A $5 million mini-Winter Olympics attracting 700 athletes from up to 30 countries will be staged across Otago next year.
The tournament will be held from August 28 to September 6, 2009, with an opening ceremony in Queenstown and a closing ceremony on the slopes of the Cardrona skifield.
Olympic committees and winter sports federations from countries across the Pacific Rim - Australia, China, Japan, the United States and Canada - have all backed the concept, and European athletes are also expected to attend.
Queenstown and Wanaka skifields will share the snow sports, Naseby will stage the curling, and Dunedin's ice stadium the ice skating events.
The games were signed off by the New Zealand Olympic Committee in November, following the endorsement from Pacific Rim countries.
The deal was to be unveiled on March 26, following a meeting of the New Zealand Olympic Committee in Queenstown that day and coinciding with the arrival of 12 delegates from participating Pacific Rim countries in Queenstown.
NZOC president Eion Edgar could barely contain his excitment when contacted yesterday.
‘‘It's fantastic. For the Otago region to achieve this - the ongoing benefits and profile to Otago and all our winter facilities is unbelievable. ‘‘What could be better?''
The Winter Games New Zealand Trust was incorporated last week, and has just opened an office in Wanaka. A staff of just one employee was expected to grow to 40 by May next year.
New trust chief executive Arthur Klap said from Wellington the Games would combine the best elements of a larger Winter Olympics under one banner, and was likely to become a biennial event.
The trust already had a 10-year plan to grow the games, possibly up to 1500 athletes - more than double the number expected in 2009 - and 10,000 international visitors by 2019, he said.
Pacific Rim delegates would visit the region from March 26 to 28, starting in Queenstown and flying by helicopter to view the skifields and other venues, he said.
They would also meet Tourism Minister Damian O'Connor and Sports Minister Clayton Cosgrove while in Queenstown. Prime Minister Helen Clark has been invited to attend the official unveiling on March 26.
Organisers were negotiating to secure a host broadcaster for domestic television coverage, with an announcement expected next month, and would then seek an international television deal, Mr Klap said.
The event was expected to cost between $4 million and $5 million to stage, Mr Klap said. The Government had contributed $500,000, and community organisation grants, commercial sponsorship and ‘‘in kind'' deals with councils would all form part of the mix.
Skifields would largely remain open during the Games, but some sections would need to be closed on certain days and at certain times, he said.
