Riedel Dishes Up AV Solutions for Pan American Games

Riedel Communications supplied a turnkey A/V solution for the 2019 Pan American and Parapan American Games, recently completed in Lima, Peru. Riedel’s world-class technologies, coupled with comprehensive on-site service and support, ensured flexible, clear, and reliable signal transport and communications for both games.

As the world’s third-largest international multisport events, the 2019 Pan American and Parapan American Games saw a combined total of 9,500 athletes from 41 nations participating in 419 events across 39 sports. Riedel was the official audio/video partner for this year’s games, supplying all signal distribution systems and intercom communications for a record 42 competition venues and three noncompetition venues. This included the real-time transport of baseband HD production signals for events such as weightlifting, rhythmic gymnastics, archery, handball, marathon, 20-kilometer and 50-kilometer walk races, racquetball, and water polo.

“We shipped 22 40-foot sea freight containers full of our equipment to Peru — plus multiple airfreight shipments — which shows the immense scope of this project,” said Marc Schneider, Director of Global Events for Riedel Communications. “Putting on an international sporting event of this scale is a massive undertaking, but our team lives for this type of complex challenge. Just as we have proven time and time again, Riedel’s integrated solutions offer the power, flexibility, reliability, and simplicity needed to drive this world-class sporting event.”

Riedel supplied all audio systems for the 2019 Pan American and Parapan American Games, including PA systems, microphone systems, and specialized solutions, such as underwater speakers. The comms solutions included 45 Artist digital matrix intercom systems with 50 panels, 110 commentator boxes, and 220 Bolero beltpacks and headsets.

The 2019 Pan American and Parapan American Games were the first to achieve seamless venue communications without radios, with all crews relying solely on Bolero wireless intercom systems. With Riedel’s Artist-integrated Bolero solution installed in every venue, all teams could benefit from total flexibility and reliable full-duplex communication. In most of the venues, comprehensive coverage could be achieved with just a single Bolero antenna.

To ensure that all spectators had access to the same experience, Riedel also supplied all 17 Parapan venues with FM devices for assistive hearing and audio descriptive services of the performances and announcer broadcasts.

A MediorNet signal backbone drove LED screens and scoreboards and provided the control systems for the local productions at each venue. In addition, the signal backbone provided all of the pool feeds for host broadcaster Mediapro. The Riedel team supplied all cabling at each venue for interconnection, routing, and distribution of timing, scoring, results, and broadcast signals across the venue. In total, the signal transport solutions in Lima consisted of over 130 MediorNet nodes and nearly 180 kilometers of fiber.

In addition to equipment, Riedel supported the games with an on-site engineering team consisting of 75 international and 182 local crew members. The Riedel team handled project management, planning, design, deployment, and operation of all systems, including configuration and commissioning, installation, testing, and optimisation.