Eurovision 2011: How will it look?

1080 square metres of LED

The stage for the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 was designed by Florian Wieder. On an international level, he has styled the appearance of shows such as X Factor and MTV Europe Music Awards.

In 2009, he won the British Royal Television Society Judges Award and in 2006 he was awarded the German Television Prize for the Best Set category.

At least 40 lorries carrying 38 tons each will be needed to deliver the set materials for the Eurovision Song Contest.

The stage on the arena's football pitch will have a diameter of 13 metres. A 60 metre wide and 18 metre high LED wall with 520 light elements will be assembled behind the stage for the two Semi-Finals and the Final to provide the appropriate atmosphere for the artists. The audience will be seated almost completely around the stage.

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35 kilometres of cables

25 cameras will be used during the show. That includes four camera cranes, two steadycams and two wireless, portable cameras. Below the ceiling, a so-called spidercam which can be steered to any position in the arena and a camera on rails which can be lowered twelve metres provide an overview of the entire arena.

In addition, at this year's Eurovision Song Contest the stage will be completely circled by a camera on rails and will also be covered by a highspeed rail and towercam in front of the stage.

The show will be produced completely independently of the regular electricity grid: 35 kilometres of power cables and eight diesel electricity generators with a combined output of 6 megawatts will supply the arena and the accompanying TV area.

What about the sound?

Around 90 microphones, handheld and headsets, will be used in the ESC shows. The total amplification power will amount to 350,000 watts.

The long reverberation time in the Düsseldorf Arena is a particular challenge for the sound technicians. In order to reduce the reverberation, fabric panels will be hung around the entire arena.

Before TV audiences in the 43 countries hear the live vocals from the stage, they will have been mixed in four cabins which are positioned adjacent to the arena, two for pre-mixing and two for post-mixing.

In order to ensure optimal conditions for the artists during the rehearsals and the shows, there will be a special "in-ear rehearsal room".

The artists will be able to choose their preferred monitor mix and make adjustments after each rehearsal, meaning that they can be sure to hear themselves and the backing track as clearly as possible through an in-ear monitor during their performance.

Each of the 43 acts has a personal memory card with their settings saved on it, which are then read into the monitor desk on the main stage.

More than seven kilometres of rigging beams

Around 120 38-ton lorries are needed to transport the arena lighting, the LED technology, the lighting and sound rigging and the power supply equipment.

The lighting rig will hold more than 2,200 units. They include over 1,100 movable, automated light sources and 1,000 other multifunctional lights, e.g. LEDs which are mounted on more than seven kilometres of rigging beams.

The audience lighting also will become part of the performance. Colours and lighting moods on the stage are also incorporated into the auditorium lighting and LED strips extend far into the audience area.

TV-studio for 35,000 people

In order to transform the Arena in Düsseldorf into a giant TV studio with space for approx. 35,000 people, the whole football pitch has to be removed - a layer of turf that is 40 centimetres thick. The area will be filled with sand which is then compacted. Heavy duty floor panels will then be laid so that lorries and cranes can be driven within the stadium interior.

Around 80 cabins next to the arena will house the technical equipment, stage direction, image mixers, the switch room, the audio control room and the teams from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and Digame, who are responsible for international televoting.

The 7,000 square metre light athletics stadium next to the Arena will be transformed into a press centre for approximately 2,500 journalists from the 43 participating nations and beyond.

Around 100 service providers from Germany and abroad are involved in running the show.

This year's Eurovision Song Contest will be held on the 10th, 12th and 14th of May, from Düsseldorf, Germany.