GoT Exhibition opens in Amsterdam

This past weekend the Game of Thrones exhibition arrived to Europe for the first time, stopping in Amsterdam (before continuing later to Belfast). Yours truly was there to experience and document the red (well, black, actually) carpet opening on Saturday. We were taken good care of that day by Kirsty from HBO International, and Elana, Director of International Marketing, whose team conceived and put together the exhibition itself. I braved the chilly and overcast morning with my trusty sidekick in tow, and navigated the occasionally hectic day alongisde fellow reporters and proud geeks: the awesome Riema from House Serienjunkies, the intrepid Antonio from the Spanish press agency EFE, Kirsten and Steffie from Serievisie, and a bunch of friendly Romanians.

In the morning, the foreign press were given a private tour of the exhibition, and as you can imagine, it does not disappoint. You have seen the photos and read the reports from the previous stops on the tour, or even been to one in either New York, Toronto, or São Paulo. We enjoyed a close look at the Wildling climbing gear, the infamous purse refused by the prostitues so pleased by Pod, two of the dragon eggs (the third was given as a wedding present to GRRM), the High Septon’s torn-off arm, and of course Ned’s severed head above the Lannister display, overlooking the Stark display portraying their happier days when they were lined up in Winterfell together, awaiting the King’s arrival. One never-before-seen item is specific to this particular incarnation of the exhibition, though, namely Melisandre’s dress, complete with the boots and the gem choker, in honour of the Dutch actress Carice van Houten portraying her. The venue itself, the Posthoornkerk church on Haarlemmerstraat, is quite spectacular as well, invoking the atmospehere of a throne room and a sept at the same time:

After a lunch break, we returned to the venue to await the arrival of the three guest actors: Maisie Williams (Arya), Carice van Houten (Melisandre), and Liam Cunningham (Davos). The friendly ties established earlier came in handy as we jostled for space at the carpet (yes, Dutch professional photographers, how obnoxiously arrogant and impolite can you get?), helped each other out holding mikes and exchanging recordings. Despite the inconvenience, we were in position when the talent arrived – in a horse-drawn carriage no less!

Asking questions side-by-side with Antonio, we managed to talk to Maisie and Carice. Maisie came over first, after graciously giving a tonne of autographs to the waiting fans, same as her fellow actors, and shivering slightly in the cold May weather:

This season Arya is really changing, we get to see a new side of her, perhaps darker that we have seen before.

Playing Arya I have gained more confindence, also from being on the show and participating in events like this more often. I do not think I have changed personality-wise, I think I am still the same, and still enjoying it.

Next we got hold of Carice, who never fails to impress with elegance and friendliness (which is a rule with this cast, we really are lucky as fans). She even thought she knew HmR from somewhere! Well, she will be right when we next meet, I cannot wait. Our faithful reader AKA_Qthulhu pointed out she must have seen me in the flames, and he is probably right. Here is what Carice told us:

[On being the ambassador of the Netherlands on the show] I am very proud that there is someone Dutch on the show, we will see if there will be more.

[On the powerful and influential character of Melisandre and how different she is from her] I hope she is different, for she is a really intense character. Is she a person you would invite to your birthday party? Perhaps not. We have not yet seen her crack a joke. That may be still to come. But that is the fun about acting – you play someone else, yet there are parts of Melisandre in me. Next Sunday [episode eight] you will see … a bit more of her, spoiler alert!

[On the interpretation of Melisandre and whether her confidence is in part a pose] No, I think she believes what she sees in the flames is true, but I know that sometimes she misinterprets it, and is not always right. But she is very close, most of the time. I do not think she is faking it, she genuinely believes that Stannis is her guy … and that is all I can say for now.

The co-operation with Serievisie yielded this delightful video interview with Liam Cunnigham:

After a couple of words of welcome from HBO, the three guests cut the ribbon with what looked a bit like the Valyrian Steel replica of Needle.

Once the exhibition was officially opened, the talent went in for a promo photo shoot, while the group of fans lucky enough to win a ticket to the opening had to wait a bit to be the first of the general public to see the exhibit. The organisers provided some entertainment in the form of a (too easy) GoT quiz, and a cool live string rendition of the theme song. And then … everyone was welcome to peruse the dresses and the props, try out the archery game, and sit on the Iron Throne. You can still do that starting again tomorrow and continuing through Monday – and if you are anywhere close to Amsterdam you should, as this will help you tide over until the next episode of Thrones.

Here follow some more photos from the day:

Until next time,

• Published on 05/22/2013 at 2:45 PM CDT
• Last updated on 10/21/2016 at 12:02 PM CDT