A feast of football is being served as the World Cup kicks off in the Americas, and to celebrate, a website is showcasing how technologies such as Auracast can make stadiums better for fans.
The opening match on Thursday, 11 June, saw one of the three host countries, Mexico, take on South Africa in the first Group A clash.
Then on Friday, 12 June, fellow host country Canada takes on Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In what is the early hours of Saturday, 13 June, UK audiences can watch the third host country, the United States, take on Paraguay.
Millions across the world are expected to watch the 48 competing nations take part in 104 different games in 16 different cities: two in Canada and three in Mexico, with the rest in the US. It is the first time that Canada has hosted the contest, but the third time Mexico has welcomed international visitors.
FIFA requires that host stadiums seat at least 40,000 fans, which means a lot of people in a crowded, noisy, and unfamiliar area. Because it is an international contest, not everyone will be speaking the same language.
We have previously highlighted how Auracast can help football fans and visually impaired football fans. We have also featured a world-record using Auracast at a Cambridge Utd women’s game.
The World Cup is a great example of how it can benefit everyone. At a basic level, a good venue can broadcast announcements, and with the right system, it could offer translations. In the opening game, for instance, many Mexicans speak Spanish, while South Africans may appreciate hearing a Zulu Auracast, and English would be a welcome third option.
Commentaries could be offered again in native tongues, and another stream could provide match stats, local information, and other World Cup updates.
Of course, football is for life, not just five weeks once every four years, and many clubs will be using the off-season to consider what improvements they can make to their stadiums.
To help make an Auracast-future easier to visualise, a Norfolk-based company has created a special website offering a virtual tour.
Midwich, which has more than 40 years of experience in the AV industry, wants to share its knowledge and expertise and has created a mock-up stadium showcasing products to help people consider options for all aspects of live outdoor arena audiovisual needs. This includes sections for video, displays, broadcast equipment, cables, lighting, and audio.
“Stadium environments demand AV that delivers at scale, from large-format LED and stadium-wide audio to resilient control systems. Every moment depends on technology that performs flawlessly when it matters most.”
The first thing that people see when they click on the Audio section is Ampetronic’s Auri system: transmitters, receivers, and docking stations. This visibility matters as it will help create conversations.
We applaud Midwich for taking the initiative and hope they have the match winner when it comes to getting stadiums on board with Auracast.
To see the site, log on to: https://www.midwich.com/campaign/venue/stadium
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