France - FISE (Festival International des Sport Extrêmes) is the world’s biggest urban sports festival. The event takes over five days in late spring on the banks of the River Lez in Montpellier and attracts in excess of 300,000 spectators. Featuring BMX, Skateboard, Scooter, Roller, Parkour and much more, FISE is a major attraction for fans of actions sports and urban culture. The event site is extensive with eight Fields of Practice (FOP) specifically designed for the variety of competitive disciplines.
Powerful clear audio was an essential element of ensuring a premium spectator and competitor experience, and at this year’s 28th renewal, established event technology specialist Concept Group provided Coda Audio systems across the entirety of the site, matching audience and FOP sizes perfectly. The aim was to ensure that every spectator, no matter how far from the action, was immersed in excellent sound. DJs and MCs dominated the airwaves, whipping up the crowd and playing riders’ favourite tracks to accompany their performances, but as well as the beats, audio for announcements also needed to be precisely intelligible.
Steeve Thimpont of Coda Audio France worked closely with Concept Group on this large-scale project: “For an event of this size, it was important that all the loudspeakers and amplifiers were of the same brand for ease of use and unity of process in terms of network, flow, and configuration. Concept Group has a long history with Coda Audio and had the inventory to match this demanding brief. Coda’s sound quality, reliability, and compact size, were all major benefits in this application.”
Concept deployed more than 200 Coda Audio loudspeakers across the eight FOP which included four official World Cup stages for BMX and Parkour. Both flown and ground-stacked configurations were used, with Coda’s compact units ensuring that video screen and spectator sight-lines weren’t compromised, as Steeve explains:
“I worked with Concept on the system designs, also collaborating with the broadcast crew, who were involved with positioning of the loudspeakers. PA positions had to be compatible with camera axes, ensure sponsorship signs were visible, and be as discreet as possible.”
Across the site Concept deployed loudspeakers for front of house and monitoring for competitors, DJs, and MCs, from across the Coda range, including 24 x AiRAY and 48 x ViRAY line arrays, eight HOPS12, 20 x HOPS8, 16 x APS point sources, and 12 x APS Sub, 24 x SCV, eight SCP, and four SC2 subwoofers and bass extensions. 15 Coda Audio Linus T-Rack 12-channel touring rack, each containing three Linus14D amplifiers, powered the systems.
Coda Audio’s proprietary System Optimiser prediction software played its part in the system design, whilst with all the amplifiers on the same network, Linus Control software was used during the event to control and monitor local areas and feedback strong audio information.
Concept Group engineer Loïc Riviani concludes: “The systems performed brilliantly throughout the course of the five days, helping to create an amazing atmosphere at this spectacular event. As well as delivering fantastic audio from such compact boxes, the systems stood up to non-stop use and the intense heat without any problems. Everyone on the technical side was delighted with the exceptional quality and high performance of the systems, which perfectly complemented the adrenaline-filled action on the stages.”
