London: The royal wedding of British
Prince William and his long-time girlfriend Kate Middleton,
expected to be the marriage of the decade, is likely to be
broadcast live in 3D.
Several broadcasters are in discussions with the royal
family about the three-dimensional coverage of the April 29
wedding from Westminster Abbey, the Daily Telegraph newspaper
said today.
"We are very keen to explore the possibility of
broadcasting the Royal wedding in 3D, and we have had some
early discussions with royal officials regarding the options,"
the British daily quoted a BSkyB source as saying.
Citing a BBC source, the report also said that the
Corporation has had talks with royal officials about 3D
coverage of the wedding.
The wedding is set to be the first major British live
event, apart from sporting fixtures, to be televised in 3D.
William, son of heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles and
the late Princess Diana, announced his engagement to long-term
girlfriend Kate last November.
As 3D cameras are much larger than conventional 2D
equipment, the BBC, BSkyB and ITV are expected to pool their
3D coverage of the wedding if royal officials give the
networks the go-ahead.
"We are very open-minded about the idea of 3D
coverage, provided that the broadcast does not intrude on the
ceremony in the Abbey," a royal aide was quoted as saying.
"We want to avoid a situation where cameras are in
guests` faces and ensure that the couple don`t feel like they
are in a television studio," he said.
Viewers tuning in to watch three-dimensional coverage
of the royal wedding will need special glasses and 3D-ready
television sets.
In January last year, BSkyB became the first
broadcaster in the world to show a live sports event in 3D
when Sky Sports screened a football match between Manchester
United and Arsenal to viewers equipped with a Sky+HD Digibox
and 3D-ready televisions.
Several international television networks have
subsequently broadcast major sporting events in 3D, including
matches from the 2010 FIFA World Cup, last year`s French Open
tennis tournament and the 2010 PGA golf championship.
PTI
