Broadweigh Load Cells Central to Eurovision 2025 Rigging Strategy

	"Broadweigh helped us verify that the provided weight specs from the lighting and scenic suppliers matched the real-world loads and that each individual rigging point in the roof structure stayed within structural limits."

More than 120 Broadweigh load cells were deployed at this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Basel. The competition, watched live on TV by millions of fans across the world, was technically complex and visually ambitious, with the comprehensive rigging solution managed by BIGRIG.

Contracted by Swiss Television (SRG) as the production head rigger, Johannes Schau, BIGRIG MD was involved from the earliest planning phase, working closely with rigging supplier Malecon to deliver a structurally sound and visually striking production under highly challenging conditions.

"Eurovision is always a demanding project, but this year's venue presented a particularly tough brief," says Schau. "We were working with a roof that had limited load-bearing capacity and a restricted trim height. The limited load-bearing capacity meant we had to bring in a significant ground support structure, which was also delivered by Malecon, supplementing the roof to achieve the overall creative vision."

Schau was involved early on, as part of an expert panel assessing the rigging suitability of candidate venues. Once the final site was selected, he led the development of the complex rigging plot and design, working closely with the venue team and structural engineers to meet the creative design intents while ensuring compliance with safety regulations and technical standards.

Once the tender was issued and Malecon selected as the rigging contractor, BIGRIG also supplied its own extensive rental stock of Broadweigh load cells to monitor critical loads throughout the venue.

The Broadweigh cells were integrated across three separate LOG100 systems to monitor different rigging zones and structures. "We used LOG100 to split the system into manageable sections," says Schau. "Two were monitoring the spreader trusses directly connected to the roof -- every single roof point was tracked in real time. The third was responsible for key elements like the LED wall, the stage frame and the 3D lighting grid.

The 3D grid -- "one of the most impressive scenic objects I have ever worked on", claims Schau -- supported over 1,000 lighting fixtures and required multiple days to construct. Its design, divided into three load-monitored sections, was subject to particularly strict scrutiny. "When you are dealing with that scale and complexity, you need to be absolutely certain that the actual build aligns with the structural design intent," he explains. "Broadweigh helped us verify that the provided weight specs from the lighting and scenic suppliers matched the real-world loads and that each individual rigging point in the roof structure stayed within structural limits."

With more than 200 tonnes of flown equipment across the entire show, Johannes stressed that real-time data was essential: "In my opinion you can't do a show like Eurovision without Broadweigh...The new load cell series is robust and easy to use. We have been relying on Broadweigh for years now. With more than 450 Broadweigh cells in our stock we are one of the largest rental and service suppliers of load monitoring in Europe."

"What we achieved here wouldn't have been possible without the insight and reliability that Broadweigh brings to the table," Johannes concludes.