Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race trophies displayed for first time

Both the women's cup (l) and the men's (r) will be on display in Cambridge after the city's crews won both races earlier this year

The men's and women's Oxford and Cambridge University Boat Race trophies are going on public display for the first time.

The trophies have only ever been brought out on race day, but in 2020 it was decided responsibility for them should go to the winning university.

Cambridge won both races in 2021 and the silver trophies are now on display at the city's Fitzwilliam Museum.

The Blue Boat trophies will be exhibited there until 27 March.

The annual races usually take place over 4.2 miles (6.8km) on the River Thames in London, but the 2020 event was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Cambridge's women celebrated their victory in April this year on "home" water

The 166th Boat Race took place on the River Great Ouse in Cambridgeshire in April this year, because of both the pandemic and safety concerns over Hammersmith Bridge in London.

"The Boat Race is an annual sporting highlight for millions, but very few people have ever had the chance to see the winners' trophies up close," said Dr Victoria Avery, the museum's keeper of applied arts.

"And even fewer realise that the Blue Boat trophies are actually significant examples of contemporary British silver.

"For the first time in Boat Race history, people will be able to see for themselves just how beautiful these iconic trophies are, and appreciate all the skill and thought that has gone into their design and making."

The map of the Thames race is etched on the silverware on the men's trophy

But, when the Fitzwilliam took possession of the trophies, they were not up to museum-standard cleanliness, Dr Avery admitted.

"Their surfaces showed signs of post-race celebrations, which from the Boat Race coverage I've seen was probably a combination of accumulated sweaty handprints and even the residue of sparkling wine spray, with the Light Blues especially responsible for the most recent of these undesirable accretions," she said.

"Hours were spent... painstakingly cleaning every inch of the complex silver surfaces, inside and out."

The Boat Race moved from London to the River Great Ouse near Ely in Cambridgeshire for this year's event

Both the trophy and the rowers were showered with champagne in the Cambridge men's crew's 2019 triumph

The trophies were cleaned inside and out, ready to be exhibited

In all, five trophies will be on show in the exhibition, including reserves races trophies and the original one from the women's race

The Blue Boat trophies are joined by three other Boat Race trophies - the original women's Blue Boat trophy, first awarded in 1936, and the cups awarded to the men's and women's reserve boats.

The history of the Boat Race and the stories behind the trophies form part of the new exhibition.