Timeline is delighted to be providing Outside Broadcast facilities for BBC Sport’s presentation of the championships. The company is supplying its highly specialised flyaway facilities and engineering crew to support the BBC’s core operation, based at the Khalifa International Stadium.
The BBC coverage is made up of studio presentation and event coverage, as well as on-site commentary, interview positions and graphics. Timeline installed two flyway production galleries and associated external facilities to support this operation, which includes the production of complete network transmissions and the BBC’s own unilateral mix of the athletics.
The project comes with some challenges, the primary one being the extreme Doha heat. Temperatures routinely reach 40 degrees Celcius, which makes conditions for athletes and crew very tough. The marathon event starts at midnight in order to take advantage of the slightly cooler temperatures, and the Khalifa stadium has a state-of-the-art cooling system. This can run at all times, except during the javelin event, during which it must be turned off, so as not to interfere with the throws.
The broadcast cabins are all equipped with air conditioning to keep the crew and equipment working at safe and comfortable levels.
The IAAF World Athletics Championships take place in Doha between 27th September and 6th October 2019. The biennial athletics event organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) involves 3,500 athletes and 10,000 international guests from 205 different countries. Over 30,000 spectators from outside Qatar and more than 2,000 media personnel are also expected to attend.
The IAAF World Championships is the third biggest sporting event in the world and it will be broadcast to more than 200 countries, reaching more than 7 million viewers worldwide.
