Football Supporters Europe (FSE), members, friends, and stakeholders gathered in Berlin at the Pride House on Friday, 12th July to celebrate the remarkable journey of the Fan.Tastic Finals exhibition in style with a showpiece closing event.
During its final 42 days on tour, the exhibition visited all 10 Host Cities of EURO 2024, giving visibility to 15 new stories from women who support their National Teams, alongside the original Fan.Tastic Females cast of 78 interviewees.
A huge note of thanks must go to every single protagonist who took part in the exhibition and all those who have worked on both the Fan.Tastic Females and Fan.Tastic Finals iterations of the exhibition at this point. With particular thanks to Antje Grabenhorst, Barbara Paech, Daniela Wurbs, Greta Rinast, Nicole Winkelhake, Sara Faoro, and Sue Rudolph. We’ve included a full list of everyone who contributed over the years here, while a complete list of all 93 protagonists can be found here.
Female supporters of Albania, England, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Northern Ireland, Portugal, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, and Wales all shared their stories and experiences as a part of the Fan.Tastic Finals instalment of the exhibition specially complied for EURO 2024.
Event Highlights:
- Reflections by the original Fan.Tastic Females & current FSE project teams
- FSE’s Women’s Football strategy launch
- Reveal of Fan.Tastic Finals exhibition summary video
- Panel session on Fan.Tastic Finals legacy & women’s football fan culture
The closing event served to reflect on the significant impact of both the Fan.Tastic Finals and Fan.Tastic Females exhibitions, and the legacy of the accounts shared by each supporter featured. A thoughtful agenda gave space to both the original project team who initially shaped the concept and the current FSE project team who curated the new Fan.Tastic Finals instalment. The overwhelming theme was the inspiration created by the stories of each supporter featured in the exhibition and the pride and delight that shone through from all involved, from the youngest to those who have sadly passed on since.
Time was taken to revisit the stories of the two Fan.Tastic Females protagonists who have sadly passed away since the recording of their interviews. Maryshia Reimann, from Warsaw, was an avid supporter of her young son’s weekend football team, and Maria Petri, from London, was a lifelong supporter of Arsenal FC. FSE paid tribute to both protagonists at the times of their passings by publishing their stories publicly, which can be viewed on the Fan.Tastic Females Instagram channel.
UEFA’s Vice-President Laura McAllister attended the event and took a moment to address the audience on the importance of the exhibition and FSE’s work in the area to date. It was also an opportunity for FSE to launch its “Her.Story: FSE & Women’s Football: Supporting Authentic Fan Culture In The Women’s Game”. The evening’s event culminated in a panel discussion focusing on both the legacy of the Fan.Tastic Finals Exhibition and women’s football fan culture.
During the evening, FSE presented a summary video compiling snapshots from each of the new interviews recorded for EURO 2024. FSE would like to thank all who attended the closing event, including the speakers and panellists and will shortly begin working on plans to cement the legacy of the exhibition beyond its physical tour.
A gallery of photos from the closing event can be viewed here.