Elements of both the Winter and summer Olympics will feature in the Queenstown Lakes area in August when the third biennial Winter Games are held.
Although the games are a premier event in their own right, chairman Sir Eion Edgar said it was estimated 30 to 40 athletes competing in New Zealand would go on to win medals at the Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Sochi, Russia, next year.
During the games, downtown ''hubs'' would be built in central Queenstown, with screens in Earnslaw Park showing live action from the mountains.
''Queenstown and Wanaka needed to come alive,'' Sir Eion said.
''It's all about having the presence off the hill.''
And if, at the conclusion of two weeks of world-class winter sports, you tire of watching sporting events, a fashion show could be just what you need.
The uniform to be worn by New Zealand's athletes at the Winter Olympics will be revealed during a fashion parade on Earnslaw Park, where the national Winter Olympics song will also be released.
This process will be similar to that used for the summer Olympics - New Zealand's Olympic cloak will be handed from summer Olympic representatives to Winter Olympics representatives.
Sir Eion said New Zealanders had not traditionally followed snowsports, ''but with the rise of Jossi Wells and his brothers we are getting better''.
Winter Games chief executive Arthur Klap said one of the issues for competitors at World Cup level was that it could be hard ''to get a start.
''When you host ... at home, you get a double quota,'' he said.
Under this, New Zealand can enter double the number of athletes in the Winter Games.
The New Zealand athletes will be competing in each sport against at least half of the world's top 10 athletes in their class.
Sir Eion said unless at least five of the top 10 athletes in the world could be attracted to the games, certain events should not be hosted, as part of a new strategy adopted.
''That's why we gave up on the ice skating,'' he said.
''The change has been recognised internationally - that this is a world-class event.''
Entries for the 2013 New Zealand Winter Games opened about a week ago. The games will be held between August 15 and 25.
