The first Festival was held in the winter of 1979 when 15 Rugby teams floundered on sodden Auckland fields, 13 from New Zealand and two from Canada and the USA. From those modest beginnings, the inaugural Hockey and Soccer Festivals were added to the family of Golden Oldies in 1983, followed by Cricket and Netball in 1984. World Festivals now take place every two years for each sport, in some of the Worlds most exciting destinations.
Air New Zealand has invested many hundreds of thousands of dollars into the development of the Golden Oldies movement including funding of the World Secretariat and Golden Oldies administration services and also accepting total responsibility and underwriting of World Festival expenditure budgets for Organising Committee's.
Since it was conceived in 1979 the Golden Oldies sporting movement has changed people's lives and resulted in many travelling away from their home countries for the first time. World Festivals may welcome teams from up to 30 countries and participants find themselves mixing with some of life's most unforgettable characters.
From San Diego to Sri Lanka, Fiji to Hawaii, Cape Town to Christchurch, Golden Oldies sports have travelled the globe and hosted Festivals in some of the world's most spectacular cities.
For more history on each Golden Oldies sport click on the link within the sports-specific pages.
