STOCKHOLM, Sweden – Barco and High End Systems will be enhancing the visuals at the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest this year. During the semi-finals and finals in Stockholm, Sweden, a full stack of high-brightness Barco projectors, 10 of which are equipped with Barco’s High End Systems’ MMS-200 moving mirror systems, and Barco’s E2 screen management system will be used by the design team to light more than 40 artists.
Artists from no fewer than 42 countries put their best foot forward during the semi-finals on 10 and 12 May; the winners are gearing up for tomorrow’s grand finale. Last year, nearly 200 million people viewed these three live shows, making the Eurovision Song Contest one of the most-watched events in the world — and the perfect opportunity for Barco to showcase its innovative projection solutions.
Setting the stage
The stage of the 2016 edition has been described as “rock ‘n roll meets Eurovision”. Through its highly-defined scenography with straight lines, strong perspectives and a background in different geometrical patterns, the set-up enables dramatic effects and optical illusions, and gives each performance a unique look.
Sound and Eurovision
To ensure compelling video projections on the stage, Barco provided a total of 13 HDQ-2K40 projectors complete with XLD 2.8-5.5 lenses through its rental partner Mediatec. Time and again, these ultra-bright, 3-chip DLP projectors have proven to be a perfect match for Eurovision, and this year is no different. 10 of the HDQ-2K40 projectors — 4 flown on an FOH (Front of House) truss and 6 standing behind the stage — have been combined with the MMS-200 moving mirror systems that allow the positioning of images in multiple locations. Two additional HDQ-2K40 projectors are used for video mapping and one extra unit is used to visualize special effects. In addition, Mediatec has set up two Barco FLM-HD18 and four Barco HDX-W20 projectors as audience monitors. Next to the projectors, 108 Uno fixtures developed by Barco subsidiary High End Systems (HES) help create tight aerial beam effects. During the live shows, all of the video projection is tightly monitored by Barco’s E2 screen management system. Mediatec took care of integrating all of the Barco equipment.
Tradition and innovation
Barco has had a long love story with the Eurovision Song Contest. The 2013 edition was powered by a total of 60 Barco projectors, including 26 units of the high-brightness HDQ-2K40. In 2014, 16 HDQ-units were used along with 16 HDX-W20 FLEX projectors. The HDQ is, once again, part of this year’s show. “After so many years now, the collaboration with Barco seems as much a tradition as the Eurovision Song Contest itself,” says Niclas Ljung, Manager Technology at Mediatec. “We’re confident that, this year again, our partnership will result in a spectacular and memorable event.”
Gerben van den Berg, VP Sales EMEA Entertainment & Corporate at Barco concurs: “Needless to say, we’re delighted to be the Technical Event Supplier for Eurovision once again. Every year the show designers do their utmost to raise the bar and create a show that amazes, moves and inspires. We’re really proud to help them bring their impressive designs to life.”