In the Fall of 2023, France will play host to the men’s Rugby World Cup, one of sport’s most prolific International tournaments.
9 cities across France will be receiving crowds between September 8th and October 28th of next year, but we are abuzz about what is, in our opinion, the top destination to travel to for matches: Bordeaux!
A total of five games will be played in Bordeaux’s newest stadium, Matmut Atlantique, throughout the World Cup. Constructed in 2017 and home of the local soccer team, the Girondins de Bordeaux, these grounds have also seen many high-profile games during the UEFA European Championship of 2016 as well as quarter-finals for the Top 14 French national rugby league. It has also been used as a concert venue for acts including, but not limited to, Guns & Roses, Céline Dion, and Ed Sheeran. Not to mention 2023’s upcoming concerts (Muse and Depeche Mode).
With a capacity exceeding 42’000 seats, fans from all over the world will be coming to watch matches between the following countries: Ireland, Samoa, Wales, Georgia, Fiji, Romania, Chile, and South Africa during the Pool stages. South Africa is the most recent country to have taken home the Webb-Ellis Cup after beating England in the 2019 final.
The whole city is impatient to welcome players and fans from all of these countries, and on November 8 2022, Bordeaux became the first host city to display its totem on the picturesque Place de la Bourse (pictured).
Although Bordeaux has grown to become the 9th most populated city in France (with the latest figures counting almost 261’000 inhabitants), it still follows the creed that “it takes a village”, shown by their participation in the project “La Mêlée des Choeurs” (The Choral Scrum). This initiative will be teaching local school children the different national anthems of the countries playing in Bordeaux, with the aim of having these children sing the anthems on match days.
Further projects that aim to include the local Bordelais are being organized in the lead-up to next September, such as a Rugby Village at the Saint Michel sports park on the riverfront. Local rugby clubs will be planning activities to get everyone excited: “In order for the people of Bordeaux to remember the event, we need to build things with them,” emphasizes Mathieu Hazouard, Deputy Mayor of Bordeaux in charge of sports.
This will be the 10th time that France has hosted the Rugby World Cup, with the most recent tournament having been held in 2007. Like with other major sporting events, “Fan Zones” with big screens will be placed around the city to encourage locals to come together and socialize while enjoying a good game of rugby.
The opening game of the 2023 tournament will be between France and New Zealand on September 8th at 9pm local time!
– Andrew Cummins – Bordeaux Wine Vacations
