BBC Sport on the preparations for Euro 2020 with a new look VR studio and a logistical headache By Heather McLean, Editor
Friday, June 11, 2021 - 08:25
Print This Story
Wembley Stadium being prepped for Euro 2020 by BBC Sport's Phil Bigwood, executive producer football
UEFA Euro 2020 is finally upon BBC Sport, one year late, and despite the action kicking off in just a few hours, many parts of the production are still a moveable feast thanks to ever-changing COVID restrictions. The broadcaster, however, is ready and is even launching a new look for all of its football programming at Euro 2020 with a new 360-degree virtual reality (VR) studio set.
On how the run up to Euro 2020 has gone so far for the British incumbent, executive producer football at BBC Sport, Phil Bigwood, tell SVG Europe: I think it's probably fair to say this is the most difficult and challenging event I've overseen.
I've looked after the major football tournaments [at BBC Sport] for nearly 20 years now and done every one over that time, so I think my colleagues and I know a lot about broadcasts, but I've never had one quite like this, for all the obvious reasons with COVID.
There's a lot that really going to the wire, last minute; even this week we're getting announcements around what we can do in and around stadiums and what the travel plans are. So the logistical planning side of it has been a huge challenge and it continues to be a challenge, but we're getting there.
Bigwood adds: Whether it be UEFA or any of our partners, I think we all recognise it's quite a difficult [event compared to before 2020], so everybody's working together to try and deliver it in the best way we can.
BBC Sport is launching a new look for all its football programmes with a 360 degree VR studio set at Euro 2020
Strong start for the home nations
England, Scotland and Wales' opening games are exclusively live on BBC Sport. The opening game, Turkey v Italy, in Rome on Friday 11 June is the first of 25 live matches across BBC One, BBC Two, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.
That is followed by Wales v Switzerland on 12 June, England v Croatia on 13 June and Scotland v Czech Republic and Spain v Sweden on 14 June, giving BBC Sport audiences the first opportunity to see all the home nations who qualified in action.
We've built a 360 degree virtual reality (VR) studio. We've got a new set and a whole new set up. So whether we're on the road or whether we're in Salford, the aspiration is that everything will have a similar look and feel and branding.
Working with ITV Sport, the BBC will also have first and second pick of the games at the last 16 and quarter-final stages. So we start really strong with all the three home nations, says Bigwood. But what comes with that is all the planning. The [current] plan is to present onsite for the England game and for the Scotland game. Obviously because Wales are in Bakku, that's a whole different challenge. What we've decided to do is send a commentary team out to Bakku, and that is our one commentary team that's traveling. Everything else will be done back in Salford or onsite in Glasgow and Wembley.
All the core BBC Sport editorial and production team will be based in Salford, utilising the studio there at dock10. Yet even though BBC Sport is sending a minimum of crew around and outside the UK, it is still not easy. Bigwood says that with BBC Sport's IBC for Euro 2020 in Haarlem, just outside of Amsterdam, a crew from BBC Sport left the UK two weeks ago to go through quarantine measures to get to the broadcast hub for the build up to the start of Euro 2020. However, it had been touch and go as to whether the team would even be allowed into the country.
Bigwood comments: A few weeks ago with everything that's going on in the UK at the moment with COVID, and because of the respective rules around the different countries, we weren't sure whether staff would even be allowed into the Netherlands. But as of [Tuesday 8 June] we had the signal up from there into the BBC base in Salford. So that key component of our operation is looking good.
Preparing for Euro 2020 has been a complicated task for BBC Sport, but Phil Bigwood says, we're getting there
Location, location, location
On BBC Sport's crews moving from location to location, plans have been made, changed, and are still hanging in the balance, says Bigwood. The other things that got considered were that any people we do send overseas have then got to do all of the restrictions and quarantining on the way back. Now some countries like Germany have effectively banned all UK citizens going into the country, so for the likes of the games in Munich we've got to approach [those matches] differently. And all of that is happening very late in the day. So whether it's flights or hotels, you know, we would typically have that sort of thing in place many, many months before.
Only last week we were able to confirm certain facilities. I know UEFA has the same issues. So we're all facing similar challenges
Our OB supplier for this event is Timeline TV, so way back two years ago now we did have aspirations to present a lot more on site at some of the bigger games, but obviously we've had to change that, he continues. So it's just the uncertainty of where we can put the facilities, as you'd appreciate with a tournament of this size; the number of freelancers and people we work with and trying to do the right thing by everybody, and at the same time, not really having definite confirmation of what we can do and where we can send people.
That's been the biggest challenge, continues Bigwood. Only last week we were able to confirm certain facilities. I know UEFA has the same issues; they've
North America Stories
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it's given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what ...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AgentPerf from Artificial Analysis, the industry's first agentic AI benchmark, gives developers, enterprises and infrastructure providers a clear way to com...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First-Look Images from Villaflor, Santiago Mitre's New Film
Entertainment
12 June 2026
GlobalArgentina
Link copied to ...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Cross the Boundaries of the Real World into the Spirit Realm i...
12/06/2026
A fentanyl countermeasure that adapts to combat future black-market drugs Scripps Research scientists developed a vaccine that teaches the immune system to rapi...
11/06/2026
The immense size of the tourney and its Atlantic-spanning operation also disting...
11/06/2026
Nielsen has released a new soccer fandom consumer research report, The Fans Behind The Game: FIFA World Cup 2026 Edition, examining the soccer audience in the...
11/06/2026
Telemundo will launch its FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage on Thursday, June 11 with...
11/06/2026
FuboTV Inc. has announced a distribution agreement with NBCUniversal. Fubo customers can now stream Telemundo and Universo, with NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), NBC...
11/06/2026
DAZN has announced its in-app features for FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage in Spain...
11/06/2026
Roblox has released the 2026 Roblox Digital Expression Report: Wave 4 - Sports D...
11/06/2026
FIFA has unveiled DNA, the Official FIFA World Cup 2026 Anthem, performed by A...
11/06/2026
ESPN will provide English- and Spanish-language news and information coverage of FIFA World Cup 2026 across its U.S. media platforms from June 11 through July 1...
11/06/2026
The latest product of the outstanding RIT Sports Network program, this recent grad from Long Island is carving out a promising path in broadcast engineering
In...
11/06/2026
DAZN has announced a multi-year agreement to make DSPORTS channels available to ...
BBC Sport on the preparations for Euro 2020 with a new look VR studio and a logistical headache By Heather McLean, Editor 
