The Eurovision Song Contest 2004 is set to break all previous records.  Now that the number of participating nations has increased by around 50%, the Turkish television company TRT is to hold a semi-final round ahead of the actual show on May 15, for the first time in the history of the contest.  Sennheiser technology guarantees perfect sound for both events — even under the difficult radio transmission conditions at the venue.

Wednesday May 12 will be the first opportunity for 22 competing nations to show just what they have to offer in the field of popular music, and TRT will be broadcasting the semi-final round live on TV.  The 10 best songs will then proceed to the final on the following Saturday, where they will be eagerly awaited by 14 seeded nations.  The world’s largest live music broadcast will once again attract millions of fans to the TV screens — and the spotlights will also be on microphone and monitoring systems from Sennheiser electronic.

And it won’t be an easy job for Sennheiser either, as the conditions for radio microphones in the “Abdi Ipekci” arena are far from ideal.  As Klaus Willemsen, Sennheiser’s expert for RF wireless technology, points out: “I’ve already provided technical support for a good many song contests, but the radio transmission situation was never as difficult as here in Istanbul.  All TV stations are practically within sight of the show venue.  More than 30 fully occupied TV channels mean that there are hardly any free frequencies left for the contestants’ radio microphones and monitor systems.”  So it’s up to Willemsen to use all his expert knowledge — and, of course, high-quality audio technology — to solve the problem.  “The filters in our wireless systems are so good that the systems can basically concentrate on the music signal alone.  Such a show also uses large numbers of computerized lighting systems, practically turning the stage into one big LED display.  All this can cause interference to the microphone signal.  But we manage to get round it with our sophisticated technology and by choosing the optimum positions for the antennas.”

Altogether, a total of 48 wireless microphones and bodypack transmitters with 5000-Series clip-on microphones are used for the shows.  Sixteen 3000-Series wireless monitoring systems ensure that the artists and bands can hear themselves loud and clear.

Two separate events mean twice as much work for the sound crew.  “The rehearsals are much longer, of course,” adds Klaus Willemsen.  “We started on May 2, and when the concert goes on air on Saturday, we will have been hard at work for two whole weeks, sometimes until well into the night.”

As one of the world’s leading manufacturers of microphones, headphones and wireless transmission systems, the Sennheiser Group with its headquarters in Wedemark near Hanover, Germany, had total sales of over €229 million in 2002. The export share is about 80%. Sennheiser has a total workforce of approx. 1,500 employees, of whom 800 are employed in Germany. Sennheiser is active worldwide and, in addition to other partnerships, has its own sales subsidiaries in France, the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, China, Singapore, Canada, Mexico and the USA.

For further information about Sennheiser just visit our website http://www.sennheiser.com/ or contact:

Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG 
Pressereferat - Edelgard Marquardt 
Am Labor 1 - 30900 Wedemark  
Fon: +49 (5130) 600-329  
Fax: +49 (5130) 600-295  
e-Mail: marquare@sennheiser.com 

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