On the evening of May the 24th, the eyes of the growing Eurovision community will be on Belgrade as the winner of the 53rd Eurovision Song Contest will be chosen. Host broadcaster RTS will be covering a show on a scale never seen before, with an unprecedented forty-three countries taking part, meaning that for the first time in the Song Contest’s history, two semi-finals will be organised to determine the 25 finalists. And back in the limelight during TV transmissions: microphones from Sennheiser.

The increasing size of the competition means that there has also been a big expansion in technological requirements. The Eurovision Song Contest has become a display of superlatives, with a trend towards ever more spectacular productions. “The stage and lighting technology in the Belgrade Arena is even more lavish than in previous years,” divulges Sennheiser’s RF expert Klaus Willemsen, who has been on location since early May installing the audio technology with Serbian TV station RTS and Sennheiser’s partner, Grothusen. Throughout the process the team will be looking after the artist rehearsals — some of which are public — just as attentively as the two semi-finals on May the 20th and 22nd and the grand finale on May the 24th.

Completely new audio technology
The very latest wireless technology is being used in the ultra-modern Belgrade Arena: Sennheiser’s new EM 3732 twin receiver will be there, together with the SR 350 IEM G2 twin transmitter introduced in March this year and new high-performance transmitter combiners for wireless monitoring. “RTS has 48 microphone channels available for artists,” explains Klaus Willemsen. “Depending on individual preferences and the type of stage show, they’re stepping on stage with SKM 5200 handheld transmitters or SK 5212 bodypack transmitters and HSP 4 headset mikes. There are an additional 12 channels for wireless monitoring.”

“We’ll only be able to finalise the radio frequencies for the wireless mikes and the monitoring systems when the lighting technology is in place,” explains Willemsen. “Radio interference caused by LEDs in the huge video walls and by dimmers and digitally synchronised lights can be found across the whole spectrum from medium wave to gigahertz. For microphone and monitoring frequencies, we then have to search for areas where there are as few active “disrupters” as possible. The Wireless Systems Manager software is a great help when it comes to this, allowing all device parameters to be picked up quickly and effectively, and adapted as the situation requires.”

During the semi-finals and final, the radio spectrum will be continually monitored to bypass or eliminate new disturbances and interference. Replacement equipment on other frequencies is in place for the live shows too. So the contests are not just exciting for the artists and TV audiences in their millions — they represent a particular challenge for an experienced engineer like Klaus Willemsen too.

Microphone and monitor technology in use in Belgrade:
• 27 SKM 5200 handheld transmitters with the dynamic MD 5235 capsule
• 27 SK 5212 bodypack transmitters with HSP 4 headset mikes
• 30 EM 3732 COM twin receivers with command function
• 12 SR 350 IEM G2 twin transmitters
• 24 EK 3253 monitoring receivers
• Various antennas, boosters, splitters and combiners

The Sennheiser Group is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of microphones, headphones and wireless transmission systems. A family firm established in 1945 and based in Wedemark near Hanover, Germany, the company recorded sales of over 356 million euros in 2006, 82% of which was generated abroad. Sennheiser employs over 1,800 people worldwide, around 55% of whom are in Germany. Sennheiser has manufacturing plants in Germany, Ireland and the USA and is represented worldwide by subsidiaries in France, Great Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark (Nordic), Russia, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, Japan, Canada, Mexico and the USA, as well as through long-term trading partners in other countries. Also part of the Sennheiser Group are Georg Neumann GmbH, Berlin (studio microphones), K + H Vertriebs- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (Klein + Hummel studio monitors, installed sound) and the joint venture Sennheiser Communications A/S (headsets for PCs, offices and call centres). 

You can find out the latest information on Sennheiser by visiting http://www.sennheisernordic.com/ or by contacting:

Sennheiser Nordic A/S Denmark
Skovlytoften 33 • DK-2840 Holte
Phone: +45 70 26 66 33 • Fax: +45 70 26 67 11
e-mail: sennheiser@sennheisernordic.com
http://www.sennheisernordic.com/