Massive crowds greet ROTK premiere

Over 100,000 fans have turned out for a parade in Wellington, Zew Zealand to mark the world premiere of the final Lord of the Rings film in the city.

The movie's director Peter Jackson led the cast at the front of the parade on a 5km stroll through central Wellington, hours before the official premiere at the refurbished Embassy Theatre.

Some crowdgoers had travelled from countries all around the globe, whilst others had camped out for days, just to catch a glimpse of stars like Elijah Wood, Liv Tyler and Sir Ian McKellen.

Executive producer Michael Lynne paid testament to Jackson's work on the project, which has lasted six years. "It is the end of a journey that started six years ago, and somehow together we have accomplished something truly unprecedented," he said.

Jackson said that - despite being tipped for best director at next year's Oscars - honours were not important to him. "I'm just going to let everybody else decide that," he said. "You can only do what you can do. You do the very best job you can."

Lord of the Rings: Return of the King is released worldwide on December 17.