Eurovision 2024: Technical fun facts about the stage in Malmö Arena!

In a few days, it will be Sweden‘s 7th time to host the Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in Stockholm in 1975, 2000 and 2016, in Gothenburg in 1985, and in Malmö in 1992, 2013 and 2024.

Here are some technical fun facts about this year’s Eurovision stage, as provided by the SVT Communications Team:

Cameras & Broadcast

• 26 cameras used for the Broadcast

Of those 26 cameras:

• 4 are mounted on a Rail
• 2 are used on Telescopic Cranes
• 7 Wireless Cameras (5 Stedicam, 2 Handheld)
• 2 Aerial systems, 1 is a 2D camera system and 1 is a Drop camera system (top shot).
• 2 identical OB-vans + a container village with all broadcast related built in.
• LiveEdit is used as ACS system (Automated Camera Scripting). It is a system that is programmed to operate the vision mixer automatically, runned by time code from the music track. It also cues each camera operator before their shot.

Communication

• We are using over 400 radios to communicate on site.
• Over 60 radio channels (both analogue and digital) are used.
• On top of that we also use over 200 intercom panels, both stationary and wireless.
• The IT set up contain 110 WiFi access points and 82 network switches. And only the IT use over 8,2 km off signal cables

Rigging

• 196 variable speed hoist is used to position and move most of the lighting and LED element in the design.
• 204 tons of technical gear is suspended from the arena ceiling.
• 3,5 km of truss

Lighting

• 2168 Lighting fixtures. All lighting fixtures have a LED or laser source.
• 4 weeks of pre-programming is needed.

Video

• There’s about 1 000 square meters of LED screen in and over the set.
• Stage floor LED is 186m²
• 5 LED video cubes are 460m²
• 340m² LED screen
• 10 Media servers runs video content on all LED screens.

Sound

• 68 speakers
• 56 microphones
• 9 sound desks
• 3 different sound mixes are done IEM (in ear monitor) for the artists, PA for the audience onsite and the broadcast mix (for the TV-audience).

Stage management team

• There is a six person stage management team. To assist them there is an additional stage crew of 36 people. They will have 55 SECONDS to move each prop into perfect position on stage while at the same time, rolling another prop off the stage. These movements are carefully choreographed and rehearsed, just like everything else in this show.

General

• It requires in total about 230 people to operate the Eurovision broadcast, among them there are:
  • 3 Multicamera Directors
  • 40 camera operators including crane swingers, focus pullers, 2D cam pilot etc.
  • 6 operators for lighting & 2 for video
  • There are 8-9000 tickets for each show, sold to ticketholders from more than 80 countries.
  • The production team is on site 46 days in total, including the set up and dismantle.
  • We have about 350 people working on site right now and this number will grow to about 1500 in total during the broadcast week.
  • 1100 accredited media are expected from about 60 countries around the World.

You can watch the Eurovision stage in all its glory at the video down below: