It’s almost a year since the announcement was made confirming Gloucester’s successful bid for ‘Host City’ status for the Rugby World Cup 2015. And it’s around 18 months until the tournament starts.

We’ve come a long way since that announcement. Former Gloucester Rugby captain Adam Balding has been appointed as our Rugby World Cup co-ordinator and he is working with City Council departments, Marketing Gloucester, the County Council, our friends at Kingsholm and many others to deliver a spectacular event for the city.

Our legal agreement with England Rugby 2015 places a number of obligations on us, including providing a “Fanzone” where supporters can watch the matches on a big screen and where there is other entertainment alongside. We also have to dress the city, with hundreds of banners, so visitors and residents alike will be in no doubt that something special is taking place.

Sponsorship and voluntary help needed
I’m keen that we maximise the benefit for Gloucester and involve as many people and businesses as possible. The City Council has put aside £350,000 as its contribution and, although it’s a lot of money, it won’t cover everything we want to do as a city – so we need to supplement it with sponsorship and voluntary help. If you or your company are able to assist in any way, please get in touch – paul.james@gloucester.gov.uk.

We should also use the Rugby World Cup to push for improvements to the city. We’ve had some good news about a £2 million plan to improve the railway station and we’re pushing now for funding to replace our current embarrassment of a bus station. We’re hoping for a positive outcome very soon.

We are also keen to leave a legacy in the city, both in sporting terms and for the local economy. Adam has also floated the idea of a permanent physical reminder that the World Cup came here – perhaps this could be in the revamped Kings Square. We’ve no fixed ideas on what it should be, so please send me your ideas via email too.

There is huge enthusiasm in Gloucester for the Rugby World Cup. So, let’s use the next 18 months to make the most of it for our city.