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Málaga is now home to what is being billed as Spain’s most iconic Lego exhibition, with a new show at the OXO Video Game Museum running until November 1. Lego Gaming: The Exhibition looks at how the Danish company moved from its early beginnings in 1932 to become a major name in both toys and video games.

 

The exhibition has arrived on the Costa del Sol after its run in Madrid, and it places Lego’s history alongside its long relationship with the gaming world. That link stretches back three decades and has helped turn the brand into much more than a box of plastic bricks.

 

Visitors are taken back to the company’s roots in Billund, Denmark, where Ole Kirk Christiansen began making wooden toys in his workshop. One of the first pieces on display is the Wooden Duck from 1958, a historic item that Pilar Vilella, Lego’s brand manager for Spain, France and Portugal, says “rarely leaves headquarters” and represents the brand’s “artisanal origins.”

 

The exhibition also marks 30 years since Lego entered the digital world through the creation of its video game division. Vilella called it “an important celebration of how we've been building bridges between the physical and digital worlds”. Since then, Lego has released well-known titles such as Lego Island in 1997 and Lego Star Wars: The Video Game in 2005, both seen as important steps in its digital expansion.

 

The display is split into seven themed areas, covering different eras and franchises from the Lego gaming universe. Alongside audiovisual material and sets brought from Billund, there are large-scale sculptures and interactive spaces where visitors can try classic games and build with the famous bricks themselves.

 

One of the standout pieces is a Super Mario sculpture made from 22,176 bricks and weighing 52 kilos. Vilella said it symbolises Lego’s collaboration with Nintendo, which went public in 2020 after a five-year development process in which “more than 6,000 prototypes were thrown away.”

 

There is also something new for Málaga visitors, with a special area devoted to Lego Pokémon sets. In addition, the exhibition includes displays already seen at OXO Museo Madrid, such as Lego Party and Lego Voyagers.

 

The Diputación’s Deputy for Education and Youth, José Santaolalla, said the project strengthens the province’s goal of making Málaga “the leading gaming destination in Europe.”

 

 

Images: wikicommons