CLIENT
Ceremonies Staging Agency / Five Currents / BWS
LOCATION
Sochi, Russia
YEAR
2014
PROJECT TYPE
Live Event / Ceremonies
Scope
Comprehensive audio design and implementation for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games
Services Provided
- →Stadium-wide audio system design and commissioning
- →Dual-redundant FOH, broadcast and monitoring systems
- →Custom signal transport architecture
- →Audio replay and RF integration
- →Operational and engineering support on site
The Brief
The Sochi 2014 Winter Games marked a major milestone in Olympic and Paralympic history, with Ceremonies that pushed the boundaries of creative and technical ambition. Held in the purpose-built Fisht Olympic Stadium, the Ceremonies demanded a world-class audio infrastructure that could adapt to the evolving needs of two distinct events, each with its own challenges and creative direction.
Auditoria was invited to design and implement a full stadium audio solution for all four Ceremonies, working alongside Five Currents, the Ceremonies Staging Agency and BWS.
The Challenge
Fisht Stadium presented a unique acoustic environment, with a full roof structure and extended temporary builds at either end of the arena. The result was a reverberation time of over six seconds, creating a significant hurdle for intelligibility and musical clarity.
In addition, the Paralympic Ceremonies required a completely clear field of play, necessitating an entirely different loudspeaker configuration to the Olympic Ceremonies. The project called for not just technical excellence, but the ability to respond with agility to changing spatial and creative demands, all under tight timelines and a global spotlight.
Our Approach
We developed two distinct loudspeaker system designs to meet the needs of the Olympic and Paralympic Ceremonies. For the Olympics, coverage was split between flown arrays for the upper bowl and ground-stacked arrays for the lower tiers. For the Paralympics, the entire system was flown, ensuring a clean floor for athlete seating and accessibility.
At the core of our approach was a fully redundant signal and control infrastructure. Based on our proven design from London 2012 Ceremonies, we deployed a robust Optocore fibre network with mirrored analogue fallback, ensuring seamless continuity across FOH, broadcast and replay.
Technical Highlights:
Audio Design
Loudspeaker System
- 230 x L-Acoustics K2
- 98 x SB28 subwoofers
- Additional elements included ARCS II, dVDOSC, 12XT, 8XT, 5XT and 108P
- Custom deployment to suit acoustic challenges and event-specific requirements
FOH & Broadcast Audio
- Dual-redundant DiGiCo SD7 consoles for both FOH and monitors
- Additional pair of SD7B for main broadcast mix and a pair of SD9B for audience/effects capture
- Outboard processing included TC M6000, Cedar DNS-8D, Drawmer S3, and Distressors
- 40+ crowd mics placed strategically to ensure dynamic audience capture
Show Control Design
Replay & Signal Network
- Two fully mirrored Fairlight audio replay systems, each running on HP Z840 workstations with Crystal Core processors
- A/B configuration enabled failover without any disruption
- Signal distribution designed around Optocore with MADI routing to both primary and backup console sets
The Results
Sochi 2014 remains one of the most technically ambitious Games in Olympic history. The Ceremonies were praised for their dramatic scale, artistic impact, and immersive atmosphere. Our audio system performed flawlessly across all four shows, supporting complex musical sequences, live performances, and nuanced broadcast mixes under significant environmental and acoustic constraints.
This project also marked the first large-scale deployment of L-Acoustics K2, setting a new standard for future events. It reinforced our capacity to deliver tailored, resilient sound systems for the most demanding live environments on earth.
Acknowledgements
Our Client
Thanks to our friends from the Ceremonies Staging Agency, FiveCurrents and BWS for getting us involved in the project. Congratulations to the creative team for developing such a great set of ceremonies and to the technical team led by James Lee and Nick Eltis for making it happen.
Our Team
Scott Willsallen designed the systems and led the team consisting of Richard Sharratt and Bobby Aitken on FOH, Steve Logan and Luis Miranda on Replay, Justin Arthur looking after systems and Andy Rose and Griff Hewis on Broadcast.
Our Supplier
Congratulations to Giulio Rovelli and the whole team at Agora for preparing, shipping and installing a world-class system with world class crew. This was the first large deployment of L-Acoustics K2 and the whole process was very efficient.
Related Projects
