Mandated by the European Broadcast Union (EBU), Actua Sport acted as the host broadcaster for this six-day event with record-breaking viewing figures, which saw 15 championship records set during those six competition days with almost 200 hours of sustainably produced live streamed coverage made available for television and streaming platforms.

Actua Sport was responsible for producing all the live coverage of the many track and field events as well as interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, for 35 European broadcasters. Its remit included selecting the highest-quality solutions to meet fast-paced production demands and budget, whilst fulfilling important sustainability considerations. LiveU was implemented as part of an efficient hybrid remote and on-site Lightweight Production, encompassing live contribution, production and distribution.

LiveU helped Actua Sport to innovatively connect live cameras on fully electric monowheels to provide fresh angles and bring fans even closer to the action during outside broadcasts. This is the first time monowheels have been used at a major Athletics event and proved to be a successful addition. Actua Sport used a mix of LiveU field units, including the multi-camera LU800, to bring signals back to the three OB production units from cameras positioned on the monowheels and hand-held gimbals – placed at the start, finish and other points along the courses for the external races (race walk & half-marathon). An additional pair of LU800s were used to capture behind-the-scenes footage from around the stadium.

On the distribution side, Actua Sport used LiveU Matrix for cloud IP distribution to the 35 takers, complementing traditional satellite or fiber connectivity.

LiveU Studio, LiveU‘s cloud-native video production solution was also used within an end-to-end cloud based workflow. Leveraging Studio’s flexibility and agility, standalone feeds were connected in Matrix to a remote gallery as part of the live production.