ABSTRACT
Using an (auto)ethnographic approach and critical (con)textual analysis, this paper explores the forms of promotion that link alcohol sponsorship with the 2011 Rugby World Cup (RWC). An examination of media articles and online public documents illustrates various elements of the social and political context of the event. I also draw from my empirical observations, field notes and visual representations of ‘Party Central’ – a designated social space constructed on Auckland’s waterfront explicitly for the 2011 RWC – and a selection of Fan Zones from different New Zealand cities visited throughout the tournament to extend our sociological understandings of the role of alcohol and alcohol sponsorship in the experience of the 2011 RWC. The discussion uncovers three underlying tensions that the case of the 2011 RWC, as an alcohol-sponsored sports event, strengthens in a culture where the links between sport and alcohol are increasingly normalized: (1) the significance of liquor licence legislation, (2) a competitive corporate sign war between alcohol brands and (3) overemphasis of and inescapable exposure to alcohol symbols, alcohol promotions and consumption.
