Liverpool embraces Only A Game?

Only A Game?,

Obvious choice
The UEFA exhibition brings a soccer flavour to Liverpool 08 – the city's European Capital of Culture programme – and UEFA's Jonathan Hill, who heads the project, believes Only A Game? has the perfect host. "The exhibition first opened in Brussels last year and ran for three months," said Hill. "We wanted to have a moving exhibition, to keep it going, and luckily someone from Liverpool went to see it, and we thought, 'Liverpool, great football history in the city, European Capital of Culture in 2008 – the obvious place'."

Appeal
The exhibition, conceived by Brussels-based designer Olivier Guilbaud to view Europe through football and mark the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, has a wide appeal: faithful to the original concept of examining the game's social and cultural role in Europe, it combines traditional museum elements such as shirts and medals with interactive features including a quiz and a 'Box of emotions' whereby fans create a film mixing football with music.

Timeline
UEFA's project benefits from its partnerships with the National Football Museum, the Northwest Regional Development Agency and National Museums Liverpool. The space provided by the Liverpool museum is horseshoe-shaped and the journey begins with an interactive 'Zone 1 – The stories behind the players', leading into 'Zone 2 – The timeline'. Using a fascinating array of memorabilia, 'The timeline' charts the game's development – from the world's oldest league club Notts County FC, via the ground-breaking activities of local favourites Everton FC, to the growth of the European competitions in which Liverpool FC played a major part.

Europe the focus
The timeline is not all football, though, hence its wider attraction: "We've tried to look at the last 50 years in particular because that is when Europe has become more integrated," explained Hill. "Yes, the National Football Museum lent us objects and we've had contributions from Everton and Liverpool. There's some weird and wonderful stuff. But it is an exhibition about Europe, about how Europe has changed football and about how football has changed Europe."

Silverware
'UEFA's story' dominates Zone 3, with the governing body's four élite trophies – UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and UEFA European Championship – the centrepiece. Next stop: 'Zone 4 – Fan's corner', where visitors learn, for example, about the 12 clubs that have adopted the Liverpool FC anthem You'll Never Walk Alone. 'Zone 5 – The Quiz' is another interactive element, while Hill recommends 'Zone 6 – Lifeblood'.

Portraits
"A photographer in Brussels took photos of amateur football ... the same photographer came to Liverpool and did the same," he said. "You go into this corridor with portraits on the wall and guess which photo is Liverpool and which is Brussels. The message is: you can't tell. Football brings people together. You have a young Liverpudlian who may be an Everton fan but who, when training, wears a Barcelona shirt." Repair to 'Zone 7 – Cinema and library' for clips from the UEFA archive, before more interaction in 'Zone 8 – Box of emotions'.

Surprise
"We want families, tourists, people who don't normally watch football but are curious about football's social and cultural role," Hill added. "We've changed quite a few things from Brussels – it is more interactive. But the spirit is the same as we are trying to explore the links between Europe and football, with a strong design element. Hopefully that will surprise people, because when people think 'football exhibition' they think glass cases with old boots and shirts."

Practical details
Address: World Museum Liverpool, William Brown Street, Liverpool
Admission: FREE
Open: 10.00-17.00GMT every day
Information: +44 (0)151 478 4393