Background & Scope
Hosted at the FIFA Fan Festival™ in Tumbalong Park, Sydney, the pop-up exhibition “Calling the Shots: Faces of Women’s Football” ran from 20 July to 20 August during the 2023 Women’s World Cup. Designed by creative experience design studio Grumpy Sailor, the pavilion commemorated the individuals who have shaped women’s football through a collection of historical memorabilia.
At the centre of the exhibition stood the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Winner’s Trophy. To support selected public display days throughout the tournament, Grumpy Sailor engaged European Museum Technology to engineer a bespoke display solution. The brief required a secure, high-visibility showcase that allowed seamless, uncomplicated access to the trophy for protocol handling and subsequent transport to its permanent home at the FIFA Museum in Zurich, Switzerland.
Automated Actuation & Access Mechanics
To facilitate periodic access without compromising physical security or optical clarity, EMT engineered an 80-kilogram cylindrical glass showcase. The unit incorporates three integrated electric lifting actuators concealed within the base structure. Activated by a single button mechanism, the synchronised actuators smoothly raise the complete 80-kilogram glass cylinder vertically, exposing the central plinth for rapid trophy retrieval and placement.
Structural Design & Display Integration
The showcase features a seamless, curved glass canopy positioned over an illuminated, cylindrical plinth to provide uninterrupted 360-degree visual access within the pavilion space. The mechanical drive system maintains structural stability during operation, ensuring precise alignment throughout the vertical motion cycle. Designed for rapid deinstallation and international transit, the entire display assembly was fabricated to endure temporary exhibition use in Sydney before relocating to Zurich for permanent installation.
EMT integrated three electric lifting actuators into the base, allowing the 80 kg glass cylinder to lift automatically at the press of a button
The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Winner’s Trophy serves as the exhibition’s focal point, presented on selected public display days
The automated showcase and trophy were designed for temporary display in Sydney before relocating to their permanent home at the FIFA Museum in Zurich
