Wellington was given an early taste of the sights and sounds of the FIFA World Cup as South Africa and Sweden were welcomed to the capital.
Both teams, who are in Group G, open their World Cup account against each other in Wellington on Sunday 23rd July.
Ahead of the fixture, the two sides were welcomed with a pōwhiri at Wharewaka Function Centre which was the first official welcoming of nations that will be based in Aotearoa.
The event quickly burst into song and dance from all three cultures present in a touching moment eight days out from the start of the tournament.
"We really looked forward to seeing this because we had just heard about it, it's an honour for us to be here and we're so happy for the tournament to start," said Sweden's skipper Caroline Seger.
"For us to come here to a different country and experience everything around the world cup and being part of the world cup showing that women can play football and being friends on and off the pitch, seeing new cultures is very good for us," said the veteran midfielder.
Players and staff from both sides were visibly honoured and humbled by the cultural experience, gifting signed jerseys to Wellington mayor Tory Whanau.
"We hope that different countries can learn about each other and can share the love because at the end of the day football is more than just a sport, it brings people together, that's why you see people combining and having fun," said South Africa's captain Refiloe Jane.
"Football has the potential to change the world, bring people together, bring peace and be united.
"Tonight is one of those nights where we are united with one of our opponents, we're in the same group but we're sharing the love."
South Africa delighted those in attendance with songs from their native country and at one stage waiting fans from outside were brought in with drums to help lift the atmosphere even more.
Hoping to match expectations, Sweden belted out a rendition of their national anthem although skipper Seger joked the Swedes weren't known for their signing abilities.
The coming together of two cultures, brought together by Māori, seemed a world away from this week's drama involving the Spanish and Dutch teams appearing to make light of the haka.
"Of course it's not good, to every country we are in we have to treat them with respect, all cultures are important," she said.
"I think even though they made a mistake I doubt they did it to make a fool out of New Zealand culture, hopefully they can make up for it on the field and bring pride to this country."
Those sentiments were shared by Seger's South African counterpart.
"You need to learn what goes on behind it, you don't just wake up and go do the haka without getting authority from the right people so I think it has to go with teaching people about different cultures," said Jane.
Sweden will be based at NZCIS in Upper Hutt while South Africa will use Porirua park as their base camp.
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