DUSSELDORF, Germany – The audio crew for the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC), which was staged in the Esprit Arena, a soccer venue, had a big challenge hanging over their heads: namely, the arena's corrugated metal roof, which covers more than 22 acres.
"With a reverberation time of six to eight seconds, it was absolutely critical we keep sound energy from hitting the roof, or reflecting off the floor up to it," said Jochen Jensen of Norddeutscher Rundfun (NDR), a division of ARD, the German broadcast union.
"I called Ralf Zuleeg at d&b audiotechnik and asked if he could help," said Jensen, head of sound for the live event. Zuleeg and d&b's Werner "Vier" Beyer took on the challenge, supplying d&b's Q, J and T-series loudspeakers. The rig totaled more than 300 units in all.
"We conceived a distributed system solution that properly delivered the correct direct to reverberant ratio throughout the venue," said Zuleeg, with a set of three concentric circles of PA radiated out from the main stage.
"The first ring needed to point acutely down onto the front rows of the audience," Zuleeg added, noting that all of the PA needed to be flown 18 meters high to avoid camera angles.
"For this, the Q-Series, with its lighter weight and slightly narrower dispersion angle, proved ideal. We adapted the Q rigging system to take flying frames top and bottom of the line array to achieve the necessary acute downward angle.
"For the next two rings the J-Series took the main role," Zuleeg continued. "Here the need to tilt down was not so acute, but the throw distances were typically 55 to 65 meters.
"Finally, the T-Series was used for the upper 'nosebleed' seats at the very top of the grandstands; here the audience was so high relative to the stage that the need to use a physically smaller line array that could still deliver the required punch without blocking their sightlines was essential."
All d&b equipment was supplied by Crystal Sound with support from the wider d&b network, overseen by Simon Klumpp. Neumann & Muller provided the consoles for FOH and monitors.
For more information, please visit www.dbaudio.com.
