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What is the live event equivalent of a Formula 1 pit stop?

Bringing 69 years of ground-breaking stage design to over 160 million people across 156 countries, the Eurovision Song Contest is an annual global phenomenon. A spectacle of event production that gets better year-on-year. And, amazingly, one that has only a razor-thin 35 secondchangeover time for sets between songs.

From visual staging to props, lighting and more – now seems the perfect time to explore what we noticed (and what we can learn) as event professionals from what Eurovision’s master stage manager, Richard van Rouwendaal, and his team pull off every year. And, in particular, how we can bring this same action-packed approach to your next event, too.

Setting the stage

The stage is the centrepiece of Eurovision's celebration of culture, creativity, and connection across Europe and beyond. One that changes to match the diverse artistic visions of each participating country. While it’s unlikely that your event will need to bring 37 separate visions to life - each in three-minute bursts - flexibility for format is essential for any live performance, whether it’s an AGM or awards event.

For us, creativity and capability are the watchwords of event design, combining the artistic vision of our creative teams with the Swiss army knife-like versatility of our stage and event design. Not just creating an event that looks and sounds good, but – just like Eurovision – one that reflects your aims, ambitions and personality.

To ensure we capture you and your business just right, our approach is always collaborative. Eurovision is often described as “the biggest co-produced musical event in the world”, and we take the same approach – blending our years of technical and creative expertise to co-create a room, stage and set which:

1. Enables your speakers to feel empowered while presenting
2. Allows your content to make maximum impact
3. Constantly surprises and delights your audience
4. Puts sustainability at the forefront of the solution

And that’s not the only inspiration we take from a production like Eurovision…

Our Eurovision-inspired event Top Tips

Flexible design is key: From the stage to the logo usage, it’s vital to have adaptable elements right down to the smallest detail. For the 69th Eurovision, this meant thinking large-scale with programmable high-tech lasers, pyrotechnics, and 8,000 square feet of LED video wall – while taking the time to reimagine the show’s iconic heart logo as tiny pulsing hearts, modularly choreographed to create flags, typography, and live photos. That’s why we always sweat the small stuff!

Microscopic attention to detail: Did you know, backstage at Eurovision, every performer has their own individually measured microphone stand to guarantee a camera-perfect angle? Similarly, our broadcast specialists take a made-to-measure approach for live events – but go a step further to tailor the experience for the live audience to, with lighting, mobile, and interactive elements woven throughout.

Time to prepare: Creating a live, three-hour broadcast doesn’t happen overnight – closed-door rehearsals and pre-event run-throughs allow everyone to get up to speed on the whole show. It’s just one reason we build in preparation and rehearsal time for major events, with room to adjust, iterate, and improve as we go. That way, when we go live, everything is pitch-perfect, from the scene changes to video cues and presenter handovers.

Ask the audience: At Eurovision, streamlining audience contributions is a panic-inducing mix of satellite, fibre, and video over IP (VoIP) feeds to capture live results from 37 voting countries during the grand final. At CTL, we also have a variety of ways to encourage audience participation – from live polling to bespoke apps, spotlight segments, in-person Q&A sessions, and even Dragon’s Den-style voting challenges.

How we make magic

At CTL, we’ve had our fair share of spectacular stages, diverse performances and inspirational innovation over the years – all managed end-to-end by our experienced team. And, while we’ve never quite hit the scale of Eurovision, we’ve come pretty close… including:

Launch on a volcano: Amongst inhospitable Icelandic terrain, we gave attendees a ‘once in a lifetime’ chance to walk in their customer’s shoes – navigating subterranean lava fields, moonlight dinners, flaming torch treks, and even Iceland’s first ever drone light show. Despite sudden snowstorms, magnetic blasts and even an earthquake, our team delivered an iconic result for the launch of a truly life-changing product.

Lighting up a landmark: Welcoming 184 colleagues to the heart of Hungary was only the beginning. From our base in Budapest, we delivered unique daily visual identities through interconnected room design – from tailored lighting to programmable table globes and app features. And we topped it off with immersive installations, bespoke animation and music, all aboard a chartered boat down the Danube towards the iconic Liberty Bridge, freshly illuminated in client brand colours.

Community-focused stardom: From its launch to the follow-up event, our teams played a central role in bringing the Gaydio Pride Awards to life – encompassing production, event management, full writing, and showcalling. In some ways, it was a mini-Eurovision; we combined dynamic lighting, pyrotechnics and confetti cannons with Grammy award-winning artists, celebrities and range of hosts. All while keeping the event’s focus where it needed to be, on the LGBTQ+ charities, organisations and individuals making an incredible community impact all year long.

Streaming-style connections: Is your virtual summit at risk of going stale? When we were asked to help unite two business divisions for the first time via an online conference, our minds ran wild with ideas to encourage new connections. The universal language of cinema became our cut-through, transforming shared business practices into classic movie posters – while hosting the conference through a streamlined Netflix-style portal that brought together 36 countries worldwide to browse and connect in their own time.

Embodying the Eurovision spirit

No matter the scale, that moment where the lights go down and the show starts is always special - all the planning, engineering and creative vision united in a spectacular live event that captures your audience’s emotions. That’s what we live for, and it’s why we love creating live events.

So, if you’re ready to bring your messaging to life, we’re here to make it happen in the most impactful way possible – creating emotional connections and memories for your audience that will last a lifetime. In fact, let’s talk about it today at [email protected]!