STEPHEN HOGG & STEVE JONES

ow did the project at Wembley Stadium begin d&b?

Stephen Hogg: We were delighted to be asked to respond to a tender from Vanguardia Consulting with a system design for Wembley in late 2016. We’ve always had a good relationship with Vanguardia, and one of their audio consultancy contracts was with Wembley for its concert season noise monitoring, going right back to the old stadium. Once the project team at the venue were in the market for updating the audio inside the bowl - from a speech and playback system to a more performance-based or production audio quality system - they took the route of consulting Vanguardia, and that’s pretty much how our involvement with the project began.

Can you give us some insight into the audio system design?

Steve Jones: In simple terms the initial brief was straightforward: ensure the person sitting in row one, level one, experiences the same quality of sound as the person in row forty-eight, level five. Additionally, the system needed to be lightweight to stay within roof loading limits, appeal to both the music industry and sport’s governing bodies, by meeting FIFA, the NFL and UEFA specifications, and integrate with the existing network as part of the stadium’s life safety system. We had lots of discussions around the differing needs for sports mode versus concert mode in terms of coverage, headroom, tonality, intelligibility and imaging and the practicalities of offering the best solution. Wembley is so high, and so steep, designing a single system that was up to the task of properly covering the large vertical geometry - from the front row to the back of the upper tiers - provide horizontal consistency, and be suitable for both sports events and augmenting concert productions was certainly a challenge.

I have to say I relished it. I started by marrying the knowledge we have at d&b from completing many stadia installs around the world, with our experience supporting the world’s best touring system designers for concerts - and in particular large concerts previously at Wembley.

As I moved between the venue’s two principal modes of operation – I found myself asking different sets of questions for each and realised to optimise both operational modes we needed two different loudspeaker orientations and setups.

As two separate systems were never going to gain traction, it led us to consider installing a rotating rigging solution, at a lower height than we had considered previously, as the basis for our design. Essentially a two for one configuration with zero compromise in audio quality.

Thankfully, we’d had the experience of installing rotating arrays in Amsterdam Arena, and even though it’s a slightly smaller stadium, and benefiting from a gantry structure that was easy to work with, we looked at what we’d done there and were confident this was the exact solution for Wembley Stadium to sound greatfor everyone - whatever the event. We took the idea into discussion with Vanguardia, and it was agreed to pursue the possibility of mechanically rotating each loudspeaker array as well as deploying them at the lowest possible height. If we could get these decisions correct, we would vastly increase the ability for Wembley to offer an acceptable solution to visiting concert productions, one that visiting engineers could look up, see what’s in the roof, and be happy to use it. Finally, having designed the arrays to match the geometry of the audience in front of them the next part of the puzzle was the minute you take an array and rotate it, you completely change the target geometry, so that system is now not designed to cover the new audience area.

However, switching settings in d&b’s ArrayProcessing enables the output of the array to change and precisely match the new audience’s geometry and thus achieve the best performance in both scenarios, without being restricted by the physical limitations of the mechanical array setup.

You were, of course, chosen on your tender return - what were the next steps?

SJ: The next major hurdle was the roof at Wembley, which proved quite difficult to work with, as it’s not symmetrical from one side to the other. Having honed our design, the team now had the challenge of finding practical solutions for deploying the arrays. There was a lot of back and forth with OPS, Wembley’s structural engineers, who are based ten miles down the road from us, which proved fortunate as I was frequently in their office looking at CAD and trying to correlate my ideas with their knowledge of the venue. I was often pushing them to quarter of a metre distances, but, despite the challenges, they were very collaborative and keen to help make it work.

How did the loudspeaker rigging work with regards to the roof at Wembley?

SJ: Initially, we were looking at a single arm concept, dropping down to hold the loudspeaker arrays which would also allow for servicing and maintenance. But, when we went to the East and West stands, especially where the roof opens, there was nothing but air above our heads.

So, we had to push for the optimal solution, which was loudspeakers that were positioned between the high gantries and cross beams. With the project team scratching their heads, eventually a proposal for suspension via steel wires was put forward. A prototype custom frame was manufactured then a test and verification process advocated to spread the weight through eight steel wires around the roof structure. With the collaboration of Wembley and the structural engineers, we managed to find positions that worked for both sports and concert modes, the latter also allowing for system designers having differing stage positions. It was really hard work, with everyone pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. However, we were again able to point to what the likes of Coldplay and Muse had brought in with them over the years, and we wanted to be certain we could provide coverage that was at least the same, ideally better, than existing rock ‘n’ roll touring shows had brought in.

And did you demonstrate the system?

SJ: Yes, there was always a plan to demonstrate the system to allow the FA stakeholders to hear the proposed solution before moving on to the physical installation. This happened over two consecutive days in February 2018, where one loudspeaker array was deployed and proved that the vertical coverage, audio consistency and frequency response was perfect. We chose an array position for the demo where we could also give the FA confidence that other considerations had been met. For instance, other stadia bowl operations remained unaffected - visibility to the LED screens, which are part of the life safety system, was maintained; NAVIS predictions to ensure sightlines to 17m high footballs were preserved for UEFA regulations, and, of course, tournament trophies being presented to the winning captains were visible to all.

On the other hand, we also had to consider that differing events hang varying sized banners in the roof and that these would not affect the audio performance!

How does the system improve the fan experience and atmosphere on game days?

SH: Heightened emotions in stadia generate a unique atmosphere, created by the audience, a communal experience of shared hopes and lasting dreams, reverberates throughout the venue.

The crowd noise is incredibly important in creating an enhanced environment and can lift an athletes or teams performance to new heights.

The famous Wembley roar from the old stadium was something that was imperative to preserve in the architectural design for the new. When you have that kind of atmosphere, that noise level, it’s important for the sound system to sit within it, being part of the experience, teasing and amplifying emotions. This is where quality counts.

Reinforcing speech or music at a level where everyone in every seat can hear, belong, and take part ownership can only be achieved with a natural sound quality that is unquestioned by every listener.

Once we eventually arrived at the rescheduled EURO 2020, we were fortunate to be there, and in that moment of euphoria when Tony Perry, the DJ, chose to play ‘Sweet Caroline’, it was immediately obvious that everyone could hear every word, sing along with every word, jump to the same beat; a jubilant mix that made for a great party.

Everything, and not just the sound system, felt perfectly timed and it was just incredible for d&b to be part of that joyous nature of football.

SJ: In fact, the whole BBC commentary team were saying we have never been in this kind of atmosphere before. Now, what they were experiencing was all about the result of the game, the experience, being part of a crowd singing and being passionate. But we believe, fundamentally, that they were able to do that because they could feel and hear the music in a way that moved them emotionally. They could hear the words they could get the timing of the music, which is hard to achieve in large venues. I was blown away when the DJ was adamant that the sound system played its part, and he loved every minute of working with it.

The fact that there were still fans in the stadium singing along 20 minutes, after the game had finished, says it all.

What creative capabilities does the audio system provide for moments like that?

SJ: The sheer scale of Wembley Stadium and the vertical height and geometry of the stands meant our design would be based on line array loudspeakers. This gave us our building blocks, but, we knew we also had to address compromises that are common to every line array system and meet or exceed the Vanguardia specifications to deliver a uniform frequency response to every seat. Deploying our ArrayProcessing technology, allowed us to optimize the sonic performance over the entire listening area.

It also gave us the toolbox to play little tricks that were needed to cater to the needs in different parts of the stadium. In the seating areas, there are different things going on - some areas are fan zones, but in others, you have media, some of whom, and at the Euros there are a lot, are on live commentary and don’t want interference from a loud sound system blaring at them.

ArrayProcessing allows us to designate specific areas as level reduction zones, within which the entire frequency band is reduced. This means that we’re reducing the sound level enough, so that those guys can comfortably do their job, but it still retains the overall sound quality.

The result is media representatives can enjoy themselves as part of the crowd, hear themselves think, and the spill of the sound system into their broadcast feeds, retaining that natural quality, is just right. This way, you’re listening at home and you can hear the commentator clearly, but you can also experience that environment and atmosphere with a good sound system clearly audible, but not intrusive, in the background.

As we mentioned, the atmosphere impressed the pundits massively, but they would have experienced a slightly quieter listening environment compared to the rest of the crowd. However, the sound system still provided a high-quality experience for them.

What has the feedback been like since the installation of the audio system?

The concert industry is a primary source of direct feedback for us, particularly from the touring engineers and technicians. The first concert held at Wembley with the new system in place was challenging due to postCOVID limitations and a shortage of crew.

Despite these obstacles, the event ultimately succeeded thanks to the efforts of everyone on the team. The feedback we received from the Head of Audio, Andy ‘Baggy’ Robinson who had previously worked with us on George Michael, was extremely positive. Our R1 software made tuning the delays quick and easy, and the result was acknowledged as better than ever before. The production team were walking around the Wembley top tiers commenting on how brilliant it sounded, which, from our perspective, was also great to hear.

On-going success will be measured by the sound quality and consistency for the audience – and the Wembley concert system has been well received, with no complaints or issues with EQ or coverage. Overall, it’s been really positive, and we anticipate this feedback to continue as the production crews have time to reflect on the ease and consistency our system provides. Next concert season, we look forward to the system continuing to make lives easier for sound technicians that come into the stadium, while delivering that ease of use and high-quality experience. dbaudio.com

SH: We are really fortunate to have been a part of a team that believed in our system and gave us the opportunity to prove ourselves, alongside Wembley’s project managers, structural engineers and consultants who were absolutely essential in making this project a success. Due to multiple factors the installation window was incredibly short, and the pressure was high due to multiple projects within the stadium bowl being delivered simultaneously, however, the determination of all involved, latterly including the installation and integration teams of RG Jones Sound Engineering, delivered the system in time for the 2020 Carabao Cup Final. An incredible accomplishment that we are all exceptionally proud of.

SJ: Exactly – the team was so important, especially when you consider the custom metal work, the riggers putting all the points in the roof and all that process being managed to daily milestones and deadlines.

It was an impressive, complex project with plenty of challenges, but I think we can look back and proudly say ‘we did it well’.