The Baltic island of Gotland has been an important European meeting place since the Middle Ages. A province of Sweden, it has seen many historic conferences held there, a long tradition which has recently been given a brand new setting with the opening of the Wisby Strand Congress & Event centre.
Located minutes from the airport and ferry terminal of the Visby, Gotland’s main city and covering a total area of six square kilometres, the centre features a 1000-capacity congress halls, four conference rooms, five seminar rooms, a banqueting hall, a board/VIP room, eight dressing rooms and over 2000 m2 of exhibition space. With 900 hotel rooms within a 10-minute walk, Wisby Strand is a truly state of the art facility, accessible from throughout Europe.
A central feature of the main congress hall is the audio system, driven by a Yamaha DME64N digital mixing engine in combination with a Yamaha M7CL console, to provide an extremely flexible facility.
“We chose the DME64N and the M7CL for Wisby Strand because it was, quite simply, the best combination,” says David Berggren of installation company Primetec.
The DME and M7CL interface via AES/EBU control cards to make it extremely straightforward for the audio system to accommodate events ranging from small conferences right through to major live music performances.
“The system has three options,” says David. “Option 1 is an ‘automatic’ setup, which is very easy for guests to use. It allows for four microphones - two wireless headsets and two wired lectern, plus PC-audio, a DVD and a VCR player - to be used and controlled via a very intuitive Crestron interface. It means a small conference can take place without a sound technician needing to be present.
“Option 2 is a semi-automatic mode, for bigger conference and more complex presentations, while Option 3 puts the M7CL in charge of all mixing and is ideal for live music performances,” he continues. “It’s an extremely versatile system. It means that it’s very easy to switch from a conference to evening entertainment and other activities very quickly. It is also connected to the facility’s induction loop system, so the hearing impaired are at no disadvantage.”
Primetec chose the M7CL console, partly because of its ability to seamlessly integrate with the DME64, but also because it is very easy for visiting sound engineers to learn. “Even though we realise that major acts would come with their own rigs, having the M7 means that live bands can use the in-house rig and not have to compromise on their sound,” says David. “The M7CL is very easy to use, it is very straightforward for any engineer to learn. With its user-friendliness and the sheer quality of the facilities, it really is a bargain. Indeed it’s probably the most common console in Sweden right now.”
David reports that the Yamaha system is working very well, with the conference facilities in almost constant use since the Centre opened in mid-April. However, the system has plenty of room for expansion. “The DME64N has a powerful processor and enough expansion options to make the system reasonably future-proof. We believe it’s better to have options for expansion in place, because then it is much easier to expand the system in future,” says David.
A second DME system is also under consideration, which will add significant flexibility to the centre’s other areas. “The fire alarm system features 100V loudspeakers in several zones throughout the complex,” says David.
“We have installed a temporary system which also allows those speakers to be used for background music and voice announcements. However, that system currently only allows all the speakers to receive the same signal at once. We have recommended installing a further DME so the speakers can be fully zoned, with a different content able to be played over loudspeakers in different areas of the building. We’re hoping that phase of the project will commence in the autumn.”
