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EAW Heads For The Forum
The Forum, Barcelona, is a phenomenon that defies easy description. It is both a physical space and an event that takes place between May and September with the aim of discussing and promoting the three key themes: World Peace, Cultural Diversity and Sustainable Economic Growth. The space designed to hold Forum events covers 30 hectares which, in the words of the organisers: “are filled with ideas distributed throughout parks, streets and auditoria. This huge area provides opportunities to watch and listen, create, experiment, taste, discover and get excited.” Via their Spanish distributor, Pro3, installers Vitelsa SA as well as rental and production company Focus SA, loudspeaker manufacturer EAW has played – and continues to play - a significant part in the Forum event, both in terms of installed and live concert sound.
The opening show of the Forum, “Move the World,” or “Omkarakala” was a spectacular event. Broadcast over 139 TV stations, the show required an impressive 140,000W of sound, 400,000W of lighting, a choir of 500 people and a technical and artistic team of 110 people. In addition to being the opening ceremony, Move the World is performed nightly throughout the duration of the Forum. Sound and lighting contractor Focus SA constructed six custom towers around the Marina where the show takes place, in order to house all the audio and lighting equipment needed for the event. A total of 98 EAW boxes comprising thirty KF650z, twenty-two KF750F, twenty-four SB850R and twenty-two JFX260 cabinets, all purchased especially for the Forum event, were deployed across the six towers, with the long-throw KF750Fs occupying the top deck, the three-way medium/short throw KF650z Virtual Array systems on the middle platform and the SB850R subs complemented by the JFX260s for nearfill reinforcement on the lowest level.
The show, which is designed to demonstrate how dialogue amongst people and cultures is the only antidote to chaos, injustice and violence, focuses on the construction of huge metal sphere that emerges symbolically from the port’s waters. According to Pro3’s Xavier Oliver, the opening show was a spectacular success in every sense of the word, and continues to draw crowds nightly, thanks in large part to Focus SA’s efforts with sound and lighting. “Since sound is such a key element of a show of this nature, it was crucial that Focus get it right, which they did. The sound quality is as they intended it to be – powerful, yet crystal clear and intelligible. They have done a great job.”
In terms of installed sound at the Forum, EAW is also present in significant quantity in the Barcelona International Convention Centre (CCIB), one of the two permanent structures in the Forum space. With a capacity of up to 15,000 people, the CCIB is the largest convention centre in southern Europe and contains an impressive audio installation including 36 EAW CP621 high performance passive ceiling-mount loudspeakers and a further 96 CIS400 ceiling monitors from the new EAW Commercial brand. The system was designed and specified by acoustic and audiovisual consultants, Audioscan and installed by Vitelsa SA. All the loudspeakers have gone into the CCIB’s hall A which has a ceiling height of 12m, hence the reason Audioscan opted for the EAW CP621. According to a spokesman from Audioscan, “We needed a loudspeaker that was both sufficiently powerful and directive to provide maximum coverage and intelligibility throughout the area we had to cover. The unique feature set of the CP621 offered us the perfect solution.”
The CCIB is currently hosting two exhibitions: “Cities and Corners,” a tribute to cities that embodies the strength and drive behind their social, economic, cultural and political functions in their material nature, with corners being the main point of reference, and “Voices,” an exhibition aimed at celebrating human communication and linguistic and cultural diversity.
22nd July 2004
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