Opening of the Danube Bridge – NoiseGate powers multimedia show on the Danube with L-Acoustics

The newly opened Danube Bridge on the A26 near Linz is an architectural masterpiece: 300 meters long and free of visible support pillars, it appears to float above the Danube. On October 26, Austria’s National Day, the bridge was officially inaugurated under the direction of Asfinag in front of 2,500 invited guests. The concept for the opening show was developed by the full-service event agency brandmood, while the technical implementation was carried out by event technology provider NoiseGate, which relied on a decentralized L-Acoustics system featuring K2, Syva, and the X Series for optimal sound coverage.

To immerse the roughly 2,500 guests in the opening show, they were positioned on three ships on the Danube. Two main sound reinforcement positions were used to reproduce the playback audio: the primary system consisted of a single array of twelve K2 elements suspended centrally beneath the bridge in a mono configuration. Twelve KS28 subwoofers in an end-fire setup were placed on the bridge deck behind the array. On the ships, NoiseGate deployed four Syva “Colinear Source” systems per vessel, each paired with Syva Low subwoofers and complemented by X8 and 5XT coaxial loudspeakers as well as KS21 subwoofers on the upper decks.

“The K2 system on the bridge supports the direct sound reinforcement on the ships, which are positioned up to 90 meters away from the bridge, adding spaciousness and scale to the production,” explains Jürgen Fleck of NoiseGate, responsible for the PA system design. “And since we’re using a mono cluster as the only sound source on the bridge, we don’t have to worry as much about delay alignment or the effects of wind and weather.”

Moreover, the two sound positions – bridge and ships – carried different audio mixes: the ship playback contained more spoken content, while the bridge system focused on the large-scale soundscape. Given the vast distances and the movement of the ships, synchronizing identical audio in terms of level and delay would have been nearly impossible. “The K2 was the ideal choice for this project,” adds Thomas Maier, project manager at NoiseGate, “because it delivered enough punch across the required distances while still being light enough for the bridge suspension.”

For the installation of the K2 array, NoiseGate made use of the bridge’s maintenance platform, located beneath the structure. This system allowed technicians to move to any point under the bridge to hang each loudspeaker individually. “We designed the entire Layher construction for the bridge mounting ourselves and had it verified by an external structural engineer,” says Maier. Additionally, the array was only allowed to be lowered to show height during performance times to avoid obstructing ship traffic.

Planning in SOUNDVISION also proved more complex than in typical stage scenarios with fixed venue parameters and established reference points. “Aside from the long distances, we didn’t know the exact water level of the Danube on the day of the opening, so we knew we’d have to make adjustments on-site,” Maier explains. Because all sound positions – bridge and ships – were wirelessly connected via the LA Network Manager, the audio team maintained a complete real-time overview of the entire system during the show. “The K2 simply delivers outstanding output that impressed everyone from the start,” confirms Maier.

Further information:

noisegate.at
l-acoustics.com
brandmood.com
asfinag.at

Artikel von Alexander Cevolani | Event Edit