World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont and the Webb Ellis Cup were special guests at the World Forum on Sport and Culture in Tokyo on Thursday.
Beaumont, who was a key-note speaker along with Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, IOC President Thomas Bach and IPC President Philip Craven, outlined the social and economic power of sport.
Japan will be the centre of the sporting world over the next four years with Rugby World Cup 2019 and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games putting the nation on an unprecedented global platform and Beaumont urged the nation to embrace the opportunity.
“Japan will be at the heart of the sporting agenda for the next four years and we are looking forward to playing our part by organising a very special Rugby World Cup in 2019 that will be great for all of Japan, great for Asia and great for global rugby.
An event for all of Japan
“We are excited by the opportunity and working in full partnership with our friends and colleagues at the Japan Rugby World Cup 2019 organising committee, we want to create an event that all of Japan can be a part of and all of Japan can be proud of.
“With 12 host cities the length and breadth of this great nation, we fully expect Rugby World Cup 2019 to ignite Japan’s passion for rugby. We look forward to the whole nation connecting, uniting and embracing a wonderful opportunity to drive significant social and economic benefits across the nation.”
Rugby World Cup is established as an attractive, low-investment, high-return hosting proposition for governments and bidding unions and the 2015 edition in England delivered record returns for rugby and the host nation.
More than 400,000 international fans staying an average of 14 days contributed to record economic activity of £2.7 billion in the UK and contributed to record ticket sales of 2.4 million.
Huge economic benefit for host nation
Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan looks set to deliver economic activity of more than US$2.5 billion with between 300,000 and 400,000 fans making the trip to the first Rugby World Cup in Asia.
Significantly, Japan’s success at the tournament saw a new domestic broadcast record of 25 million viewers set, while 11 million new fans were inspired by rugby according to research undertaken after the event.
With a broadcast, digital and social footprint in at least 209 territories and 20,000 hours of broadcast set to be screened, Japan 2019 presents a massive opportunity to inspire new rugby participants in the world’s most populous region while providing a six-week tourism shop window for the host nation.
“Planning and preparation is on track,” Beaumont continued. “Excitement and anticipation is growing here in the host nation and we are looking forward to a very special, ground-breaking and successful global celebration of rugby at Rugby World Cup 2019.”
Legacy will be felt throughout Asia
Legacy has been the central consideration of planning Asia’s first Rugby World Cup and, in February, World Rugby, Asia Rugby and the Japan Rugby Football Union will announce ambitious plans to attract one million new participants to the sport in Asia by 2019.
The programme, IMPACT Beyond 2019, will provide Asian unions with the tools and expertise to attract and retain participants in a region that has experienced record participation growth in recent years.