New Zealand takes center stage on an alternate map of the world

UNot to be forgotten on world maps, New Zealand has now made its own atlas – with itself at the center. An alternate world map appears in a satirical video posted by Tourism New Zealand on its website as part of Friday’s campaign. On traditional world maps, the Pacific country is usually shown in the lower right.

The campaign under the internet slogan #getNZonthemap (roughly: “Put NZ (New Zealand) on the Map”) has been running since May and has the official support of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. In fact, it happens again and again that New Zealand is lost on maps. Among other things, the United Nations and the BBC have deleted the state of the Pacific from the maps.

In the video, actors Reese Darby and Ardern follow the conspiracy theory that British singer Ed Sheeran erased New Zealand from the cards because he loved the country so much and wanted it all for himself. Then director Peter Jackson steps in and solves the problem with a new card.

Jackson said that excluding New Zealand on many maps is neither one country nor one person. New Zealand has simply been put in the wrong place. That is why the New Zealand map is now located in the center. “I call this a Middle Earth map,” Jackson says, referring to his films shot in New Zealand.