UEFA picks Sunset+Vine staff for key production roles in the box for Euro 2020

Sunset+Vine’s football production team has scored highly with UEFA. It has been asked to play a key role at this year’s Euro 2020, providing coverage for several matches.

UEFA have selected 11 of Europe’s top directors, including Sunset+Vine’s leading staff match director Jamie Oakford.

An in-depth interview with Oakford giving his perspective of Euro 2020 will be available on SVG Europe later this week.

Each match will be covered by 44 cameras and each core match team comprises nearly 50 people, delivering match and replays as well as the UEFA rights holder package that includes additional camera feeds, interviews and supporting content.

Based at Wembley, Oakford and his key VT co-ordinator, Tom Tudgay, will be supported by a battalion of hand-picked camera operators and EVS operators, with logistical support from production manager Natalie Crabtree; they will provide the coverage of eight games including all of England’s group games against Croatia, Scotland and the Czech Republic, and both semi-finals and the final.

A second team, led by director John Watts, will cover three games in Baku. Head of Sunset+Vine Scotland, Grant Philips, will lead a third team in Glasgow and is contracting the team in Bucharest.

Sunset+Vine will also contract the directors and their teams to deliver the coverage of the opening ceremony in Rome and the closing ceremony at Wembley. In total, over a hundred Sunset+Vine staff and contractors will be part of the EURO host broadcast team working across the month-long tournament.

“You always dream of doing the big home team games,” says Oakford. “I was lucky enough to direct the final of the 2014 World Cup in Rio and we dreamed it would feature Brazil. Unfortunately, they were muscled out 7-1 by Germany in the semi-final so it never happened. The chance to do the Wembley games here with an England team that could go a long way and with fans in stadium will be something special.”

“Our football team has produced more than 150 Premier and Europa League games this season for BT Sport,” said  Sunset+Vine chairman Jeff Foulser. “Led by head of football Stephen Booth and senior director Jamie, we have worked through a turbulent year that has seen live sport production change for ever with remote production and new working practices. It will be great for Jamie and the Sunset+Vine team to get to Wembley and Baku and be part of this major tournament that players and fans are looking forward to getting underway.”

Euro 2020 will kick off on Friday 11 June at the Olympic stadium in Rome, with Italy facing Turkey.