Luna Remote Systems to capture the drama of Budapest for viewers during World Athletics Championships
The newly built National Athletics Centre, Budapest
Following on from its success supplying a Falcon 2D system at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Portland, US, Luna Remote Systems is set to head to Budapest later this month for the 2023 edition, the time supplying four wirecams.
Running from 19-27 August, the event will welcome more than 2,000 athletes from more than 200 countries, making it the biggest sporting event in Hungary’s history.
Luna’s High Speed Falcon system will be on site for a 1 kilometre run in the centre of the city, to bring the beauty of Budapest and the action of the marathons and race walks to viewers. Luna will also supply three jibs in this location. In addition, the newly built National Athletics Centre will host two Dactylcam point-to-point wirecam systems, along with a Falcon four-point system, set up as a 2D over the back straight. The aim of the 2D specifically is to offer depth and a more of a track eye view to viewers watching the events around the world.
Additionally, the two 1D systems will capture the home straight and back straight action from a different perspective.
“With the 2D system you get the vertical movement from the head as well as the backwards and forwards tracking shot because you still utilise all four winches from the 3D set up,” explained Jo Adams, commercial director at Luna Remote Systems. “We did it in Portland for World Athletics, but it’s reasonably new for the sport. World Athletics love to use the shot where the system is able to be used. It gives viewers a bit more interest in running on the track shots because they get depth when the athletes come around the bends, like you are on the track with them, almost.”
Set up for the event will begin on 10 August. “There’s a good set up period for us out there because they’re all quite complicated rigs – especially the city centre location,” Adams added. “We’ve had to have bespoke rigging made for three of the systems and then the 1k Falcon is going one kilometre from Heroes’ Square [the start/finish point of the marathon and race walks] so two tower cranes will be based there, roads have to be closed to rig the wires, etc. It’s going to be a lovely shot. It’ll be at least 25 metres in the air and it’ll offer the ability to follow the athletes for the whole kilometre along the race from an amazing location. The shot is going to be incredible.”
Luna started using its specially commissioned 1KM high speed system earlier this year in Saudi Arabia for the Saudi Cup horse racing festival and then again at Wimbledon for The Championships in July.