1974 Quidditch World Cup

The 1974 Quidditch World Cup was an international Quidditch sporting event that took place in the summer of 1974. It was the 417th edition of the World Cup. It was won by the Syrian Quidditch team.

At the time of the World Cup, the International Director of the ICWQC was Royston Idlewind, a former Chaser who was part of the Australian Quidditch team when they won the Quidditch World Cup in 1966. Since he had been appointed to the post, he had been introducing a series of draconian regulations regarding crowd control, the worst of which was the ban of all wands from the stadium except those carried by ICWQC officials, something that earned him the wizarding world's dislike and distrust.

Many fans threatened to boycott the 1974 World Cup in protest, but seeing as empty stands were Idlewind's secret ambition, their strategy was not effective. The World Cup duly commenced and the crowds that attended carried with them not their wands, but a new style of musical instrument called a Dissimulator: a tube-like object that issued bright lights and colourful puffs of smoke in national colours and emitted loud cheers for the teams being supported. For the first few matches of the tournament, very few wizards showed up, but those that did brought along Dissimulators, enlivening the match considerably. The Dissimulator craze grew, as did the crowds.

On the day of the final match between Syria and Madagascar, the stands were packed with a record crowd of wizards, each carrying his own Dissimulator. When Royston Idlewind appeared in the Top Box, a hundred thousand Dissimulators emitted loud raspberries turned back instantly into the wands they had been concealing all along. Humiliated by the mass flouting of his pet law, Royston Idlewind resigned immediately, amid celebrations.

Teams

 * Syrian National Quidditch team (winners)
 * Madagascar National Quidditch team

Appearances

 * Pottermore