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The Cricket World Cup is among the world's biggest sporting events. Organised and governed by the International Cricket Council, the first World Cup tournament was in 1975; it has taken place every four years since, filling stadiums in countries all over the world. For this year's World Cup, the tournament is going to India, making this the country's first time as its sole host.
Sending the ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy into space
Ahead of this year's tournament, the ICC enlisted our help to put together an out-of-this-world celebration of the trophy's arrival in India. The country has a decorated legacy within the sport, with a record 2,278 runs, two World Cup wins, and over a billion passionate cricket fans, so bringing the trophy to the nation from space was an obvious choice. The world's largest cricket destination, the Narendra Modi Stadium, provided the final piece of the puzzle: we would show the trophy travelling from over 120,000 feet above the Earth and landing right in the centre of the pitch.
Our team travelled to the city of Ahmedabad, the home of the Narendra Modi Stadium, to prepare for the launch. The trophy was launched on a purpose-built spacecraft with a cutting-edge camera system to document the journey.
Launch day arrived and all went to plan — the launch went smoothly and we captured incredible footage of the trophy floating in space before coming to land spectacularly in the iconic Narendra Modi Stadium, for a truly fitting commemoration of the Cricket World Cup's arrival. You can see some of the footage we captured in the video below.
Following the trophy's arrival in India, it's going on an international tour ahead of the tournament's kick-off. After visiting eighteen countries around the world, the tour will conclude in South Africa, where it will return to India in time for the start of the World Cup tournament.
Ten teams are competing in the Cricket World Cup this year, which starts with a match between England and New Zealand on the 5th of October. England are the current tournament champions — who do you think will be next?
If you're interested in a space launch of your own, please get in touch with the Sent Into Space team. You can contact us via email or call us at 0114 213 1050.