Production
The Eurovision Song Contest 1988 was produced by the Irish public broadcaster Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ). Liam Miller served as executive producer, Declan Lowney served as director, Paula Farrell and Michael Grogan served as designers, and Noel Kelehan served as musical director, leading the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. On behalf of the contest organisers, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the event was overseen by Frank Naef as executive supervisor. The presenters of the contest were broadcaster Pat Kenny, and television announcer and Miss Ireland 1980 Michelle Rocca; the duo were announced by RTÉ in February 1988 following auditions held in the previous weeks. It was the first time since 1979 that more than one person presented the contest.
Several technical innovations and improvements were introduced with the 1988 contest, spearheaded by Miller and Lowney, whose goal was to increase the contest's appeal among a younger audience. The traditional physical scoreboard was replaced by a computer-generated version, displayed on two video walls provided by Philips and constructed on either side of the stage. These video walls also displayed the performances and footage of the artists in the green room during the voting sequence, allowing the audience in the arena to see the televised footage within the venue for the first time. Similar to the previous year's edition, the 1988 contest implemented a modern feel within both the stage design by Paula Farrell and Michael Grogan, and the graphic design by Maria Quigley. The stage, at over 40 metres (130 ft) in length, was the largest ever built for the contest at that point, and took up almost a third of the 18,000 m2 (190,000 sq ft) space within the Simmonscourt Pavilion. The stage design, which created an illusion of depth, alongside tight camera shots of the audience and creative lighting use, resulted in an overall impression that the contest was being held in a vast and packed arena, rather than the modest space of the Simmonscourt Pavilion. To avoid interruptions in the broadcast, the television signal was transmitted to the other broadcasters feeding the Eurovision network by two simultaneous ways: via the terrestrial microwave relay link network via Belfast and London, and via satellite. While it was not the first contest recorded in stereo, it was the first in which the audio signal was transmitted in stereo to the other broadcasters via the Eurovision terrestrial network.
Rehearsals for the participating artists began on 25 April 1988. Two technical rehearsals were conducted for each participating delegation in the week approaching the contest, with countries rehearsing in the order in which they would perform. The first rehearsals, comprising a 15-minute stage call and 35-minute performance, were held on 25 and 26 April, followed by a press conference for each delegation and the accredited press. Each country's second rehearsals were held on 27 and 28 April, with a 10-minute stage call and 25 minutes for performances. On 28 April, the contest venue received a visit from the Taoiseach Charles Haughey. Three dress rehearsals were held with all artists, held in the afternoon and evening of 29 April and in the afternoon of 30 April; the second rehearsal was filmed with a live audience present as a production stand-by in case the live event was disrupted. During the contest week, Sweden's Tommy Körberg had been suffering from a throat infection; although he was able to perform during the event-proper, the songwriter of the Swedish entry, Py Bäckman, performed the entry in his stead at the 29 April evening dress rehearsal.
