EV equips nine World Cup Stadia

EV distributor Prosound Ltd won the commission to install the sound systems in nine of the ten stadiums being used. Four of the ten stadiums were new constructions and the other six had to be renovated, extended or partly rebuilt in order to meet the stringent demands of an event of this calibre. In the case of the sound reinforcement, each stadium was the subject of a separate invitation to tender and each solution proposed had to be tailored to the acoustic and other requirements of each individual stadium.

‘Ever since founding the firm over 37 years ago, I have worked closely with Electro-Voice,’ said  Prosound MD Terry Acres. ‘And with good reason: Electro-Voice systems are reliable, robust, demonstrate exceptional mechanical quality and deliver clear and balanced sound. In short: they’re the ones that best meet our requirements.’

Over 2,300 Electro-Voice and Dynacord loudspeakers and a variety of EV REV-D wireless microphone systems have been installed in the stadiums in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town, Nelspruit, Port Elizabeth, Rustenburg, Polokwane and Bloemfontein. In South Africa, FRX, ZX5, SX, XLD and EVID boxes from Electro-Voice are being used, whilst Dynacord is represented by over a thousand loudspeakers from its DL800 series.

From compact, direct-radiating modules beneath balconies to line-array systems designed to cover long distances, a wide variety of enclosures have been installed, with all components fine-tuned to one another. Prosound’s experience in the equipping of sports stadia goes back to 1981 when the firm developed and installed a comprehensive sound reinforcement system for Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg; a system that would be functioning flawlessly and unaltered to this day – of this, the Prosound specialists are certain – had it not proved necessary to tweak and further develop it in certain areas to meet the special challenges of the present tournament.

One challenge for the PA systems is the vuvuzela, a metre-long plastic horn that emits a deafening trumpeting, sometimes in excess of 120dB. Another is a stringent set of safety norms covering cases of emergency. Here, teams from EVI Audio and Prosound were able to draw on the experience accumulated from stadium installations the world over, such as the last two World Cups and the Athens Olympics.

The games in Athens in 2004, for example, saw the first deployment of EV’s remote amplifiers, and the solutions adopted in Greece formed the basis for the sound reinforcement designs implemented in Germany’s stadiums in 2006. Here then, while the trumpeting of the vuvuzela may be a new factor, and the architecture of each stadium poses inevitably a set of problems uniquely its own, Prosound’s specialists can have confidence in the acoustic quality of EV systems.

As Oliver Sahm, Director of EVI Audio’s Technical Support Team, explained: ‘Long reverberation times, asymmetric architecture and boisterous fans require sound reinforcement systems and voice alarm systems to be combined, and strict TÜV-certified conformity with international standards is imperative to ensure that fans will be able not only to hear but also to understand safety announcements in case of emergency. Our Tech Support team in Straubing, drawing on its many years of experience in the field of stadium sound, has developed solutions designed to meet such challenges and honed them to the needs of this year’s tournament in South Africa with the assistance of our friends at Prosound.’

Sound systems installed in South Africa’s football stadiums:

Soccer City Stadium / Johannesburg / 94,700 spectators / Opened in 1989 - Expanded and renovated

80 Electro-Voice PX2122 loudspeakers

48 Electro-Voice PX2152 loudspeakers

22 Electro-Voice SX100+ loudspeakers

4 Electro-Voice ZX1 loudspeakers

24 Dynacord DL800/25T loudspeakers

Green Point Stadium / Cape Town / 70,000 spectators / Newly built

124 Electro-Voice XLD loudspeakers

1 Electro-Voice REV-D wireless microphone system

Mbombela Stadium / Nelspruit / 64,000 spectators / Newly built

24 Electro-Voice FRX940Pi loudspeakers

24 Electro-Voice ZX5Pi loudspeakers

2 Electro-Voice N/D 267 microphones

2 Electro-Voice RE2-N7 wireless microphones

Coca Cola (Ellis) Park / Johannesburg / 70.000 spectators / Opened in 1928 / Rebuilt in 1982 – Expanded and renovated

62 Electro-Voice ZX5-60Pi loudspeakers

20 Electro-Voice SX100+ loudspeakers

395 Dynacord DL800/25T loudspeakers

Loftus Stadium / Pretoria / 50,000 spectators / Opened in 1906 – Expanded and renovated

36 Electro-Voice ZX5-Pl loudspeakers

14 Electro-Voice PX2152 loudspeakers

17 Electro-Voice ZX1 loudspeakers

56 Electro-Voice Evid 4.2T loudspeakers

8 Electro-Voice Zx1i-100T loudspeakers

16 Electro-Voice SX100+ loudspeakers

232 Dynacord DL800/10T loudspeakers

93 Dynacord DL800/15T loudspeakers

Nelson Mandela Bay / Port Elizabeth / 48,000 spectators / Newly built

8 Electro-Voice FRX940Pi loudspeakers

28 Electro-Voice FRX660Pi loudspeakers

20 Electro-Voice FRX640Pi loudspeakers

132 Electro-Voice EVID FM4.2 loudspeakers

2 Electro-Voice N/D767 microphones

1 Electro-Voice REV-D wireless microphone system

Free State Stadium / Bloemfontein / 48,000 spectators / Year of construction: 1952 – Expanded and rebuilt

2 Electro-Voice FRX940Pi loudspeakers

10 Electro-Voice FRX660Pi loudspeakers

10 Electro-Voice ZX5-60Pi loudspeakers

69 Electro-Voice SX300Pi loudspeakers

36 Electro-Voice EVID 6.2T loudspeakers

1 Electro-Voice REV-D wireless microphone system

66 Dynacord DL800/15T loudspeakers

120 Dynacord DL86 loudspeakers

Peter Mokaba Stadium / Polokwane / 46,000 spectators / Newly built

10 Electro-Voice FRX660Pi loudspeakers

12 Electro-Voice ZX5-60Pi loudspeakers

28 Electro-Voice PX2122 loudspeakers

1 Electro-Voice REV-D wireless microphone system

49 Dynacord DL800/15T loudspeakers

236 Dynacord SP20D loudspeakers

20 Dynacord SP20 loudspeakers

Royal Bafokeng Stadium / Rustenburg / 42,000 spectators / Year of construction: 1999 – Expanded and rebuilt

8 Electro-Voice FRX660Pi loudspeakers

6 Electro-Voice ZX5-60Pi loudspeakers

12 Electro-Voice PX122 loudspeakers

60 Electro-Voice EVID 4.2T loudspeakers

1 Electro-Voice REV-D wireless microphone system

70 Dynacord DL800/15T loudspeakers