CLIENT
Katara Studios
LOCATION
Lusail Stadium, Doha, Qatar
YEAR
2024
PROJECT TYPE
Stadium Ceremony / Live Broadcast Event
Scope
Stadium-wide audio system design and show control for opening ceremony
Services Provided
- →Stadium loudspeaker system design
- →Show control and replay integration
- →Front of House and monitor mixing
- →Broadcast audio coordination
- →RF system design and management
- →Systems engineering
- →Project management
The Brief
Auditoria were engaged by Katara Studios to design the audio systems for the opening ceremony of the AFC Asian Cup, staged at Lusail Stadium in Doha in January 2024.
The ceremony marked the start of the tournament and was performed in front of a full stadium audience while being broadcast internationally. The brief was to deliver a system capable of supporting the live performance elements of the show while maintaining intelligibility and musical impact within one of the largest venues in the region.
The Challenge
Lusail Stadium is visually impressive but acoustically extremely difficult. The internal volume of the building produces a reverberation time of roughly fourteen seconds, making speech and music reinforcement particularly challenging.
A temporary acoustic treatment strategy was developed during the design phase, but due to time constraints, the treatment could not be installed before the tournament began. This meant the system design had to work within the existing acoustic conditions.
The geometry of the venue introduced additional complications. While the seating bowl follows the rectangular footprint of the pitch, the roof structure and rigging grid form a circular layout. Loudspeaker positions, therefore, had to be adapted to suit the available rigging points rather than the ideal system geometry.
Another constraint came from the large number of player-tracking cameras installed throughout the stadium. These systems monitor the field of play for refereeing, broadcast analysis and performance data. Loudspeaker positions had to avoid obstructing their sightlines, which significantly influenced array placement.
Our Approach
The design focused on controlling the amount of energy entering the stadium volume. For the lower bowl, L-Acoustics K2 arrays were specified to provide focused coverage. For the upper seating areas, L-Acoustics L2 was selected for its cardioid characteristics, helping to reduce rear radiation and limit the amount of sound reflecting back into the stadium.
The design required most of the world’s stock of L2 and therefore required a significant amount of coordination between suppliers. Agora worked with Clair Global and Solotech to combine inventory, allowing the system to be deployed at the scale required.
The final design was adapted carefully to suit the available rigging points in the circular roof structure while maintaining coverage across the seating bowl and preserving camera sightlines.
Signal transport across the system was handled via an Optocore network. Four DiGiCo Quantum 7 consoles supported the live mix positions, with additional Quantum 7B and SD11B consoles dedicated to broadcast and Atmos workflows. Replay and timecode were delivered using dual-redundant Ovation systems, with DirectOut Prodigy units providing additional processing and signal management.
Technical Highlights:
Audio Design
Optocore signal distribution network
DirectOut Prodigy processing
4 × DiGiCo Quantum 7
2 × DiGiCo Quantum 7B (Broadcast)
2 × DiGiCo SD11B (Atmos)
L-Acoustics K2 arrays for lower bowl coverage
L-Acoustics L2 arrays for upper bowl coverage
Shure wireless microphones and in-ear monitoring
Show Control
Merging Ovation replay systems
The Results
Despite the challenging acoustic environment, the system delivered consistent coverage across the stadium while maintaining control over the large internal reverberant field.
The ceremony ran smoothly, supporting both the live audience in Lusail Stadium and the international broadcast audience. Careful loudspeaker placement ensured the audio system coexisted with the extensive camera infrastructure required for tournament coverage.
The project demonstrated how thoughtful system design and close coordination between suppliers and production teams can overcome the constraints of a very difficult acoustic space.
Acknowledgements
Our Client
Katara Studios
Our Team
Scott Willsallen – Audio Designer
Joe Callister – Technical Manager
Simon Fox – Front of House Mix Engineer
Ben Milton – Monitor Mix Engineer
Ollie Nesham – Broadcast Mix Engineer
Luis Miranda – Replay Operator
Simon Sayer – Replay Operator
Alessandro Cestaro – Systems Engineer
Our Supplier
Agora
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