Winter has arrived
Barcelona is home to the first exhibition dedicated to the popular series Game of Thrones before its world tour
Autumn has been warmer than usual. Fortunately, a cold front is approaching Catalonia. Winter has arrived along with Game of Thrones: The Touring Exhibition, based on the universe of the Game of Thrones television series, now on show at the Maritime Museum. The exhibition includes hundreds of objects of all types used in the popular HBO series. Barcelona is the first stop on a tour to be held in different cities around the world, although the promoters are yet to reveal the other locations. The careful choice of venue led to the exhibition being held at the city’s old shipyards, which could themselves easily serve as a backdrop for scenes from the series. The exhibition, open until January 7, was a success before it opened, with 20,000 tickets sold in advance at €10 each.
To bring warmth to the cold lands of the North, the presentation was attended by two actors from the series. Neither exactly front line troops but with enough personality, talent and enthusiasm for the series to warrant their presence at the opening: the German actor Tom Wlaschicha, who brings life to Jaqen H’ghar - Arya Stark’s mentor and priest of the House of Black and White, and Irish actor Ian Beattie, who plays Ser Meryn Trant - a member of the Kingsguard. They were accompanied by Jeffrey L. Peters, head of distribution for HBO and producer of the series, and director and promoter of Sold Out, Rafael Giménez, who brought the show to Catalonia. They were joined by the curators of the exhibition, Eddie Newquist and Robin Stapley, from Ges Events, who marvelled at the venue “it looks like it’s taken straight out of the series. The truth is that the assembly team worked really enthusiastically and the space didn’t give us any problems,” said Stapley.
Wlaschicha and Beattie seemed to have done their homework. When asked about Spain both spoke constantly of Catalonia and highlighted the fact that natural settings such as Girona gave another vision to the film from those filmed in the studios. Wlaschicha also noted: “In Germany, my country, this wouldn’t be possible, we haven’t preserved the cities as well as you have here.” From his time spent in Catalonia, Beattie recalled “a special night in the Camp Nou in 1999”. When asked why, the actor, a Manchester United fan, spoke of the magical night in a Champions League final when his team bounced back to win after being a goal down to Bayern Munich.
The actors were also asked about the political situation. Beattie said he is from Northern Ireland and does not feel qualified to give an opinion, “But Barcelona’s a city I’ve been to many times and will return to many times more.” In turn, Wlaschiha said: “I’m from East Germany and grew up watching the Wall that had prevented us from travelling to Berlin and Paris or Barcelona. When the Wall fell we were so happy. So I think the fewer walls and borders there are, the better,” he said.
Different sections
The exhibition has different parts to it. To start with there are the more interactive spaces, where visitors can be photographed sitting on the Iron Throne itself, for example, or have their face recorded with the thousands of others on the walls of the Hall of Faces. The exhibit displays objects such as Daenery’s Dragons eggs, Arya Stark’s sword “Needle”, the Arakh of Khal Drogo, the wooden toy crafted for Shireen Baratheon by Ser Davos, daggers made of dragonglass, the gowns and costumes of Daenerys, Arya Stark, Jon Snow, the King of the Night, Melisandre, Jaqen H’ga and Bran Stark and Hodor’s harness. Visitors can even enter through the door that opens the Wall of Ice. All of this among the constant reminders of dragons and the costumes and weapons of Tyrion Lannister.
The exhibition begins in a room of ice, now that winter has arrived. We continue on into a map room, one of the most essential elements for various noble houses as they prepare their military strategies. The third stage of the tour is the Kingsroad, which crosses the whole of Westeros, from the castle of Storm’s End, through King’s Landing, to the region Beyond the Wall, leading us into sets which recreate the noble houses of Westeros, Targaryen, The House of Black and White White, the Wall, Castle Black and darker entrails of the series and the exhibition: the territory that lies beyond The Wall inhabited by giants, the Children of the Forest and the White Walkers.
Finally, visitors can relax and have a browse as they leave the exhibition through the shop, where they will of course find all kinds of merchandising from the series.