Crash, boom, bang! Builders have begun assembling the Eurovision 2017 stage at the International Exhibition Center in Kyiv. The team, which includes workers from Ukraine, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Belgium, are busy assembling everything in the venue around the clock.
As we previously reported, Dutch company Unbranded will build the Eurovision 2017 stage, just as they did in Vienna, back in 2015. The first shift of workers is already in Kyiv and they are wasting no time. The whole crew has begun working immediately, in day and night shifts, so the construction never stops.
In this video below, you can see the progress of the stage construction, with explanations in Ukrainian. We will break down the main points for you in English below.
First of all, 40 trucks with equipment for the Eurovision 2017 stage have made it safely to Kyiv. Apart from the Dutch and Ukrainian builders, the team includes Swedes, Belgians, Germans, Danes, and it will continue to grow to include other nationalities as well.
Christer Björkman, who joined the core team as Content Producer in February, says that the empty arena means that everything has to be built from scratch, which allows the team to realise their dream for Eurovision 2017.
Ola Melzig, the Technical Director of Eurovision 2016 and this year’s Head of Production, explains that the show is going to be much bigger than Stockholm. The venue is bigger than last year, the acoustics are better (Ruslana should now breathe a sigh of relief) and the extra space makes way for more opportunities. They are also using twice as more electricity this year. There will be 1800 spotlights in 2017, compared to just 600 back in 2005. We’re so ready for all the lights and shadows!
The IT and radio systems are working already. The walls will be covered in black cloth, so that it looks good on TV. This way, viewers at home will only get to see the screens and the stage, and won’t be distracted by white walls.
The weight of the structure that is lifted into the air is 140 tons, 40 more tons than in Stockholm. That is because a big part of the stage is going to be hanging from the ceiling. We’re going up, up, up!
The reason why the team is working non-stop is that time, the only thing that cannot be bought, is short. By 20 April, the stage has to be fully operational, so that the rehearsals with the stand-ins can begin already, ahead of the artists’ arrival in Kyiv.
The little white statue that you can see in the video is a running joke among the crew, who say that they have redesigned the trophy as well. Rest assured, however, the microphone-shaped trophy is here to stay. It has already been crafted by the Swedish company Kosta Boda, complete with the Ukrainian colours inside the Eurovision heart.
Die original ESC-Trophäe 2017 – hier hergestellt und in meiner Hand ???? #actorslife #lovemyjob #filming #presenter #esc #esc2017 #joweil pic.twitter.com/mh5RrRWNbu
— Jo Weil (@JoWeilOfficial) March 30, 2017
Nonetheless, we are glad to see that the organisers are in good spirits and that things seem to be running smoothly. We cannot wait to see how the stage will look on 20 April.
What do you think of the stage preparation so far? Are you excited to know that the organisers are wasting no time in building the stage for what promises to be an amazing show? Sound off in the comments box below and on our wiwibloggs app!
Bigger is not always Better!! It will be hard to beet Stockholm last year.
I wasn’t prepared to see Oliver Sabel here. My hear don’t want to beat again. I will love the ESC soooooo much more if he is on it. And I was already to much fan ????????????????
Nothing new, except a vlog that might contain some leaks about stage mechanic in future (still hoping for).
@esc1234 – if you go through his past designs, they are “all the same” or better said “follow the same idea or concept”. Nothing comes “new” from him. The German one in 2011 was a X-Factor rip-off, a stage which again was designed by him, so he basically used the same idea. In Azerbaijan, he also re-used ideas. In the USA, on some MTV shows, he re-used ideas, as well… This year, the ESC stage in Kyiv is a re-use of those MTV shows. He’s not original, AT ALL. This goes as a contrast to the guy that designed the… Read more »
That stage is the real ugliness not Yulia.
Does that huge, oddly shaped structure looming over the stage serve any actual purpose other than making people debate what it resembles? Because right now it’s just looking like a waste of space and materials.
I was wondering that. I’ve never been there but Globen is HUGE! The size and the shape of it (the ceiling!), this place doesn’t have the height and I wouldn’t think it can fit more people in.
But it’s still looks an ideal venue
Are they suggesting that the arena is bigger or the stage?
Because I actually thought that the venue was smaller than Globen.
Bigger doesn’t always mean better; we’ll have to see the performances first to decide
the bigger the better i’d say
@Tazmanian DeMoon
haha, btw thank you for also being a Yodel It fan, i just wanted to say that 🙂
@ Tazmanian DeMoon
I think the stage will look even bigger once it’s fully erect.
Is it really considered bigger this year? According to Wikipedia the capacity is less than 8000 people :/
This scene looks small for me. Just remove the cap and nothing remains.
@ESC84
I guess he was at the right place at the right time. It looked like he was at a costa boda headquarter or something.
What’ s Jo Weil’ s role in Eurovision?
I don’t care about the shape, but I wonder if that ”hat” has any purpose. It will be great if it can be used by dancers to come down like in bungee jumping. Maybe Alma’s dancers.
Good to see a big stage…. The stage in 2007 was too small.. It ruined several performances.
The size of the stage might beat 2016.. But something tells me the presenters and overall production will not beat 2016.
Petra and Måns was magical… Best presenters!
No offense guys, but do you have an editor? Considering how professional some of your content is, there’s still a lot thats a bit jarring to read.
I’m so exited, can’t wait!;)
Jo weil ! Sexy guy
I think this scene will kill Sweden.