The Eurovision Song Contest's stage designer, Julio Himede, has explained the creative process behind delivering Liverpool's stage.
Julio is the visionary behind some of entertainment's greatest platforms including the Grammys and various MTV music award shows. This year’s competition, being held in the M&S Bank Arena, is among his greatest challenges to date.
Discussing the project on the Eurovisioncast podcast, he explained how the timing of the competition, compared to previous shows, put him at a disadvantage.
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He said: “Normally on a big job like this, it will take up to six months to design. We have a romantic period of design where you can explore lots of different concepts and ideas, however we didn't have that luxury, we had probably about a month."
“What's really interesting about designing for Eurovision is that we have essentially 37-plus artists that are performing on that stage. Whereas when we do the MTV Europe Music Awards, or the Grammys, we might have up to 13 performances, at Eurovision it's a lot more intense.
"To give you an example, again, I go back to the Grammys. We might have Ariana Grande performing then we might have Harry Styles. We have three or four minutes to set up their performance stage and their look - at Eurovision we have 40 seconds.”
The Eurovision stage boasts a wide hug that enfolds the arena – from above and below – opening its arms to Ukraine, and the show’s performers and guests from across the world. Explaining his creative decisions, Julio added: "The runway in the middle that ends in an oval circular shape was a way for us to give the artists a secondary stage.
"It's a way that makes it more immersive. We wanted to give the artists an area where they are surrounded almost 360 by an audience. So, when you’re on that particular stage, there is a sea of mosh pit, of the standing audience that has a lot of energy.
"Normally the green room is backstage for the artists but at Eurovision, the green room is exposed to the entire arena and to the entire audience and that takes a lot of space in the arena. That's uniquely designed for Eurovision, that doesn't really happen in I don't think in any other show that I can think of."
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