Off-field team ready for UEFA Champions League final action
Friday, May 27, 2022
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Expert technicians and willing volunteers are helping to ensure that the drama of the final echoes far beyond the Stade de France.
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In terms of logistics and global reach, few events will be able to match the scale of this season's UEFA Champions League final, with expert technicians and willing volunteers ensuring that the drama of Liverpool vs Real Madrid echoes far beyond fans inside the Stade de France, reaching viewers in every corner of the world.
A huge amount of effort has gone into getting the stadium ready for the biggest night in the world club football calendar, with a team of over 400 volunteers joining UEFA's various logistics, broadcast, ticketing, accreditation and hospitality teams working behind the scenes to ensure that every last detail is befitting of such an occasion.
Some 319 people are involved in UEFA's host broadcast operations, including technicians, camera and sound operators, plus those running the Video Assistant Referees (VAR) set-up, while an additional 510 will be involved in the spectacular opening ceremony, which is to be headlined by Camila Cabello.
Global interest in the game is understandably huge; in addition to the 78,000+ supporters expected at the game, 1,700 professionals will be working with accredited broadcasting teams, along with 400 press representatives and 180 accredited photographers. Many will be working in the stadium's huge media tribune, but plenty more will be making their temporary home in the TV compound next to the ground.
The results of all of this work will be spectacular: fans in the stadium (including those in wheelchair and easy-access seats, plus a number benefiting from audio-descriptive commentary for blind and partially sighted fans in French and English) will enjoy an unforgettable event.
The match will be aired in more than 200 territories and is projected to reach 325 million people globally across all media touchpoints compared to 275 million last season.
UEFA's digital operations will be pretty substantial too: a multilingual team of reporters and social media experts will be working on the night, serving 220 million followers across Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok, in addition to those expected to use UEFA.com and the official UEFA Champions League app. Around 595 million social and web interactions are expected on UEFA platforms.