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In recent years, the town of Millstreet has become well known for a number of reasons. It is the setting of the famous Green Glens Arena where two major international showjumping events take place each year. To many, it was put on the map in 1993 when the Eurovision Song Contest was held at Green Glens. As most similar events are automatically held in Dublin, this was a groundbreaking change and one which was welcomed wholeheartedly by the Cork region. Work on the project commenced in September 1992 with a feasibility report highlighting the staging difficulties of the Millstreet arena. Addressing the main problem of lack of height in the venue led to two key features of the final design, namely a three foot excavation of the area under the stage to accommodate underfloor lighting and a 60' wide tilted ceiling piece to allow cameras to shoot wide and high without shooting off the set. The upstage section of the stage was ramped to meet the ceiling piece at a single point and incorporated a concealed doorway operated hydraulically which dropped to form an entrance walkway on-stage for presenter Fionnuala Sweeney. The ceiling piece was designed to mirror the shape of the floor area of the set then tilted in two planes creating a varying aspect on camera when seen from different angles. Two solid textured wings framed the main set, the camera right unit doubling as a backing to the presenter position and incorporating fibre-optic lighting. The orchestra was positioned camera left of performance area in a three foot deep orchestra pit. A twenty foot high backlit cyclorama surrounded the entire stage area allowing for a high key look to the background or a completely dark look as required. Two giant video screens either side of the stage showed program output for the benefit of the live audience and the computer generated scoreboard during the voting sequence.
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