Magic Weekend returns to Newcastle this bank holiday weekend. This annual event is a highlight of the Rugby Super League season, where all fixtures are played at a single venue over a weekend.
00:00Magic Weekend returns to Newcastle this bank holiday weekend. This annual event is a highlight of the Rugby Super League season, where all pictures are played at a single venue over a weekend, with all being played at St James' Park this year. I've caught up with those who have organised this event to find out what can be expected in the city over the Magic Weekend.
00:21Magic Weekend is an absolute carnival celebration of Rugby League. You know, we've got significant matches on the Saturday and the Sunday. The fans are an absolute credit to the sport. You know, you've got people in fancy dress. It's a family-friendly event. And the top three record attendances for Magic Weekend have been held here in St James' Park.
00:46A festival of Rugby League. We've got six games on the field, three games on Saturday and three games on Sunday. We'll have over 60,000 people across the two days. It's for everybody, young and old, families, groups of people. And people are here to have a good time and enjoy being around each other, enjoying the atmosphere, but also enjoying what's on the field as well.
01:12It's been great. It's been great. It's good to be back and we can't wait for the weekend. The build-up has been great. The people we've worked with around the city and at the stadium here have been fantastic and really welcomed us back.
01:24So we're really hopeful it's going to be a hugely successful weekend.
01:28A lot of hard work, a lot of hours, but everyone has been excellent to deal with.
01:37And for us, it's about putting on a platform for our players to perform ultimately, whilst ensuring the fans have the best time possible.
01:44And the work that we've done, the work the stadium have done, the club have done, and also the likes of NGI and the council, all the ingredients are there to make it a really successful weekend.
01:54Magic weekend brings in between six and nine million pounds every time it's been hosted here in the city.
02:00And what that translates to is people staying in hotel rooms, spending money on our bars, restaurants, shops, supporting local jobs.
02:08But beyond that, it's really about projecting Newcastle as a brand nationally and internationally as a city, an ambitious city that can host big events of this nature.
02:20But Magic weekend isn't the only thing returning to Newcastle this weekend, where fellow Geordie player and massive Newcastle United fan Sam Luckley will be returning home to play at St James' Park for his team, Hull Kingston Rovers.
02:33Amazing. I've been here for a couple of days, actually, so I think my mum's sick of us. She's happy I'm getting out of the house now.
02:39It means the world, really. I mean, as a kid, you know, I was coming to the stadium and watching football and I've been lucky enough to come out a couple of times and it just gets better each time.
02:49It's an absolute dream for myself and it's a big thing for my family as well.
02:53They like to come to the games and watch and, you know, I couldn't make it as a footballer.
02:57So it's nice to get out of here a day in rugby instead.
