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AP 360 is offering live positions and on-air reporters to broadcasters worldwide for the entire event of the Pope’s funeral, all the way to the election of a new pope after the conclave. Watch the video below to see our live locations and meet the team behind this huge operation.
It is not an exaggeration when we say that our preparation for the Pope’s funeral begins the day after the Pope is elected. In the case of Pope Francis, that’s over 12 years of planning.
Over the last decade, AP 360 secured crews and built multi-camera studio spaces on the rooftop of the Agostiniani Convent, overlooking St. Peter’s Basilica. It is from the Basilica’s Loggia, the middle balcony, that the official announcementof the election of a new pope, and his first words to a huge crowd in St. Peter’s Square are to be delivered. TheAP is providing a front-row view of the event for our broadcast clients across the globe. For as long as the world awaits the papal conclave, our teams are offering a range of live positions and dry hire services to support our clients’ broadcasting needs.
Pope Francis’ long hospital stay for double pneumonia had all Catholics worried that his death might be imminent. And it gave us the opportunity to make our final preparations. Our location overlooking St. Peter’s Basilica was ready, and broadcasters around the world knew that their needs would be taken care of.
A few short hours after the Pope’s death was announced on Easter Monday the first correspondent was able to comment on the news from our rooftop. While AP 360’s first respondent team was already operational, behind the scenes, producers, technicians, camera operators, and correspondents were starting to make their way to Rome.
The death of a Pope is not a one-day event. For three weeks, the Vatican stays at the top of news bulletins around the world. The death announcement is followed by the lying-in-state, the funeral service and the burial. Then, nine days of official mourning lead to the conclave, the secretive election of a new Pope.
With bated breath, people in St. Peter’s Square and viewers around the world await the black or white smoke that emanates from the Sixtine Chapel. From our camera positions, correspondents can point their viewers toward the tiny chimney atop the chapel, and then to the loggia, the balcony where the new Pope first addresses the crowd.
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