World Gymnastics Championships 2022: winning artwork revealed for Liverpool hosted event

The winner of the World Gymnastics Championships Liverpool 2022 ‘Worldpool’ artwork competition has been announced as the countdown to the sporting event begins.

Student and gymnastics coach Megan Allan will have her artwork displayed at host venue M&S Bank Arena during the global event, which takes place from October 29.

The 22-year-old’s competition entry was selected as winner by a panel including world and Olympic gymnastics champion Max Whitlock OBE.

Championships ambassador Whitlock and other judges including the head of audiences at Tate Liverpool and the designer from Front Page selected the entry from eight other shortlisted artwork designs.

Whitlock said: “It was a really difficult job to choose between the final three, but Megan’s is a great concept using the iconic Liverpool landscape and using shadows to make the Worldpool stand out.”

As part of Megan’s prize, she will work with Liverpudlian artist Paul Curtis to create her entry. Known for his street art and wall murals, Paul is one of the World Gymnastics Championships Liverpool 2022 ambassadors and helped to select Megan as the winner.

With only 100 days until the start of the annual global competition, preparations are underway at the Liverpool arena.

Megan wins Worldpool

As a gymnastics coach from Aberdeen, Megan got involved in the competition to inspire young gymnasts to get creative and ended up re-discovering her passion of design.

She said: “I teach gymnastics and this competition was just something I wanted to do alongside the children to show the importance of creativity in the sport.

“My goal was to create a piece that was as eye-catching and dynamic as watching a gymnastics routine – when the sport is in action you can’t look away. What makes gymnastics great is the opportunity to get creative, which is something I have always tried to champion as part of my relationship with the sport, and now into this artwork.”

The Worldpool art competition launched last year, inviting fans and creatives to submit artwork based around the Championships’ logo.

Speaking about the inspiration behind her entry, Megan said: “The background was inspired by the coloured smoke often used in photography, as I feel this helps convey the idea that Liverpool’s creativity is explosive and at the city’s core.

“There is also a little nod to Paul Curtis and his brilliant work in the piece with the gymnast having angel wings!”

“I am so excited to be attending the competition and seeing the hard work that the world’s best gymnasts put in, come to life. I will be taking my friends that I do gymnastics with – it’s going to be really special for us and for me especially to see my artwork on display at such a major competition.”

Art and apparatus

As part of Megan’s prize for winning the Worldpool competition, she will work with Liverpudlian artist Paul Curtis and have the chance to watch Women’s and Men’s apparatus finals.

Curtis said: “I was so impressed with Megan’s use of colour - her work is bold with the black and white infused with a riot of colours. It can be risky to use so many different colours in a design, but the risk has definitely paid off and this eye-catching design will look fantastic on display at the Championships.”

Gymnasts assemble

The 51st World Gymnastics Championships will take place in Liverpool from October 29 to November 6 and will see 550 gymnasts compete from 75 countries.

This is the fourth time the sporting event has been held in the UK, having previously been hosted by Glasgow, London and Birmingham.

The World Gymnastics Championships Liverpool 2022 will be an Olympic qualifying event for the Paris 2024 games and will be one of the largest international sporting events ever to be held in the city.