In this Eurovision News Case Study, we look at three Eurovision operations: the G20 meeting, the NATO summit and, finally, Obama’s trip to Turkey.

CONTEXT
Barack Obama’s first overseas trip as President started in London, the venue for the G20 summit of industrialized and developing nations. The talks on the world economic crisis made for a compelling event for all broadcasters.

Fresh from the London G20, President and Mrs.Obama arrived in Strasbourg for the NATO summit, where military strategy and alliances were at the top of the agenda. Pictures of their meeting with French President Sarkozy and his wife Carla were the most sought after of the day. Politics as well as fashion highlighted the meeting.

President Obama ended his tour in Turkey, with stops in Ankara and Istanbul. Obama’s key mission was repairing America’s relations with the Muslim world and reinvigorating the frayed U.S.-Turkish strategic alliance.

LOCATIONS
London – Eurovision established the largest broadcast operation in Excel Centre with 50+ workspaces, eight standup positions and nine outgoing satellite paths. Eurovision clients benefited from enhanced pool distribution with choices in each workspace of broadcast format, aspect ratio and translations together with access to available broadcast material.

We also provided three standup positions and tape play-out outside Buckingham Palace for the meeting with HM Queen Elizabeth II. Eurovision had live camera positions outside City Hall for broadcasters covering the demonstrations and protests throughout the city.

In response to a request from Russian broadcasters, Eurovision set up a three-camera operation for President Medvedev’s post-summit hotel press conference.

Strasbourg – The Eurovision feed point was at the International Press Center in Strasbourg, with additional transmission facilities in the city centre for broadcasters covering the often violent protests. Eurovision also set up an operation across the border in Baden Baden, Germany, where the leaders met for a working dinner.

Turkey – Eurovision established operations in Ankara, opposite the Parliament where President Obama gave his speech, and in Istanbul, inside the Crinagar Palace overlooking the Bosphorus bridge. Each operation had three outgoing paths and access to available pool coverage.

RESULTS
London – The four Eurovision operations gave broadcasters the opportunity for comprehensive live and edited coverage throughout London. They responded with a high level of bookings at every location. Eurovision met this demand with a total of 15 satellite paths and 13 standup positions. There was intense activity at the summit media centre, which was open continuously for 27 hours and served the needs of dozens of broadcasters from throughout the world.

Strasbourg – Broadcasters were once again able to rely on Eurovision for the highest standard of service. Our close association with NATO and the host broadcaster allowed us to provide comprehensive event coverage as well as first rate broadcast services.

Turkey – The event went very well for both President Obama and Eurovision and, despite some challenges on the weather front, correspondents were able to get what they needed.

“We knew this would be one of the key political events of 2009. It brought with it big challenges: the British G20 organizers allowed only 36 hours for set up at the summit media centre. It was a tribute to the commitment and skill of the Eurovision engineering and production teams that this timescale was met and that the resulting operation was successful.” — Jim Akhurst, Producer

“The two separate locations in Strasbourg really challenged us, especially when security became tight and demonstrators turned violent. Nevertheless, careful and detailed planning, good relationships and troubleshooting when necessary allowed Eurovision to smooth over the rough spots and make a difficult logistical operation look easy!” — Lance Newhart, Producer

“One broadcaster anchored a special programme using three simultaneous cameras and satellite outputs. Everything was going smoothly until a storm came out of nowhere, bringing in wind and heavy rains. The storm nearly knocked over one of the specialized lights. However, everyone from the crew pitched in, grabbing light stands, tripods and microphone stands – keeping everything together – and, amazingly, the show went on…with guests feeling significantly more damp!” — Youssef El Alfy, Producer