Press release
26.08.2008 - Sennheiser UK
Sennheiser and Brit Row Make Olympic Handover Concert Sound Golden
As the curtain came down on the Beijing Olympics the spotlight fell on
London, host of the next Summer Games in 2012. To celebrate the handing over of the Olympic baton, a star-studded event took place in The Mall in front of Buckingham Palace on August 24th. Broadcast live on the BBC, and graced by the presence of many Olympic medallists, including the winner of a record eight Golds, Michael Phelps, the event climaxed with a celebratory concert featuring artists including Il Divo, The Feeling, Heather Small and Will Young.
Combining the official start of the build up to London 2012 with a
celebration of the remarkable success of Team GB in Beijing, the day was also a huge success for Sennheiser. Working in conjunction with Britannia Row, the Sennheiser team ensured that London's entry on the Olympic stage sounded great for the thousands on The Mall and the millions watching around the world.
All the presenter mics on the day were Sennheiser SKM 5200 handhelds with Neumann KK 105 heads, and those same mics were used by Il Divo and The Feeling.
Heather Small, Sophie Ellis Bextor and Will Young chose SKM 935s, as did the cast of We Will Rock You, who also employed HSP 4 headsets. All the in ear monitors for the artists in the show were Sennheiser ew 300 IEM G2s.
Andy Lillywhite, Sennheiser's chief engineer, was onsite for the duration of the event, working alongside RF Technician Barry Macleod and the Britannia Row team. Due to the location of the stage Lillywhite and Britannia Row faced some interesting technical challenges.
"The combination of such a large performance area and well over sixty RF channels in use meant that we had to be quite innovative with the antenna systems," revealed Lillywhite. "For the radio microphones we used eight receiving antennas plus a custom made active RF combiner and distribution system. The longest antenna cable runs were about 125m, which is not something we'd normally recommend doing. The end result was that everything worked and it was good to see so many of the performing artists making full use of the freedom of movement that you can only get with wireless microphones and in-ears, going right out along the huge runway in to the crowd."
Macleod was delighted to have Sennheiser on board for the day.
"As seems to be the case at an event like this, there is always going to be a huge amount of radio equipment," he explained. "That's why it's great to know that the Sennheiser support is here for some extra input if and when required. That's hugely important to us, as is the fact that Sennheiser's RF equipment all sounds fantastic and performs to the very highest possible standards. The Company's continual support means that they'll continue to be Britannia Row's first choice at high profile events like this."
For more information about Sennheiser please visit www.sennheiser.co.uk or call:
Robert Collins, Sennheiser Pro PR
T: 07966 294 877