SUMMER | FEATURE
Behind the scenes at Eurovision
Access All Areas visited Liverpool to attend the 67th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest to discuss the extensive work that went into carrying out the event
Words : Joe Gallop
ACC Liverpool Group had the mammoth task of preparing the 11,000-capacity M & S Bank Arena to host Eurovision .
MD Faye Dyer says the complex ’ s three inter-connected buildings lent themselves well to the project : “ It ’ s not just about what goes on in the arena , it ’ s also about the appropriate back-ofhouse space for all the props , hair and makeup , and media .”
ACC worked with Culture Liverpool , Merseyside Police , BBC and the European Broadcasting Union . “ It ’ s been about teamwork throughout ,” she says . “ We only had seven months to prepare , so it was a busy period . We invested heavily in training and made enhancements to our facilities , including installing LED lighting throughout the campus .”
On working with Eurovision 2023 MD Martin Green CBE and his team , Dyer says : “ Pre-pandemic we had BBC Studios Showcase for years , so that relationship was already there . The communication has been seamless .”
Lighting designer Tim Routledge was employed by BBC Studios and worked with Julio Himede from stage designers Yellow Studio . The lighting team used nine consoles to run 28,000 lighting cues , while 15 follow spots were operated by 10 professionals and five theatre technology students from LIPA & Cheshire College .
“ We ’ ve tried to leave our mark on Liverpool by bringing in and training people – some of whom I ’ m sure will end up working with us much more in the future ,” says Routledge .
The staging for the nine live shows involved more than 600 rigging points , 140 tons of steel ground support structure , and 1KM of additional steel truss work being added to the arena . The event featured eight miles of cabling for lighting , sound , video and SFX , over 2,000 specialist lighting fixtures , 200 custom staging decks , 950sqm of staging for the main stage , and 500sqm of staging for the green room . It also saw 2,000 metres of secure fencing used .
What the TV audience did not see during the 40 seconds between Eurovision songs was the hard work of the 30-strong stage crew . There was a total of 29 props used , the biggest measuring eight metres by 6 metres . Ten of the crew loaded the props on stage , while 10 others took the previous ones off .
The opening ceremony at Liverpool ’ s St George ’ s Hall saw the UK ’ s largest single-location drone show yet , featuring 624 drones flown by Celestial .
Showforce supplied production and site crew and by the time the event ’ s de-rig was over it had fulfilled 2345 crew shifts . The crew worked alongside key contractors like ES Global and Stage One ; assisting with the set-up of dressing rooms , brand activations and the de-rig .
Qdos provided cabins and stores for broadcast , while Creative Technology was commissioned by Luke Mills and Gary Beestone of GBA to provide LED solutions including seven ROE Black Quartz LED towers attached to an automation system supplied by Belgium-based company WICREATIONS .
Among the many other key contributors was Britannia Row , which installed a huge audio system , while rigging and truss was handled by Unusual Rigging .
Reflecting on Eurovision 2023 , Dyer says , “ It ’ s more than just a week of nine live shows . It ’ s about using Eurovision as a springboard to showcase the events industry .”
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