Van 6 tot en met 9 maart 2025 vond het spectaculaire Europese Kampioenschap Indoor Atletiek plaats in Omnisport Apeldoorn. Topatleten uit heel Europa streden om de titels in diverse onderdelen, goed voor maar liefst 10 uur live tv per dag. FabriQ Media Group werkte samen met de NOS als host broadcast production partner, met de technische ondersteuning van EMG/Gravity Media. Accountmanager Lex Meijer deelt een kijkje achter de schermen van deze dynamische productie.

Ervaring en historie

Het EK Indoor Atletiek werd voor de 38e keer georganiseerd en Nederland had de eer dit prachtige evenement te hosten. In 2016 organiseerde Nederland de Europese kampioenschappen outdoor, toen in Amsterdam. EMG was daar ook bij! Lex: “Onze ervaring van dit soort grote sportevenementen, maar ook van de European Championships in Berlijn en München, namen we mee naar Apeldoorn om het evenement naar een hoger niveau te tillen.”

Een uniek en uitdagend evenement

“Een indoor atletiekevenement brengt unieke uitdagingen met zich mee, maar juist dat maakt het spannend! Tijdens de opbouw vraagt de beperkte ruimte van de indoorlocatie om een strakke en efficiënte planning. Tijdens de wedstrijddagen vinden er tegelijkertijd verschillende disciplines plaats op meerdere locaties binnen het stadion, die allemaal haarscherp in beeld moeten worden gebracht. Een complexe, maar vooral fantastische uitdaging!”, vertelt Lex enthousiast.

Hoogwaardige productie op locatie

Al in 2020 startte de eerste voorbereidingen. Lex: “Wij kregen van FabriQ Media Group het vertrouwen om voor de host broadcast productie alle benodigde faciliteiten en operationele crew te leveren”.  Aan de voorkant is er met FabriQ geruime tijd besteed aan de voorbereiding. Overall verantwoordelijk voor EMG/Gravity Media was Projectmanager Hilbert Flokstra. Lex: “Hilbert, die tijdens het evenement de operationele leiding had, ging als eerste aan de slag de gemaakte plannen technisch uit te denken en intern uit te zetten. Hij onderzocht welke middelen en mensen EMG moest inzetten om het in z’n geheel operationeel te krijgen. Denk hierbij aan het samenbrengen van de juiste crew met de gewenste kennis en ervaring, tijdschema’s opzetten, workflows uitdenken, wagens en materialen reserveren. Dat behoort zoal tot zijn taken en daar is hij heel ervaren in.”

De beste mensen en middelen

EMG/Gravity Media bracht de geavanceerde OB-vlaggenschepen NOVA 105 en NOVA 106 naar Apeldoorn. In deze 2 OB’s werden vier regies gecreëerd om alle actie gelijktijdig vast te leggen, zodat bijvoorbeeld het kogelstoten, verspringen en hardlopen naadloos geregistreerd konden worden. EMG/Gravity Media verzorgde ook de techniek voor de Event Production met een indoor flypack-regie, inclusief twee draadloze camera’s, een vaste camera en uitgebreide opname en playout-mogelijkheden. Meer dan 150 professionals, waaronder projectmanagers/coördinatoren, cameramensen, geluids-, beeld- en RF technici, grafische en TOC-operators en operationeel assistenten werkten samen om het EK Indoor Atletiek perfect te faciliteren.

Innovatieve technieken en speciale camera’s

Voor deze hoogwaardige productie werden meer dan 45 camera’s ingezet. EMG Connectivity faciliteerde de RF-verbindingen voor de draadloze camera’s, terwijl Aerial Camera Systems (onderdeel van EMG/Gravity Media) specialistische camera’s leverde. Lex: “Bijvoorbeeld high-speed minicamera’s bij het polsstokhoogspringen en verspringen, waardoor we prachtige slow-motionbeelden konden maken.” Facilitair partner Eurogrip zorgde voor de indrukwekkende Eagle Eye-camera, waarmee atleten vanuit unieke hoeken gefilmd konden worden. Daarnaast werden 25 commentaarposities opgezet, compleet met monitoren, commentaar units en technische ondersteuning en leverde EMG ook het Technical Operations Center op het TV compound.

Perfecte samenwerking en flexibiliteit

De intensieve opbouwdagen voorafgaand aan het evenement vergden een strakke planning. Lex: “Op 28 februari startten we met het bekabelen van de venue voor de HB productie, EBU en visiting broadcasters. Op maandag 3 maart plaatsten we de trucks en begon de opbouw van alle techniek en het TOC. Dankzij een sterk team en een heldere workflow verliep dit proces soepel.”

De samenwerking met FabriQ Media Group verliep uitstekend. “Wij werken al langer samen aan grote events, zoals het ABN Amro Open en de ESPN Eredivisie Awards. Op locatie was de sfeer top en door goede voorbereiding konden we last-minute verzoeken moeiteloos honoreren.”

NOS Studio Sport en Langs de Lijn

Ook voor het omlijstende NOS Studio Sport-programma, tijdens het evenement dagelijks te zien bij de NPO, speelde EMG/Gravity Media een cruciale rol. Uplink HOL219 werd als regie- en satellietwagen ingezet voor de studioproductie en interviews met drie camera’s en een commentaar positie voor radio en televisie op locatie.

Succesvol en indrukwekkend

Het EK Indoor Atletiek 2025 is een prachtig voorbeeld van hoe een grootschalig sportevent succesvol gefaciliteerd kan worden. “Dankzij een gedetailleerde voorbereiding, een deskundig team en de nieuwste technologieën is dit een evenement om trots op te zijn! We danken FabriQ Media Group voor deze geweldige opdracht”, besluit Lex.

EMG Italy completely renewed the infrastructure of the San Siro stadium, one of the symbols of Milan and Italian football

The Giuseppe Meazza Stadium, a tribute to the legendary Italian footballer, also known as “San Siro” from the Milanese district where it stands, is the largest sports facility in Italy and the second largest in Europe in terms of capacity.
Inaugurated in 1926, it is owned by the Municipality of Milan and managed through the company “M-I Stadio”. Today it seats 75,923 with the two teams AC Milan and FC Internazionale, who use it to play their matches.

In addition to concerts and religious events, it regularly hosts the Serie A TIM football championship, the Coppa Italia, the Supercoppa Italiana, the Champions League, the Europa League, the World Cup and the European Football Championships. Following an intense commitment, first for the design and then for the construction, EMG Italy completed, a few months ago, the complete renovation of the now dated audio/video/data infrastructure of the San Siro Stadium, also known as “La Scala del Calcio” for its beauty and prestige.

The work began at the end of the 2022-23 top-flight football championship and kept the technicians and companies involved busy for over five months, leading to the testing of the solution in mid-November. The new and advanced technological infrastructure was used for the first time on 2 December 2023, during the television production of the Serie A football match Milan-Frosinone.

“We have redesigned the entire infrastructure,” says Francesco Donato, CTO of EMG Italy, “with this project we have updated the systems not only by adapting the wiring to current technological standards, but we have also thought about it in light of the new filming formats, which require a different and more current configuration of the filming stations. The narrative of our days is certainly aimed at the maximum spectacularization of the sporting event and therefore we have implemented new solutions and positions previously available only through additional temporary systems.

Then, to make the connection with the filming equipment located at the TV compound easier, we have designed and installed all the terminations and active devices in a special container to allow the best connectivity to and from the stadium, in addition to having implemented control solutions to verify the functionality of both the active and passive components that make up the system infrastructure. The new solution, therefore, allows for the creation of productions that are significant from the point of view of narrative and technological complexity, favoring a rapid process of installing the filming stations as well as everything necessary from the point of view of reporting and interviews”.

New setup

The new setup has created 23 new shooting positions inside the stadium, plus an additional termination point for the cabling that is inside the container in the TV compound.
The cabling of the shooting positions was created with SMPTE cables and dark fibre for all positions, and active equipment was installed in some positions, both for the transport of video signals and audio signals. Finally, for some of these positions, copper connections were also created, to be considered only and exclusively as a reserve system. The system was also designed to allow a good degree of scalability, to guarantee a possible temporary expansion, should it be necessary to implement large-scale shooting configurations.

“There’s more,” adds Francesco Donato, “the new infrastructure was created in such a way that it will eventually be possible to carry out television production also in “reverse” mode and therefore, if required, it would be possible to carry out two simultaneous productions with great advantage from a commercial point of view, since the visibility of the sponsors would be doubled”.

EMG Italy, as project manager, carried out all the engineering of the project and meticulously followed the physical implementation carried out by CRV Sistemi di Nicola Carvelli, with the contribution of Professional Show which supplied the active components of the system.

Some numbers of the system:
• 30 km of cable between SMPTE and Dark Fiber
• 60 SMPTE camera points
• 200 dark fiber connections
• 82 SDI to Fiber and Fiber to SDI video trunks
• 210 Audio to fiber and fiber to audio
• 30 trunks with media converters

Double safety

“One of the fundamental objectives of this project”, adds Simone Sofia, Technical Resources Manager who personally followed the implementation, “was to guarantee the total safety of the system, which we wanted to be truly double and complete.
This means that first of all the cable routes between the shelter and the wall box were studied in particular, taking care to prepare dedicated passages and avoiding crossing old cable ducts. Furthermore, there was particular attention to the redundancy of the electrical supply, so that any event can take place without the slightest risk of discontinuity in the service.
The power supply, in fact, is double and is supplied to the shelter and the wall boxes both by a protected network with an electrical cabin owned by the stadium, and by hooking up the generator, when it is used in events. The same applies to the prevention of malfunctions due to possible excessively high temperatures. The shelter where all the connections end, positioned in the TV compound, operates at constant and controlled temperature and humidity.
All the wall boxes are also equipped with internal ventilation that manages and maintains constant the temperature, when necessary, in order to safeguard the machines contained even in the case of beating sun, avoiding possible blockages of the equipment due to excessively high temperatures.
All this is managed by EMG both in maintenance and in daily management, entrusted to a technical supervisor who, in addition to assisting the broadcasters in setting up the events, coordinates the entire active part of the system from a dedicated control station inside the shelter”.

The advantages: reliability and speed of set-up

The new system provides a great advantage both in the set-up phase and in terms of operation, then, last but not least, it is completely modular and adjustable both in terms of use and in terms of flexibility.
Francesco Donato concludes: “I would like to remind you that this new configuration also prepares the sports facility to facilitate a possible technological implementation, to develop “on-venue” communication and entertainment strategies and to promote new service systems, such as the adoption of 5G technological solutions that allow the capture and dissemination of special content dedicated to the entertainment of the public”.

© 2024 Presspool PressOffice RobertoLandini

Are you ready to shout from the rooftops?

At Gravity Media, live sport is an integral part of our business. Gravity Media not only support the production and broadcast facilities of major sporting events, but they also support the construction of the stadia that makes those competitions possible.

With experience spanning decades – and almost every major sports event in existence – Gravity Media has become a world leader in designing stadium broadcast solutions fit for international federation standards. Gravity Media has provided services to events internationally, including most recently the World Cup in Qatar.

Working closely with sports associations, constructors, and contractors, the Gravity Media team is often involved from the outset of these major capital projects. Clients come to Gravity Media for comprehensive, end-to-end solutions comprising planning, consultancy, design, engineering, project management, installation, commissioning, training, maintenance, and aftercare.

Gravity Media’s aim is to future-proof our installations as far as possible, including fitting out venues for multiple legacy uses. The result being stadium clients are connected and fully prepared for content creation and distribution to global audiences both now and in years to come – be that for sport, music, or any other large-scale event.

Are you working on your next stadium construction in Saudi Arabia or the Middle East? Reach out to Gravity Media to find out how they can support you on your next project – enquiries@gravitymedia.com

Ed Tischler, Gravity Media’s Managing Director and Edward Dowdall, Business Development Manager recently caught up with George Bevir at SVG Europe to discuss the services Gravity Media provided at the World Cup.

Gravity Media provided a host of services for a range of broadcasters at the World Cup, including technical support, production services and crew for the likes of FOX Sports, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, and Sky Sports.

“The World Cup in Doha has been a real chance for us to showcase the depth of our global Gravity Media turnkey services, as well as reinstating our presence and experience in Doha,” says Ed Tischler.

The Gravity Media team is now focused on planning for the 2023 calendar of upcoming events in the region, as Qatar will play host to the Asia Cup in January 2024 and FINA Swimming Championships in 2024.

Read the full article here.

Na een complexe tenderprocedure werd EMG door de stad München geselecteerd als exclusief technisch partner tijdens de Europese kampioenschappen in negen verschillende takken van sport.

Het was een bomvol sportschema dat tussen 11 en 21 augustus in München werd afgewerkt. De Beierse hoofdstad creëerde daarvoor samen met het Olympic Park een tijdelijk Lokaal Organisatie Comité, een verzameling van 180 vakspecialisten. Doel van dit LOC was om de evenement- en host broadcast-organisatie naast elkaar te brengen, wat kortere en efficiëntere communicatielijnen opleverde.

Nu de rebranding van alle EMG-bedrijven in Europa – in Nederland voorheen United – achter de rug is, werd in München weer eens duidelijk waartoe men gezamenlijk in staat is. EMG Duitsland, EMG België, EMG Nederland, EMG UK, Aerial Camera Systems (ACS), Broadcast RF en Eurolinx waren in totaal met een kleine driehonderd medewerkers actief en werkten nauw samen onder leiding van een centraal projectteam.

Chris Demeulemeester fungeerde als key accountmanager tijdens deze monsterklus. “Een van de belangrijkste verschillen met andere grote multi-sportevenementen was eigenlijk de organisatiestructuur; in plaats van voor een productiemaatschappij te werken zoals bijvoorbeeld bij de Olympische Spelen of de Tour de France, was onze klant hier het LOC dat speciaal voor de gelegenheid werd opgezet door het European Championships Management dat het evenement beheert en coördineert in samenwerking met de deelnemende federaties en de stad München.”

Olympiapark

EMG was belast met alle technische en productiefaciliteiten in én buiten het Olympiapark, waaronder twaalf IP remote regies, zes reportagewagens (OB trucks) op de locaties in en rond München, een mega Technical Operations Center, een Media Asset Management-systeem en alle draadloze camera en RF-voorzieningen. Het LOC was op haar beurt verantwoordelijk voor de redactie, zoals het inhuren van regisseurs en cameramensen. Voor het wielrennen en de marathon bijvoorbeeld werd een grote groep Nederlandse en Belgische EMG-collega’s ingehuurd vanwege hun expertise op het gebied van connectiviteit.

Tijdens de EK’s werden in negen verschillende sporten Europese titels verdeeld: atletiek, turnen, beachvolleybal, kanovaren, roeien, sportklimmen, tafeltennis, triatlon en wielrennen. In totaal kwamen in München meer dan 4.700 sporters uit vijftig landen in actie en werden er 177 wedstrijden gehouden. De EBU liet weten dat publieke zenders in zeker veertig Europese landen meer dan 3.500 uur live sport uitzonden op televisie – 500 uur meer dan vier jaar geleden. In Nederland zond de NOS dagelijks een aantal uren live uit via NPO 3 en via streams online en de NOS-app.

Backstage:

diPloy

Het hart van de European Championships vormde het fraaie Olympiapark met onder meer het Olympiastadion, dat werd gebouwd voor de Zomerspelen van 1972 en de hoofdlocatie was voor de atletiekonderdelen. In het Olympiapark vonden ook freestyle BMX, mountainbike, crosscountry, de triatlon en het turnen plaats.

“Alle sporten hebben we met twaalf verschillende ‘remote IP’ regies geproduceerd”, aldus Demeulemeester. “Voor de wedstrijden die niet in het Olympiapark plaatsvonden, werden zes externe OB trucks ingezet. In het International Broadcast Centre bewaakten we de kwaliteit, werden de feeds doorgestuurd naar andere regies en distribueerden we ze verder. De signaaldistributie tussen alle locaties in München werd verzorgd via Riedel MicroN technologie. Zij creëerden eigenlijk de snelwegen en wij vulden die met de nodige IP streams om flexibel content te produceren.”

“We hebben het complete event met ons IP diPloy concept geproduceerd. De gehele ‘engine power’ was ondergebracht in twee zeecontainers op de hoek van het IBC. Deze twee data centers vervingen eigenlijk de capaciteit van twaalf ‘klassieke’ regiewagens”, vertelt Demeulemeester. EMG ontwierp dit IP-platform voor de Olympische Spelen in Tokio. De grote uitdaging daar was de enorme ‘change-over’ tussen de openingsceremonie en de eerste atletiekwedstrijden. In 2021 werden tijdens de FIS Nordic World Ski Championships voor het eerst meerdere regies op kilometers  afstand aan elkaar verbonden. Datzelfde concept vond zijn weg naar het Grand Slam-tennistoernooi van Roland Garros.

MAM

Volgens Demeulemeester betekende het gebruik van diPloy in München veel minder bekabeling en hoefden minder uren aan de installatie te worden besteed. “We waren aanwezig in meer dan veertig containers op het IBC met een opbouwtijd van slechts zes dagen. Technisch gezien blijft het natuurlijk enorm complex, ook al omdat de complete infrastructuur volledig redundant moet zijn.” EMG was tijdens de EK ook verantwoordelijk voor de draadloze camera-infrastructuur. Eurolinx (Nederland en België) en zusterfirma Broadcast RF uit Engeland gebruikten daarvoor exclusief zenders in de 7Ghz band.
Het meest gecompliceerde en minst zichtbare aspect van EMG’s rol bij deze operatie was volgens Demeulemeester het tijdelijk opgezette Media Asset Management-platform (MAM). Dit netwerk verbond alle OB trucks en IP regies. In totaal stonden 54 x EVS VIA-servers in netwerk met elkaar. “Dit MAM-systeem was een online website met ingebouwde zoekfunctionaliteit. Alle clips van alle sporten waren cloudbased beschikbaar voor sportfederaties, rechtenhouders, journalisten en tv-stations zodat ze konden worden gebruikt voor dagelijkse journaals, social media, archieven en dergelijke, in alle mogelijke formats en codecs.”

“Alle feeds werden ingeladen in dit MAM-systeem, dat vervolgens weer in verbinding stond met de acht montagesets die we ter plekke hadden gebouwd. De slomo servers (LSM, tevens EVS) van alle regies stonden in een centraal, uiteraard sterk beveiligd EMG netwerk. Op die manier verbonden we het centrale International Broadcast Center op het Olympiapark met alle sporten die buiten het park plaatsvonden. Een team van tien loggers voegde de nodige metadata toe, zodat clips van alle live events gemakkelijk konden worden teruggevonden. In totaal hadden we ongeveer 912 terabyte aan lokale opslag alleen al om de operatie te laten draaien. Na de EK’s zijn we nog 48 uur gebleven om de content naar elders te uploaden en er een deep archive van te maken.”

Friday 12 August 2022 – The countdown is officially on to the eagerly anticipated Qatar World Cup 2022 with just 100 days until this year’s most anticipated football tournament.

Adding to the previous World Cup pedigree, Gravity Media was proud to be a go-to media and broadcast partner across the last 5 events ensuring comprehensive broadcast solutions at the 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018 editions.

With less than three months to go until Qatar 2022, the team has been busy equipping the host stadia with permanent broadcast and communications infrastructure fit for such a large-scale, high-profile event.

With extensive experience in stadium fit-outs and big-ticket live events, Gravity Media was commissioned to support the redevelopment of the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha – the first World Cup venue to be readied – as well as Al Bayt Stadium, Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium and Al-Thumama Stadium.

All the projects are being run and managed out of our Gravity Media Doha office, alongside wider Global support, ensuring technical expertise is met by the necessary local knowledge to deliver these successfully.

Gravity Media has had a permanent operation in Qatar since 2007, servicing the burgeoning demand for live sport, entertainment, conference, and cultural event coverage across the region.

Furthermore, the Gravity Media local team has recently taken delivery of a newly commissioned outside broadcast mobile unit, Suhail, which has been designed with DSNG capabilities, and can take up to six fixed cameras and two RFs, as well as seating a crew of seven. It was successfully deployed for the World Cup Draw back in April supporting a high-profile rights holder.

Edward Tischler – Gravity Media MD – EMEA comments:

“Live and near-live coverage in football is where many of Gravity Media’s diverse capabilities come together, from consultancy, planning and design, to engineering, pre-production, logistics and crewing.

At every stage of an assignment, we provide the kit, the people, and the experience to ensure the project exceeds expectations. This includes live broadcast services, fast-turnaround highlights, and full-time edits, along with scripted, voiced and ready-to-air highlights programmes at the end of each match night.”

To find out how Gravity Media can support you with your World Cup production, email enquiries@gravitymedia.com

PRESS COVERAGE

• SVG Europe
• 4RFV
• TVB Europe
• LBBOL

The brand-new International Tennis Complex in Kuwait City has opened its doors to thousands of fans showcasing a world-class venue home to 18 tennis courts including two show courts accommodating 5,000 and 1,500 people. The complex is now also home to the Kuwait Tennis Federation, the national teams and the Rafael Nadal Academy, the largest Tennis academy in the Middle East.

Gravity Media was delighted to provide the broadcast cabling infrastructure to connect the technical production facilities for the host broadcast on the main show court. Gravity Media has previous experience completing over a dozen new venues to a high international standard across the sporting, cultural and educational sectors in the Middle East.

With over twenty-years of tennis technical broadcast experience across the globe year in year out, Gravity Media has the people and expert knowledge to deliver broadcast services in the sport. At Gravity Media, tennis is in our DNA.

Our coverage, live feeds, production, technical and installation services to tennis authorities and media providers are founded on having the very best equipment for each project – and a work ethos of getting it right first time, every time. In addition to our state-of-the-art technology, which we specifically select to achieve the best outcomes for each tennis project, we’re particularly well known for pioneering replay and highlight content. Our 360-degree replay shots and automated highlights editing have proved a game-changer for tennis viewing the world over.

For example, two of our world-first innovations are our NetCam tennis solution, which has been used at all four Grand Slams since its launch in 2018.

Are you considering or building a future-proof sports arena or stadium fit for international standards? If so, reach out to our expert Systems Integration team, email enquiries@gravitymedia.com.

On Friday 22 October 2021, the brand-new Al-Thumama Stadium in Doha, Qatar opened its doors to thousands of fans for the Final of the Amir Cup between Al Sadd vs Al Rayyan managed by two former World Cup winners in Xavi and Laurent Blanc. This stadium was designed to resemble the gahfiya – a traditional woven cap worn by men, which will seat 40,000 fans that will see Qatar donate 20,000 of those seats to developing countries.

Gravity Media was delighted to see the grand opening ceremony take place inaugurated by the dignitaries of Qatar. The Al-Thumama Stadium is the fourth stadia which the local team from Gravity Media has delivered to a high international standard playing a key role in preparing Qatar to host what is the biggest and most eagerly anticipated sporting event ever held in the region. Our role was to provide the broadcast cabling infrastructure to connect the technical production facilities for the host broadcast. The other stadia Gravity Media has completed include the Khalifa International, the Al-Bayt and the Ahmed Bin Ali stadiums.

Gravity Media has previous experience working on the 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018 World Cups with comprehensive broadcast solutions. Gravity Media has been based in Qatar since 2007 and has successfully delivered several other permanent broadcast installations in sporting, cultural, media & educational sectors. Recently, the Qatar office has had delivered an eight camera HD Outside Broadcast mobile vehicle with DSNG capability.

Are you considering or building a future-proof sports arena or stadium fit for international standards? If so, reach out to our expert local Doha team, email enquiries@gravitymedia.com.

The European Qualifiers resumed last night when England hosted Hungary at Wembley Stadium chasing a place at next year’s FIFA World cup.  

Gravity Media was under the famous arch with a team on site producing the big screen output at Wembley Stadium using our Outside Broadcast truck Pictor.   

Based in the UK, Pictor is a multi-functional broadcast vehicle which can fit up to 16 fixed cameras well as comfortably seat a crew of eight. It is an ultra-efficient mobile TV production unit, designed to support both traditional and remote integration/ At-Home workflows. Cutting edge technology combines with an ergonomic working environment, allowing streamlined production teams to create engaging content in day-long comfort.   
 
Our flexible Production Centre in London offers full live production, whether on-site or as part of a hybrid remote configuration. The facility is ideal for fast-turnaround rolling highlights edits for broadcast or digital, live streams, in-match clips for social and digital, as well as crafted highlights, along with features and traditional post-production. 
 
Football is in our DNA and to find out how we can help you with your next production, email enquiries@gravitymedia.com

In the second blog in our Qatar 2022 series, we look at one of the region’s flagship stadia, the Khalifa International – also known as the National Stadium.

The Khalifa is Qatar’s most historic football venue, having previously hosted the Asian Games, Gulf Cup, Asian Cup and FIFA Club World Cup. It is located in Qatar’s capital city, Doha, which is one of the wealthiest cities in the world and home to 2.4 million residents – some 80% of Qatar’s population.

Doha boasts three World Cup venues, the other two being the Ras Abu Aboud and the Al-Thumama. The Khalifa was the subject of a major recent refurbishment, as part of Qatar’s plans to ready itself for hosting the World Cup. Thanks to Gravity Media’s presence in Doha since 2007 and our reputation for deep technical expertise and efficient delivery, we were the clear choice to win the contract to install the broadcast system at the 45,000-seat stadium.

A key requirement of the project was to enable broadcasters to plug into the infrastructure from multiple positions around the ground. Our team took on end-to-end responsibility for the job, first advising on planning and design, and then overseeing the supply, installation, testing and commissioning of the entire system. The solution required 130,000 metres of cable and over 50 wall boxes, each connected to a central OB patch room that we kitted out with audio-video distribution infrastructure and conversion equipment.

The high-tech new stadium hosts its first World Cup match on Monday 21 November 2022, with seven further matches being held there up to the third-place play-off on Saturday 17 December.

There’s under two years to go until the 2022 FIFA World Cup kicks off, and we’re already really looking forward it – not only because we’re fanatical football fans, but also because it represents a little ray of light in the COVID-19 gloom. And we’re not just World Cup supporters, we’re also delighted to be taking part, by playing a key role in getting Qatar ready to host what is the biggest and most eagerly anticipated sporting event of the next couple of years.

Thanks to our extensive experience in stadium fit-outs and big-ticket live events, we were commissioned to support the redevelopment of the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha – the first World Cup venue to be finished – as well as the Al-Bayt, the Al-Rayyan and the Al-Thumama: four of the eight host stadia being used at the Middle-East’s first running of the event. What’s more, all these projects were run and managed out of our Doha office, ensuring technical expertise was met by the necessary local knowledge to deliver these projects successfully.

Gravity Media has had a permanent facility and operation in Qatar since 2007, servicing the burgeoning demand for live sport, entertainment, conference and cultural event coverage across the region. The team has recently taken delivery of a newly commissioned mobile unit, Suhail, which has been designed with DSNG capabilities, and can take up to six fixed cameras and two RFs, as well as seating a crew of seven. Suhail is available now for World Cup bookings – but demand is high, so don’t leave it too late.

To find out how we can help you with your next production, email enquiries@gravitymedia.com