The main system used a total of 80 M3D line array and 24 Milo high-power curvilinear array loudspeakers. As a point of reference for the immensity of this system, 24 Milo cabinets has proved more than sufficient as the main system for outdoor shows by major rock acts, while the same number of M3D cabinets has been used to power a hard rock festival. The Grönemeyer system used well over four times that many cabinets.
The M3D complement was configured as six arrays: two main arrays of 14 cabinets, two arrays of 14 cabinets covering the sides of the stadium, and two delay towers holding 12 M3D units each, situated some 100m from the stage. The Milo cabinets, flown from the roof in six arrays of four cabinets, covered the upper level seating.
Rocksound's audio director, Lothar Strunk comments, "Germany rebuilt many of their soccer stadiums in preparation for hosting the FIFA World Cup last year, and most of these venues are pretty massive, holding between 50,000 and 75,000 people. Creating a system that can deliver great sound to that kind of coverage area can be a challenge. The M3D can easily throw 1,000ft, but we've found that using the Milos gives us a much smoother transition and better imaging to those upper level areas."
FOH engineer Colin Norfield mixed the show on a DiGiCo D5 console, with a second D5 for redundant backup. Monitor engineer Wayne "Heights" Gittens worked with an identical setup under the stage, and systems engineer Sven Waldheim sized up each venue and tweaked the system design using MAPP Online Pro acoustical prediction software.
"It's always a bit of a compromise in stadiums that large," Waldheim observes. "In a sense, those arenas are designed for sporting events, where it's more exciting to reflect the sound of the crowd back inward. It would be impossible to deliver this kind of a show without the Meyer system."
(Jim Evans)
