The foundations have been laid for the confirmed 2013 Winter Games, and the emphasis on bringing the games into the heart of the community is back and stronger than ever.
Winter Games board chairman Sir Eion Edgar last week confirmed the games would return in two years, subject to funding, after a board meeting earlier in the day.
Speaking to the Queenstown Times, Mr Edgar said the board was finalising its plans for 2013 and would release them in the first quarter of next year.
In this year's games, much of the action moved to Otago's downtown centres with the creation of festival elements around the snow- and ice-sport events.
Sir Eion said the board was aiming to make that an even stronger aspect of the 2012 games.
"That was a strong part of the brief - to look to continue engaging the community - and we are keen to engage them even more next time," he said.
The feedback received had been "extraordinarily positive" and while the final numbers on aspects such as viewership were unknown, he expected they would be similar to the previous games.
In 2009, the inaugural games obtained an international television audience reach of at least 300 million people.
Looking forward to the 2013 games, Sir Eion said the board was also aiming for stronger athlete fields, which he expected would be boosted by the proximity of the games to the 2014 Olympics, as well as "more New Zealanders on the podium".
He confirmed a projected profit from the 2011 games reported by the Otago Daily Times last month had rung true, with about $43,000 left on the books.
