The recent Eurovision Song Content 2023 Grand Final at M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, England, featuring performances by artists from 26 countries broadcast to a global audience of more than 160 million, saw audio provider Britannia Row deploy a range of Shure technology that included an Axient Digital wireless system, PSM 1000 in-ear monitoring systems, AD600 Axient Digital spectrum manager, ShowLink, Wireless Workbench software, and Wavetool software.
Tom Brown, project manager at Britannia Row, together with his team and Robert Edwards, head of sound at ESC 2023, specified the equipment, with Brown noting, “We needed a reliable system that we could be confident in pushing to its limits, and the Shure systems provided a comprehensive set of tools and products to manage this effectively. The reliability and known robustness of the PSM 1000 in-ear monitors, huge tuning range of the Axient Digital Wireless System, frequency diversity, and invaluable support of ShowLink were imperative.”
Edwards adds, “In collaboration with our technical partners at Brit Row, the Shure Axient Digital system of microphones was at the very heart of the audio production plan, and the enormous system performed flawlessly during the entire production period of five weeks. It has been described as the most technically proficient and best-sounding Eurovision ever. It’s always a challenge keeping the 37 delegations happy from a sound point of view, but I think in Liverpool, we managed it!”
Josh Lloyd, head of engineering at Britannia Row, explained: “Axient Digital helped with managing spectrum, allowing us to squeeze a lot of channels into reduced spectrum. We had 10 or 12 ShowLink access points across the arena, and it meant we could have control over the handhelds used by all artists in all spaces.”
As part of the equipment, Wireless Workbench (WWB) software was used for monitoring the signal of all wireless mic and in-ear systems. Lloyd: “We pushed Wireless Workbench to its limits, using all the tools available in the software to help artists feel fully comfortable on stage. The AD600 Digital spectrum manager was also very useful – the monitor antenna receiver and six inputs meant we could monitor antennas on and off stage. This unique tool made our workflow much quicker and efficient.”
In addition, the technical team used Wavetool to integrate the Shure kit while monitoring dropouts and pops/crackles to ensure that artists could feel comfortable before going on stage. Due to the sheer scale of the show and high number of RF channels, there was a crew solely devoted tolooking after RF.
Andrew Lillywhite, part of the Britannia Row team and responsible for RF at Eurovision concludes, “I really can’t imagine what it would have been like doing this show without the functionality that Showlink and Wireless Workbench together with Axient Digital provide. With the benefit of Showlink and the remote control and monitoring it provides alongside a host of other features that I am already taking for granted it does make life a lot easier for a show of this size and scale.”
