"My Twickenham" Exhibition Opens at World Rugby Museum

"Every day is different. The weather, the logos and the kick off times dictate the day. We come dressed for working in our scruffs and then we put on our match day suits so that we look the part at match time."

                        Keith Kent, Head Groundsman, Twickenham Stadium

On 25th November 2011 The World Rugby Museum, the largest specialist rugby museum in the world, will open a new exhibition called “My Twickenham” which aims to present the world famous Twickenham Stadium in its entirety, from what goes on in the dressing room on a match day, to who turns off the lights on a week day.

Images of the world’s greatest rugby teams are beamed out of the stadium to all corners of the globe, but the titanic struggles on the pitch are just a small cog in an enormous wheel of people and events that go into making Twickenham Stadium the world famous 365-day-a-year work and leisure facility that it is today.

The exhibition is the first time a large sporting venue and organisation has been the subject of an exploratory exhibition of this kind.   Visitors will see images of the people, places and facilities that operate at Twickenham on a match day; there will be first hand insight from over 20 people and what they do on a match day; there will be objects that symbolise how facilities have evolved over the stadium’s 102 year history; and there will be audio-recollections of people’s first visit to Twickenham, dating back to 1936.

“This is a ‘community‘ exhibition for an international audience.  It is unique for us as it concentrates on the experiences of spectators rather than teams, tournaments, players, objects or art” commented Michael Rowe, Curator at The World Rugby Museum.  “We hope the exhibition will paint a full picture of work that goes on within the stadium, providing the public a snapshot of the team behind the scenes.”

The exhibition is expected to see over 13,000 people visit over a six month period.

The exhibition runs until 25th May 2012 and the museum is open 10am-5pm Tuesday – Saturday and 11am – 5pm Sunday. The website is www.rfu.com/museum and tickets can be purchased in advance or on the day from the RFU Store in the South Stand.