The host broadcaster for this year's finals of the Eurovision Song Contest on May 12 will be the Finnish Broadcasting Corporation (YLE), which will broadcast the event live in HDTV with 5.1 surround from the Helsinki Arena, a venue that seats 12,000 people. Audio Broadcast Services (ABS) has been appointed to equip the main music control room and the master control room on a rental basis. Because of the complexity of this event and the absolute equipment reliability required, ABS will provide Lawo products that, among other benefits, provide superb flexibility and a high level of redundancy.
Signal distribution will be handled by a Nova73 HD routing system, which will supply the master control room, and integrate four Lawo consoles from three generations. The main music control room will be equipped with Lawo's flagship console, the mc²90. This will supply a 5.1 surround mix to the HD-1 OB truck rented from Prisma, using a Lawo mc²66 console. During the contest, two more YLE-owned OB trucks will be in place for radio broadcast and backup — one fitted with a Lawo mc²80 and another with a Lawo mc 80.
ABS will not only provide Lawo technology but will also equip the master control room with extra control panels and metering systems. In addition, ABS will take overall responsibility for the technical engineering and matrix configuration, with plans in place to install the equipment and provide live onsite support.
For more information, visit www.lawo.de.