At SFI Expo 2026 Fluidra used a HoloBox911 hologram display to show complete pool environments in interactive 3D, from an Olympic pool to the plant room, on a stand in Hall 14.
Visitors drove the presentation themselves from a touch panel. It covered:
- The diving pool, with every platform from 1 to 10 metres and the sparger running underneath, which creates the bubble cushion divers train over
- The plant room as a cutaway, with sand filters, pumps, heat exchangers and pipework: the half of a pool contract a buyer never gets to walk through
- A movable bulkhead that splits a 50m Olympic pool into three set-ups, 50m, 25m and water polo, without draining a litre
The full case study
Fluidra’s Olympic pool as an interactive 3D hologram at SFI Expo 2026
Summary
Fluidra exhibited at The Times of India SFI Expo 2026, under its AstralPool arch in Hall 14. We built an Olympic pool aquatic centre in 3D and ran it on a HoloBox on the stand for the three days of the show.
Visitors could explore the pool, a cutaway of the plant room and the diving set, and interact with the content without a headset or app.
The brief: present pool equipment you cannot bring to a stand
Fluidra wanted to present its products at SFI Expo 2026 and give visitors an engaging experience at the stand. An Olympic pool, its plant room and a diving set cannot be shown at full size in an exhibition hall, so the products had to be shown in 3D.
What we built
An interactive 3D holographic experience on a HoloBox, built around a complete Olympic pool aquatic centre.
The plant room
A cutaway of the plant room shows the filtration and pumps that run the pool.
The diving set
Every platform from 1 to 10 metres, with the sparger running underneath: the bubble cushion that divers train over.
Interactive avatar content
Interactive digital avatar content invited visitors to engage with the experience at the stand.
How it worked on the day
The HoloBox is a glasses-free display, so visitors walked up and explored the content directly, with no headset, app or training. The unit ran on the Fluidra stand across the three days of the expo.
Results
- Fluidra showed a full Olympic aquatic centre, plant room and diving set on one unit.
- Visitors explored the products themselves, with no equipment to wear or install.
Frequently asked questions
Do visitors need a headset, an app or any training?
No. HoloBox is glasses-free. Visitors view and interact with the content directly.
What does a HoloBox need on site?
Enough floor space, a suitable power connection and reliable internet if the experience uses online or live features. Exact requirements depend on the set-up.
How long does it take to build an interactive AI avatar?
It depends on the avatar’s design, conversation flow, languages and level of interaction. A simple avatar is quicker; a fully customised one needs more development and testing.
Can a HoloBox stream a live speaker?
Yes. A camera set-up captures the remote speaker and sends the live feed to the HoloBox at the venue. The speaker needs a suitable camera, a stable internet connection and a streaming set-up.
Can we use a HoloBox for an internal event?
Yes. It works for internal corporate events, employee engagement, training, leadership communication and product demonstrations, as well as public conferences and exhibitions.
Can we rent for a single event, or do we have to buy?
You can rent for a single event. Cost depends on the event length, location, content, logistics and package. Talk to our team for a quote.
About the solution
HoloBox: life-size hologram display
HoloBox is an 86-inch 4K transparent display that shows a person or product as a life-size hologram. Use it to bring your managing director to a conference live from another city, or to run an AI avatar that answers visitor questions at your booth, in several languages.
- Live two-way holographic streaming of leaders and experts
- AI avatar trained on your product catalogue and FAQs
- 3D product showcases and interactive quizzes
- Available to buy or rent for an event
About SFI Expo 2026
Sports, Fitness & Infrastructure Expo, or SFI Expo, is The Times of India’s business-to-business exhibition and conference for India’s sports, fitness and sports infrastructure industries. The 2026 show was the first edition, set up as an annual platform to put the people who plan, build, equip and run sports facilities on one floor with their suppliers.
Dates, venue and organiser
- Dates: Thursday 30 July to Saturday 1 August 2026, 10am to 6pm daily
- Venue: Hall 14, Bharat Mandapam, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi
- Organiser: The Times of India (Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd), through its response and brand capital division
- Planned scale: 200+ exhibitors from over 10 countries and 1,000+ products and services (organiser projections made before the show)
The expo was unveiled by Mansukh Mandaviya, the Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. It is aligned with Khelo India, Fit India and Sports Authority of India programmes, and with the national aim of placing India among the top ten sporting nations by 2036 and the top five by 2047.
Bharat Mandapam is run by the India Trade Promotion Organisation. It opened in July 2023, hosted the G20 Leaders’ Summit that September, and covers about 390,000 square metres, roughly 150,000 of them exhibition space. The whole of SFI Expo 2026 was held in Hall 14.
Industry focus
The organiser grouped the show into four pillars:
- Sports infrastructure: stadiums and arenas, flooring, turf and tracks, seating, lighting, HVAC, roofing, scoreboards and LED screens, and aquatic facilities such as pools, filtration and water treatment
- Sports technology: wearables, AI analytics, performance monitoring, smart arenas, fan engagement, e-sports and AR and VR training tools
- Fitness and performance: gym and training equipment, rehabilitation, sports medicine, nutrition and recovery technology
- Goods and manufacturing: technical textiles, rubber, leather and composites, CNC and moulding machinery, 3D printing, packaging and protective equipment
Alongside the stands ran a conference programme on the business, technology and policy sides of Indian sport, with product launches, live demonstrations and structured networking.
The market behind the show
KPMG’s Sportlight report, published on 25 September 2025, put India’s sports economy at USD 19 billion, with infrastructure investment at USD 2.7 billion and projected to reach USD 6 billion by 2030. The Union Budget 2026-27 raised the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports allocation to ₹4,479.88 crore, launched a Khelo India Mission and allocated ₹500 crore to sports goods manufacturing, research and innovation.
HoloBox911 at SFI Expo 2026
Fluidra, the aquatic infrastructure supplier, rented a HoloBox911 hologram display for its stand in Hall 14. Set up in landscape, it carried an interactive 3D presentation of an Olympic competition pool, a diving pool and its ten-metre tower, a plant room cutaway and a movable bulkhead dividing a fifty-metre tank. Visitors controlled it from a touch panel.
Frequently asked questions
When and where was SFI Expo 2026?
From Thursday 30 July to Saturday 1 August 2026, 10am to 6pm daily, in Hall 14 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.
Who organises SFI Expo?
The Times of India, published by Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd. The 2026 edition was the group’s first exhibition.
What does SFI stand for?
Sports, Fitness & Infrastructure. The show also appears as The Times of India SFI Expo.
How big was SFI Expo 2026?
Before the show the organiser projected more than 200 exhibitors from over 10 countries and more than 1,000 products and services, and one trade listing estimated around 10,000 visitors. No audited attendance figures have been published.
Who attends SFI Expo?
It is a trade event, not open to the general public. Visitors include infrastructure developers and contractors, architects, fitness chains, hotels and resorts, government and institutional delegates, federations, academia and investors.
How do you get to Bharat Mandapam?
The nearest Metro station is Supreme Court on the Blue Line, next to Gate 10. Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station is about three kilometres away, and Gate 4 on Bhairon Marg is normally the visitor gate.
Is SFI Expo held every year?
It was launched as an annual platform. Dates for a 2027 edition had not been announced at the time of writing.
Did HoloBox911 exhibit at SFI Expo 2026?
Not with its own stand. Fluidra rented a HoloBox911 hologram display for its stand in Hall 14 to show pool environments in interactive 3D.
This guide was first published on holobox911.com.
Case studies from this exhibition
Where else our work has gone live
