UEFA Euro 2016 football fans visiting the Parc Olympique Lyonnais are experiencing a high-quality audio system consisting of loudspeakers from EAW, amplification from Powersoft and processing and control courtesy of Symetrix.
With a capacity of almost 60,000, the stadium, in the city of Lyon, is described as “innovative in every respect” by Alain Hercman, audio department director of French distributor Axente, which supplied the system. “It is a flagship for the new standard of modern stadiums in Europe,” he added. “You could describe it as a stadium 2.0.”
For Hercman and his colleagues, including technical director Christophe Carles, their road to Euro 2016 began four years ago, when the competition was not between nations, but equipment suppliers. “We knew that almost 10 new or refurbished stadiums would be completed in the years to follow,” he recalled. “Lyon is one of the most important.”
Working alongside Atelier Audiovisuel and systems integrators SNEF and AXIANS, Axente concentrated on providing a solution of the highest possible quality. “The level of products in the stadium is very high compared to many other stadiums – we are very proud of the results.”
Ensuring smooth and even sound coverage across the stands is a reinforcement system based on 56 EAW QX500WP enclosures driven by 184,000W of Powersoft Ottocanali amplification. The decision to implement Dante networking led to the choice of DSP from Symmetric: two Symetrix Edge processors, located in the amplifier room and control room respectively, provide all loudspeaker processing via dedicated Super Modules, created using Symetrix Composer software, that simplify the monitoring and control of the audio distribution network. Additionally a Symetrix Radius 12×8 DSP conducts traffic, managing audio signal routing via xIN and xOUT expanders into the stadium’s VIP rooms and back-of-house areas.
Finally, eight Symetrix Arc-2e wall-panel controllers offer ease of operation with a purpose-designed interface courtesy of Symetrix SymVue. “Our integrator partners SNEF and AXIANS were able to design a very user-friendly interface without having to find budget for an external control solution – that was a big advantage of using Symetrix,” said Hercman.
With the stadium now completed and the championship fully underway, all of those involved are basking in the glow of their work being displayed to the world. “This is a major project,” declares Hercman. “This stadium is being highlighted all over the world for a month this summer. Internationally, millions of people will see and hear our work.”
