Prada to join 300,000 in Cup parade

By JO-MARIE BROWN and SUZANNE McFADDEN

Team New Zealand will be joined by Prada today in a spectacular America's Cup victory parade in Auckland.

About 300,000 fans are expected to line the route as the city pays tribute to the boys on the black boat.

The ticker-tape parade will start from Mayoral Drive at 12.30 pm and travel down Queen St, ending in Customs St West. It will be broadcast live on TV One.

Click for parade details and route map.

As the nation basks in Team NZ's victory, other parts of the country want to hold parades. Christchurch and Dunedin have asked Team NZ to go south and a decision is expected this morning.

Organisers of the Auckland parade have bought 100,000 rolls of ticker-tape. Confetti cannon will be positioned on several buildings to shower both teams in colour.

Flat-deck utes will carry Team New Zealand past their adoring fans.

Brass, pipe and artillery bands will lead the parade and stilt-walkers, roaming entertainers, Sky City cheerleaders and the Italian flag-waving group from Arezzo will also take part.

After the parade, Team NZ and Prada will go to the American Express NZ Cup Village for the official prizegiving.

All the local councils in the Auckland region will chip in to pay about half the parade bill, estimated at between $150,000 and $200,000. Sponsors will pick up the rest of the tab.

As Cup victory euphoria took hold, a jarring note emerged yesterday when it was revealed that Sir Peter Blake and his family were being watched around the clock by bodyguards after receiving death threats.

The head of Team NZ has been sent a series of ugly letters, one of them threatening to kill Sir Peter and harm his wife and two children.

On police advice, the Blake family now have escorts following them at all times and camped around their North Shore home.

"I've never had anyone live in my garage all night," Sir Peter said yesterday. "But the best brings out the worst sometimes.

"We've always got crank mail, but it has been going beyond that recently. So we have taken all the precautions we were advised to take.

"It hasn't diminished our enjoyment of the Cup, though."

Yesterday, Sir Peter received a more welcome note from Buckingham Palace.

A telegram from the Queen read: "I was delighted to learn that Black Magic had crossed the finish line first this afternoon. This is a tremendous achievement in which all New Zealanders can take pride."

Computer giant Compaq was a less happy Cup bystander after being forced to publish a newspaper apology nationwide for offending Croats and Bosnians.

A full-page advertisement published yesterday showed a red sock covering Italy and featured an old map that labelled the nations of Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina as "Yugoslavia."

The advertisement was congratulating Team New Zealand.

Takapuna woman Florida Vela, a Croatian New Zealander, said: "I was admiring how clever it was to have the red sock over the Italian foot till my eyes caught the top right-hand corner and I froze."

Peter Wogan, marketing and communications director at Compaq, said: "We are the first to put our hand up and say we made a genuine mistake.

"We sincerely apologise for the offence we have caused."