Wakeup Call: Boobs on Bikes parade canceled ‘to preserve Rugby World Cup’s family atmosphere’

Sep 14, 2011, 9:00 AM EDT

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So let me make sure I understand this. In New Zealand they let the rugby match featuring naked men go forward without a second thought. But a parade in which women bare their breasts? Nope, that’s banned. Nice priorities. Stupid kiwis.

New Zealand is playing host to the Rugby World Cup right now, as you know. As a prelim to the Argentina-England match earlier this week, the Nude Blacks, an all-naked men’s team, played a Spanish women’s team (clothed) at a nearby park in Auckland. But then we get word that the annual Boobs on Bikes parade, in which women doff their tops in the name of breast cancer research, has been banned this year by Auckland city officials.

A parade of topless, motorcycle-riding strippers scheduled to take place in Auckland this month has been cancelled to preserve the Rugby World Cup’s family atmosphere, organisers said Monday.

Sex industry entrepreneur Steve Crow has organised “Boobs on Bikes” parades, featuring topless strippers and porn stars riding pillion on motorcycles, in cities across New Zealand for the past eight years.

The next event was scheduled for Auckland on September 24, coinciding with a crunch pool match pitting the All Blacks against France at the Eden Park stadium in New Zealand’s largest city.

Crow planned to have 20 topless women, each featuring bodypaint in the colours of a World Cup team, ride through the city centre ahead of the match.

“For the first time in the history of boobs on bikes, the tide of public opinion is most definitely against us holding this event at the date and time proposed due to the ‘family nature’ of the big rugby thingy that is happening all over N.Z. at this time,” Crow said.

Speaking of “big rugby thingies,” where were the citizens of Auckland when the naked rugby match was being planned? Have you seen these photos? It’s a little late to be worrying about World Cup’s family atmosphere.

But that’s not all. In further shocking news:

And plans to stage “the running of the sheep” down Auckland’s main street were dropped after animal welfare activists raised concerns about the event.

The event would have involved about 1,000 sheep being herded down Queen Street, accompanied by sheep dogs and bikini-clad models riding quad bikes, in a light-hearted take on the running of the bulls festival in Spain’s Pamplona.

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