If you watch the forthcoming Eurovision Song Contest, you will undoubtedly marvel at the lighting and coo at the staging.
For the first time in 25 years, the UK is laying the stage for the largest music event of the year, as the song contest returns to Liverpool, home to some of the most famous performers of all time, including, of course, The Beatles.
But perhaps you’ve never given any attention to how everything came to be. At the Liverpool concert, two men are in charge of ensuring that each performance has an additional dash of magic.
Tim Routledge, Lighting Designer, and Julio Himede, Staging Designer, have been working hard since October to get everything ready for our eyes, but they’ve had a particular obstacle this year.
‘We are bringing Ukraine and British identities together. Our big inspiration is the idea of a hug,’ says Julio.
‘The architecture of the stage resembles a big hug. Liverpool is welcoming Ukraine, the people of Europe, and the world with open arms and saying, “Welcome to Liverpool. This is your party”.’
This is even reflected in their staffing: ‘One of our associate designers is from Ukraine – I found him on Instagram. He’s the director for the Voice in Ukraine, and worked on their Eurovision national selection show. I reached out to him in January and he bit my hand off,’ says Tim.
‘It’s definitely not a British show. It’s in the UK, but we’re standing side by side with Ukraine.’
Mae Muller, the British contender, is incredibly skilled, and her song I Wrote a Song is quite catchy, but British Tim will not be pressed on his ideas.
‘We have to treat every single delegation the exact same,’ said Tim.
‘We’re assisting everybody to the max to make everyone shine and then it’s up to the public to decide.’
When Tim and Julio went ‘speed dating’ in February, the process really accelerated.
This isn’t a Love Island-Eurovision hybrid, but rather an opportunity for those behind the scenes to learn about the artists’ goals for their performances.
‘We had a 20-minute speed date with every delegation,’ explained Tim.
‘This is where we sit down, and present the “toybox” of equipment they can play with, and they express their wishes. It can get pretty intense as each of Eurovision’s departments want information, and each of the acts has its own teams with specific visions.
‘We then assimilate all the information to create the desired looks and present it back to them. It’s almost a virtual reality simulator with the whole set, lighting, and everything else. We program all of that before we get in rehearsals, so we’ve done a large quantity of the work before we even stand in the room.’
‘Before being involved in the show I didn’t realise just how much input the acts had.’
Tim may not have known the extent of the acts’ active involvement, but he did have an unlikely source for some other aspects of the Eurovision process though.
‘The Netflix film, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga is surprisingly accurate,’ he revealed.
‘I knew from that film how much rehearsal time is given. Each act rehearses three times with all the effects at the Liverpool arena – one of those is a dress rehearsal. The acts are given videos so they can share any notes and we can input changes.’
Tim has worked on X Factor, Stormzy’s Glastonbury set, and one of Beyoncé’s global tours, while Julio has crafted masterpieces for the Grammys and VMAs, but at Eurovision they must give up some creative control and listen to the artists totally.
‘This is not my show,’ said Tim.
‘My role as a lighting designer is often to say, “This is what I want the show to look like” but in this case, it’s about helping to create their dream for them. All 37 delegates have a different look and feel that we have to deliver.’
Having a big number of performers to deal with is a logistical difficulty, as Julio explained: ‘Having so many is a logistical burden. Even the Grammys only had about 14 performances! There are also interval acts, an opening performance, and a voting component. It does, however, add to the excitement.
‘I have to transform the stage from country to country so they each have their own identity. Viewers are going to see a lot of variety. We have tried to go from those big-scale wonderful performances, to really intimate, beautiful, and emotional moments.’
Of course, there are certain restrictions on what may be made – water is prohibited for health and safety reasons, and confetti is strictly prohibited.
‘We only have 53 seconds between each act, which is the length of the postcards – the VTs – played in between each performance,’ Tim told us.
‘You’ve got to clear away the previous act’s staging and get the new act ready – that includes swapping the people too. It could be a box, a set of stairs, big lights, or a video screen. It’s already a challenge, so we don’t need things to sweep up too!’
They may have limited time but that doesn’t mean they are doing things by halves.
‘It’s the biggest lighting show the UK has ever seen. There are more lights than in the London Olympics opening ceremony,’ explained Tim, who would know as he also worked at that event.
‘There are 17,500 individual light sources, but we definitely won’t be turning them all on at the same time. We have 15 people alone working on the spotlights.
‘It’s a transformative lighting show that will you feel like you are watching lots of different shows.’
Julio also hasn’t held back: ‘This is probably the biggest stage we’ve seen at Eurovision. Our design has taken over the entire arena. It’s two stages, and the crowd is very close so that the performers can feed off their energy. We also have the acts sitting in the audience, which adds to the atmosphere.’
Working with so many teams, according to Tim, is like a “Tetris puzzle,” and this includes Camera Director Nikki Parsons, who works on Strictly Come Dancing.
‘Nikki is using a system that’s not normally used in British television, that most people aren’t aware of. Normally the director would be calling cameras live, but on this event, every camera is decided and pre-scripted by the director ahead of time and it is cutting automatically.’
Tim will also be able to enjoy viewing his invention while monitoring the monitors to verify everything is going according to plan.
Of course with any live TV things can go wrong and they are prepared for any eventuality. ‘We have a backup plan for everything,’ promised Julio.
Getting a position at Eurovision isn’t easy, and while there are many excellent designers, Tim and Julio’s enthusiasm set them apart.
‘All of us had experience on major shows, but they wanted the people that most wanted it, and weren’t going to treat this like a normal job. This is not that for me.
‘I’ve been watching the show since I was a wee kid with Bucks Fizz,’ said Tim.
Julio added: ‘I grew up in Australia where Eurovision was a massive event for so many of us. I can’t believe I’m here designing the show and working with this wonderful team of creatives.
‘It’s gone from six of us working on a vision in my studio in Australia to seeing it come to life. I couldn’t believe the stage when I first came to Liverpool.’
The Eurovision Song Contest semi-finals are on May 9 and 11 on BBC One at 8pm. The grand final is on Saturday May 13 on BBC One at 8pm.
