Heathrow Airport announced as official tournament provider to 2015 Rugby World Cup

Heathrow have been announced as an official tournament supplier for the 2015 Rugby World Cup ©AFP/Getty Images

World Rugby have announced Heathrow Airport as an official tournament provider to the 2015 Rugby World Cup, due to take place in England from September 18 to October 31.

With the tournament now just a month away from commencing, the airport is preparing to welcome the vast majority of the 500,000 overseas fans expected to attend the event, as well as the competing nations.

World Rugby believe the appointment of another strong globally-recognised brand shows the appeal of the Rugby World Cup in the sporting marketplace.

"We are delighted to welcome another leading brand to the international family of Rugby World Cup 2015 commercial partners,” said Brett Gosper, World Rugby chief executive.

“Heathrow is globally-renowned and its appointment underscores the enormous appeal of Rugby World Cup.

"With a month to go, we are confident that England 2015 will be a truly global and record-breaking celebration of rugby and friendship and we look forward to welcoming the world to Rugby World Cup 2015."

The announcement of Heathrow as an official tournament provider follows the appointments of Heineken, Land Rover, Societe Generale, DHL, Emirates and MasterCard as Rugby World Cup 2015 worldwide partners, as well as Coca-Cola, Canon and Toshiba, who are official sponsors.

Teams are currently taking place in warm up matches ahead of the tournament — Teams are currently taking place in warm-up matches ahead of the tournament ©AFP/Getty Images

Additionally, Gilbert, Canterbury of New Zealand, Clifford Chance, EY, Dove Men+Care, Duracell and William Grant and Sons have also been signed as official providers and suppliers of the tournament.

"As the United Kingdom’s front door, Heathrow is proud to welcome rugby fans and players from across the globe to Rugby World Cup 2015,” Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said.

"We are delighted to be part of the team working to make this a fantastic tournament for everyone involved."

The eighth edition of the tournament is expected to be the best-attended and most-viewed World Cup to date, with the excitement currently building ahead of the 20 teams getting their campaigns underway.

Due to the commercial success of the 2015 Rugby World Cup, coupled with the previous edition in New Zealand in 2011, World Rugby are able to invest more than £340 million ($534 million/€483 million) in developing rugby from grassroots level across 120 nations in all continents.