Preparations at Olympiyski Indoor Arena in full swing

Truss, lights, sound equipment, stage elements... Over the next week or so, hundreds of tons of material are being brought into the massive arena. The first big hurdle to take was the creation of the so-called mother grid, a construction made of four kilometers (!) of steel to carry the main lights and sound equipment in the ceiling of the arena. As soon as the mother grid is up, it can be rigged will the necessary equipment and stage construction can proceed.

Outside the arena, power generators providing over 8 megawatt are placed to ensure plenty of power (and a back-up!) for the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest.

While the heavy lifting proceeds as planned at the arena in Moscow, graphics designers in London seek for their creative boundaries as they are producing light design and graphics for the 42 entries. If you are curious what that would look like, have a look at this stunning stage design animation! The setting for this year's Eurovision Song Contest is a creation of US-based set designer John Casey.

For the next couple of weeks, Eurovision.tv has the pleasure of staying in close touch with Ola Melzig, production manager (or should we say veteran?) at the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, and his assistant Joan. With their years of Eurovision Song Contest experience, they will keep you posted of the preparations and developments at the arena via Eurovision.tv, as well as through their own blog, the traditional Eurovision Diary. Keep up the good work!