Porto, Aug. 29, 2025 (Lusa) - Portuguese magician Mário Daniel took part today in the UEFA ceremony to determine the Europa League and Conference matches, performing live a "poetic and unprecedented" illusion designed to make the balls in the draw for the participating teams disappear.
Performed live and broadcast worldwide from the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, the performance was what the artist considers "one of his most original and technically complex illusions" to date.
"Artistically, it was also one of the most beautiful moments of my career, because it involved a great poetic component, told a story and also had the symbolism of farewell associated with the end of the use of the balls," explains Mário Daniel to Lusa.
On its institutional website, UEFA itself had anticipated the change by announcing that the Europa League draw and the Conference League draw would be held simultaneously in a combined event intended to showcase both competitions and their respective teams.
"No ball will be used in these two draws. The software will draw the opponents of all teams at once, in accordance with the principles of the draw, including those relating to who plays at home and who plays away," said the organisation, thus marking "a new era in UEFA men's competitions".
Today, during the ceremony, the organisation's deputy secretary general, Giorgio Marchetti, added that bringing the two draws together "in a special spectacle" was "a reflection of the evolution observed in the competitions themselves" and said: "Two competitions, one stage, a celebration of European football. (...) These 72 clubs will write a new chapter."
Mário Daniel's collaboration with UEFA has been underway since May to develop a performance that would enable the elimination of the traditional draw format for league matches, emblematically.
"The concept was developed to make the balls disappear in a special way. In reality, the draw had been a hybrid between physical and digital for a few years now, but UEFA wanted to mark the end of this cycle in a different way, and that's what they hired us to do," reveals Mário Daniel.
That's how the Portuguese team developed an idea, involving the work of professionals from various fields, that resulted in an unprecedented and original technology.
"We can't reveal too many technical details about what we've done, but I can say that when I think of ways to make balls disappear in a draw, regardless of physical or other limitations, I can't find an idea that surpasses ours," says Mário Daniel.
Adding that the technology in question can be applied in various areas of entertainment and is expected to generate interest in the sector, the illusionist now promises to incorporate it into his next shows.
Accompanied by music composed for the purpose by Pedro Marques, used to film projects and author of soundtracks such as the Netflix series "Rabo de Peixe", Mário Daniel's performance - named "The farewell of the balls" - is still available on UEFA's official channels and can also be enjoyed on the artist's social networks.
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