Summit Meeting of NATO Heads of State and Government

General

The NATO Summit of Heads of State and Government in Warsaw, Poland will be held on 08–09 July 2016. The meetings will be chaired by the NATO Secretary General.

This first media advisory is intended to provide information about accreditation, visa, accommodation arrangements for media representatives. A second media advisory released closer to the event will provide information on a broader array of media-related topics.

The meetings will take place at the Warsaw National Stadium (al. Księcia J. Poniatowskiego 1, 03-901 Warsaw - Poland). The Media Centre will be collocated with the Summit venue and will be open from Thursday 7 July until Sunday 10 July. More details regarding the opening hours will be provided at a later stage.

Media Accreditation procedures

Media Accreditation is now open.  Applications must be made online here: https://my.hq.nato.int/.  

Applications for accreditation must be made no later than 18:00 (Brussels time) on Thursday 23 June. All media need to make an accreditation request, including media with permanent NATO accreditation. In addition, NATO pool cards for individual Summit events will be needed – procedures will be detailed in a subsequent media advisory.

Summit Media Credentials must be collected in Warsaw and only in person by each individual applicant. Each applicant must present himself or herself at the NATO Media Accreditation office (hours and days listed below) located near the Summit site.

In accordance with NATO media accreditation procedures, NATO reserves the right to deny or withdraw accreditation of media representatives from media organizations who abuse the privileges or put the accreditation to improper use or act in a way not consistent with the principles of the organization.

The Accreditation Office will operate in the vicinity of the Summit location. It will be open for pass collection on:

Tuesday 05 July: 12h00 to 18h00
Wednesday 06 July: 08h00 to 20h00
Thursday 07 July: 08h00 to 22h00
Friday 08 July: 06h00 to 20h00
Saturday 09 July: 06h00 to 15h00

IMPORTANT:

1/ The final screen of the on-line application process displays a summary of all the data submitted. This is the DATA CONFIRMATION SCREEN. It is strongly recommended that media representatives PRINT this Data Confirmation screen and bring it when collecting the media credentials (pass) in Warsaw, when using the shuttle bus the first time and when requesting visa.

2/ Polish citizens are requested to fill in their PESEL number (Polish ID number) when submitting the accreditation request. 

Visas

All journalists requiring visas for Poland will be responsible for ensuring that they have the appropriate visa to enter the country. Media are advised to first request accreditation, and apply for visas in good time.

Further details are available on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: http://www.msz.gov.pl/en/travel_to_poland/visa/

Accommodation and transport

Media are encouraged to make early arrangements for their accommodation in Warsaw. The Host Nation Poland has identified a number of hotels recommended for the media representatives.

In order to make the hotel reservation it is recommended to contact the official partner for accommodation Mazurkas Travel - nato2016.media@mazurkas.pl. Mazurkas Travel will share the link to the on-line reservation system for media representatives and explain the booking procedure.

There will be regular shuttle transport for accredited media between the designated media hotels and the Media Centre. Details on the shuttle bus schedule will be made available closer to the Summit. Media representatives can also book accommodation in other hotels, but no shuttle bus will be available.

Preliminary information on the media programme

The programme of the summit is not yet finalized. Further information may be forthcoming in early July, and a definitive media programme will be delivered to media representatives upon accreditation. Currently, and in order to guide media travel plans, NATO is working on a tentative schedule that would see the Summit’s formal opening during the afternoon on Friday 8 July, and its end late afternoon on Saturday 9 July 2016. Other events might take place in the margins of the morning of 8 July and the day before. We will confirm details in due course. 

Basic information about the media centre

The International Media Centre (IMC) is the central distribution point for Summit information and material including live and recorded video and audio, photo and other. Further details will be issued in due course, but the IMC will include:

• A filing centre including workstations equipped with internet connectors (RJ 45) and wifi, standard electrical outlets (230 V). Media representatives wishing to use the landline connection should bring their own cable in order to connect to internet. The filing centre will also include a number of ISDN lines and distribution panels for the live video and audio feeds
• Information Desk and media office support
• Internal Television Circuit (CCTV), for live and recorded broadcasts, information about the program, press conferences schedules and other information;
• NATO and Host Nation Press Offices
• Editing area for broadcasters (closed and open working spaces) including broadcast live video and audio feeds, and transmission services
• Television stand up positions indoor and outdoor; satellite truck parking area 
• Host TV and Eurovision Master Controls
• An area for press conferences (including pre-cabled facilities) and interview areas;
• A fully equipped TV studio wired for live transmission
• Individual lockers in the filing and broadcasting areas
• Hosted catering and food / drink for purchase.

Security checks of media belongings: Security personnel will have full authority to examine and test any equipment and any other items brought by media to any secured site including the Media Centre. Media are advised to plan enough time to allow for security checks each time they plan to enter the grounds.

Broadcasting / Host TV

Polish National Television (TVP) will operate as Host TV. TVP will cover all official NATO Summit events as well as some events on the Summit margins.

Live video and audio feeds will be available in the IMC (details regarding distribution are below), without added graphics or chyrons. Host TV will be shown LIVE on Closed Circuit TV screens throughout the IMC (headsets available for audio language selection) and via NATO Website http://www.nato.int/. Live satellite feeds of main summit events events will be provided by NATO free of change without encryption and no downlink charges. This is arranged by NATO and the Polish Host as a courtesy to the general public with the understanding that the video and audio may be used only for appropriate news and public affairs uses.

Dedicated broadcast workspace in the IMC will be made available for TV and radio use. It is comprised of a mix of open editing space with workstations for 3 and small editing booths (3m/3m, all with table, chairs, electricity and internet connection). The editing spaces will be allocated on a “first come first served” basis.  Booking an editing space must be done by individual TV or Radio organizations and for themselves, in full transparency.

EBU/Eurovision is handling the booking of TV and radio workspaces on behalf of NATO (contacts mentioned below).

TV & Radio workspaces will be cabled by default with one video cable (BNC termination) switched permanently to the TVP / NATO PRIMARY POOL signal. Format will be as origin, HD1080/50i with embedded audio & translation channels. Broadcasters who require the other HOST signals (secondary POOL, National Briefing rooms, Replays) etc., switchable onto this video cable and / or who require a down-converted SD SDI version of all HOST signals will need to book a matrix router panel with Eurovision.

Eurovision will also provide for its television clients comprehensive broadcast facilities, including live stand-up positions for live programme inserts, tape play out in multiple formats, tailor made production and transmission packages and multi-signal distribution of Host TV video and audio signals.

Booking requests for a dedicated editing space and/or other Eurovision assistance should be addressed to the contacts at the end of this advisory before 12:00 GMT on 1 July 2016.

Summit organizers have foreseen a number of indoor and outdoor Stand-up Positions for TV at the IMC. These positions can be reserved:

• EITHER by contacting the host nation on a first come, first served basis, and TV media who opt for this option need to be completely self-supporting (contact information is below);
• OR positions can also be reserved via Eurovision which is managing use of some stand-up space for its clients. Please contact them directly (contact information is above) to make your arrangements.

Bringing equipment to the IMC

Any large amount of equipment that media would wish to install in the Media Centre should be put into place on 7 July. Further details will follow.

Uplink trucks (live transmission trucks) will be given access to the open-sky car park at the IMC. Electricity supply system (power generator) will be in place; TV teams should bring their own cables to connect themselves to the electric network (at least 80 meters, 125 A, 63A, 32A, 23A).

All trucks must pre-register and provide details (e.g., registration number, dimensions) at http://ow.ly/4n9cg5  no later than 18.00 (Brussels time) on Thursday 23 June. Drivers and technicians operating these vehicles must have the Summit Media accreditation.  

A more complete schedule and a separate technical advisory on broadcasting aspects will be available closer to the summit (e.g., free satellite transmissions, live streams, and distribution and recording points).

Contact Information

NATO Media Coordinator
Mrs. Alina Coca
Phone: +32.2.707.5041

Email: NATOSummitMedia2@hq.nato.int

Host Nation Media Coordinator
Mrs. Joanna Wajda
Phone: +48.22.523.71.83
Email: natowarsawsummit2016@msz.gov.pl

Logistics (stand ups allocation, other logistics related questions)

Col. Artur Golawski
Phone: +48.261.846.519
Email: natosummit.medialogistics@mon.gov.pl

Host Nation Broadcaster - TVP

Mrs. Grazyna Baczynska
Phone: +48.601.600.286
Email: grazyna.baczynska@tvp.pl

Eurovision

 TV Special Events
Mr. Ivan Stojanovic
newsoperations@eurovision.net
Tel: +41 22 717 2225 or +381 63 20 66 11

Eurovision Radio Operations
Ms. Julia Lonicer

Radio-Ops@ebu.ch
Tel: +41 79 230 1508 or +41 22 717 2658

Accommodation

Email: nato2016.media@mazurkas.pl