APRIL 2

WELCOME TO THE 10TH EDITION OF THE EUROVISION DIARY!

APRIL 2

Wazz up music lovers!
Last day of freedom……………. we’re moving into our hotel tomorrow afternoon and from Monday morning, we’re locked up at The Globe for almost six weeks. I guess it will be almost summer before we get out of there! I’m sure some of you ask yourself, why on earth are they moving into a hotel, when they live in Stockholm? Well……… it’s quite simple. Eurovision as a production is extremely demanding, and you need to get into the bubble. You simply can’t have your daily life interfering with your job during these six weeks. Plus, of course, my home in Stockholm doesn’t come with a lobby bar…….. not yet at least…….

Here she is! The tallest spheric building in the world! The Stockholm Globe Arena! Its grand opening was on February 19, 1989, and the first artist ever performing a show in here was Gary Moore. Rest in peace Mr Scarface! Few bend those strings as you did. BUT, it was also the home of Eurovision Song Contest 2000. My VERY first TV show! And also the show that put my name on the international map and has generated adventures for me all around the world ever since. I owe my entire career to this show!

We were so young and innocent back then………… Here is Fredrik Jönsson with the Virtuoso. This was the first REAL gig this puppy did (referring to the desk).

But I was really cool already back then! Check it out! Double radios must count for something……………

Anyhoooooo, that was then, now is now! It’s a new year and a new show, and we’ve spent tons of hours doing site surveys in the building, making sure that all we want to do actually fits. For some strange reason we always end up staring into the ceiling……….

Besides the travels to tradeshows, we’ve also been around looking at what different manufacturers have to offer. Here is the gang in Belgium, visiting Barco. Nice touch with the flags! From left to right- Tobbe Magnesved – Technical Manager for staging, Fredrik Jönsson – Lighting Designer, Frida Arvidsson – Production Designer, Viktor Brattström – Production Designer and our token Finn, Mikki Kunttu – Video Content Designer, hence the white and blue flag……..

I think it’s important for you to know what Frida looks like in a hard hat………

And Viktor too! Having a blog is just such a great tool for making new friends!

Back to Barco! We found plenty of cool stuff at their factory, but it was bad timing. This ¨small¨ projector is laser driven and has an amazing contrast. But……. it does not travel that well……… and it weighs more than a dead horse……..But some day!

Ok, back to reality! This is our production office at SVT. As you can tell, we are REALLY busy!

No really, the picture above is from the first day we got access to the room, which used to belong to the SVT workshop. Now it looks like this.If you can guess who sits behind the giant M, you will win a t-shirt! Send your guesses to: schnabelkase@m-m-pr.com

It feels like we’ve done a million tests in this project so far, just to make sure that our plans will hold up once you take them out of a drawing and into reality.
Like this one: How long does it take to melt a Sharpy?

Or this one? How do you color match the LED floor with the LED wall when the wall has a darkened diffuser?

Or……how the hell (can I say hell in here????) did we do this!?!?!?!?!?

Needless to say, all tests are done on camera, using the same broadcast equipment as we will in the show, to make sure it works under the correct conditions.

Ok folks, kids are hungry, and so am I, so I got to go!

Stay out of trouble, and may the force be with you all!