In four of the 12 cities - Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and Kaiserslautern, an HK Audio Cohedra system was applied for the FIFA Fan Fests. Rental company Ostalb PA based in the Swabian town of Westhausen near Aalen was taking care of the four stages, supported by the Cohedra User Network. Besides the live broadcasts of the matches, several promotional activities of the World Cup corporate sponsors and many concerts with international acts were taking place at the FIFA Fan Fests.
Munich, Nuremberg and Kaiserslautern each have a Cohedra 2x12 system, with an additional Cohedra Compact system in Nuremberg for the VIP area. The idyllic Schlossplatz in Stuttgart was covered with a 2x20 Cohedra system as well as two delay towers made up of HK Audio R-Series speakers.
Michael Mühleck, managing director of Ostalb PA, says: "On the Fan Fest stages, there were often the most diverse deviations with regard to the technical requirements, due to the different entertainment acts and the varying requirements of the artists. Both corporate sponsor presentations, brass bands and rock concerts had to be covered over these four weeks. The flexibility of Cohedra absolutely convinced us - also with regard to the multiple application options after the World Cup - and thus, we invested into this system in time for the World Cup. During the complete four weeks, we never experienced any technical problems although the arrays were hanging outside without any protection over the complete time period. As far as the city of Stuttgart's partially difficult sound emission requirements are concerned, the theoretic numbers of the EASE and CAPS simulations (Cohedra Acoustic Prediction Software) were extremely close to reality and thus gave us security for our planning. Every single guest technician and band also gave us very positive feedback, the system was the right choice for these events."
Rental company Matzka equipped the Fan Garden in Kaiserslautern with a 2x8 Cohedra system. For the match England vs. Portugal, Gelsenkirchen-based company Media System OHG organised two additional public viewing areas within 60 hours with a 2x12 Cohedra system in the Park Stadium and three 16-box Cohedra Compact arrays at the trotting course Gelsenkirchen.
(Chris Henry)
