Brief
The world-famous Championships at Wimbledon is the premiere event in the world’s tennis calendar. Wimbledon’s iconic Centre Court has inspired all budding tennis players, created tennis legends and delivered unforgettable moments to sports fans for decades.
The challenge for Pico was to deliver an outstanding studio for BBC Sport, which provided a professional look and feel and invoke a celebratory atmosphere to mark 90 years of live broadcasting from the event. As the studio would be viewed by millions of people worldwide, it needed to be both unique and distinctive.
Creative
The existing set had been used for the past four years and the brief was to update and refresh it while paying attention to the celebration of 90 years of broadcasting the tournament by the BBC. The brief evolved and eventually an almost completely new design and build was delivered.
Execution
The layout of the studio remained the same as it already provided optimal views from the windows and maximised the available studio space. The design was upgraded to provide a curved, almost space-age look and feel which, encompassing the branding colours of the Wimbledon Championships of purple and green, gave a nod to the history and tradition of the iconic tournament while welcoming the future of tennis.
Phase one of our work involved installing new window frames. The angle of the curved windows meant that this work had to be carried out inside the studio and not in the workshop. We were later asked to paint out the ceiling, the truss and scaffolding in black.
Phase two saw the installation of a complete set comprising angled walling covered by a printed fabric, with a large space left open for a monitor to be set into the wall. Concealed lighting and a 5m raised stage covered in laminate edged with an LED-lit lightbox were added, while the complex presenter’s desk was formed with a timber spray-painted base housing a lightbox front and overlaid with a clear perspex top. The desk also had a 120cm section cut out of the centre, allowing a choice of logos to be inserted into the space.
Results
The BBC’s 90th year of coverage received a great deal of media attention around Britain and across the world throughout the Championships, which ran from 3-16 July.
The BBC had over 100 hours of live coverage along with 15 live streams, ensuring that fans “never missed a minute of this much-cherished summer tournament”.
Testimonial
What a pleasure it was to work with the Pico team who have delivered a brilliant and outstanding result.
-Sally Richardson, Senior BBC Producer
