup 2015 matches. These skills were based around being Personal, Engaging and Proactive.

In the afternoon I joined up with other members of the Spectator Services Team to gain more about my role at Brighton which will include such activities as directing fans to the match or Fanzone from a transport hub, or city centre, assisting at the stadium by helping to prepare fans for security screening and bag search areas and directing them to the appropriate entrances to the stadium.  

Bill at the Twickenham training session

Inside the stadium, fans will be welcomed by volunteers and assistance will be given in finding seats. We also learned how to react to lost property, missing children and such requests as refreshment and toilet facilities.

Being at Twickenham for the day was a memorable experience, and everyone involved in the training is 100 per cent committed to providing the best possible experience for the spectators. I am convinced myself and other Pack members are ready to do Brighton & Hove proud!

Almost Tournament time!

It is not long now until the first match of Rugby World Cup 2015 at Twickenham on Friday 18 September.

Brighton & Hove is gearing up for the first weekend of the Tournament when two matches will be played at the Brighton Community Stadium.

• Saturday 19 September: 4.45pm South Africa v Japan (Pool B)
• Sunday 20 September: 12 Noon Samoa v USA (Pool B)

Preparations are underway to celebrate Rugby in the city as we help kick off RWC 2015. Residents and visiting fans will soon be heading to the stadium to enjoy the matches or soak up the Tournament atmosphere at the official Fanzone on Brighton beach. Everyone will be able to enjoy the experience of the only seaside venue of the Tournament.

The visiting teams with bases in Brighton & Hove, Japan and Samoa, will be greeted with Welcome Ceremonies when they arrive in the city. At the 100 days to go milestone, we shared how Westdene Primary School, in Brighton, is going to be part of the Welcome Ceremony for the Japanese team exactly one month from today.

The boys have been practicing with their dedicated teacher and shared one of the rehearsals recently so we could see how they are getting on. The Welcome Ceremonies taking place in Brighton & Hove will happen one month from today, on September 11.

Find out more about how the boys are getting on and hear their rehearsals at https://youtu.be/gEhK-3JW3wE