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The key design considerations for the PA were to provide seamless coverage to enable invigorating spoken corporate training to the audience, while having the volume and impact of a pop concert for the entertainment sections of the show. The entire speaker solution employed 146 Meyer Sound loudspeakers, with main left/ right MILO arrays, MICA and M’elodie out-fill and M’elodie centre fill. Front-fill was comprised of MSL-4s and M’elodie and two arrays of MICA were used as delays. Sub-bass reinforcement came from a combination of 700-HPs and 600-HPs. UPA-1Ps and UPA-2Ps were utilized for various fill and back-stage duties with MM-4 miniature cabinets used as discreet shout boxes within the set and HM-1s used for near-field monitoring at front-of-house (if you're into numbers, that works out to be a total of 322,000W of amplification power!).

Project Manager and Systems Engineer Dave Shepherd took control of the entire system using three Meyer Galileo 616 speaker management processors with Compass control software and Meyer’s Remote Monitoring System to allow real-time data feedback on individual cabinets.

FOH consisted of a DiGiCo SD7 with an EX-007 expander used as the playback console. The SD7 proved to be the only console on the market that could handle a show of this size (140 inputs) where all inputs needed could be accessible at any given point and was also chosen for having a multi-channel compressor and dynamic EQ on every channel. These were used extensively for maintaining the natural sound and intelligibility of the European presenters and guest speakers. The EX-007, while mainly used as a playback console, also allowed complete access to the main SD7 to allow two engineers to mix 30 Grenadier Guards as they went on stage and played to the audience after a 30-second stage-change and without prior sound checks.

Monitors found a DiGiCo SD7 again in the center, using its processing power extensively. Forty separate monitor mixes were required, feeding a mixture of Meyer Sound MJF-212A and UM-1 Wedges, CQ-1 side-fill and Shure PSM700 wireless in-ear monitors. Again, with its high bus capabilities the SD7 was the only board capable of the job.

Feeding the system included fifty channels of Shure’s flagship UHF-R radio microphone, utilising ten handhelds and forty bodypacks with a combination of lapels, headworns and condenser mics on battery-powered phantom PSUs, all running simultaneously. The system was employed due to its reputable RF stability even in the most arduous radio conditions.

Sound By Design was also asked to supply and manage the show and radio communications for the duration of the event. Thirty RTS wired and twelve HME DX200 wireless units created five rings for the various show communication requirements with Motorola GP340s also provided and managed for production communication. Careful preparation and stable infrastructure ensured a trouble free system. With fifty radio mics, twelve IEMs, a dozen radio comms, two dozen walkie-talkies and an LED wall that is notorious for creating RF problems, Shure’s Wireless Workbench software was an invaluable tool for managing both the radio mics and the frequency spectrum.

The event was a massive success for Sound By Design, with the normal fluid nature of the show keeping the entire crew on their toes for the two days. The Forever Living Products executive team commented that they had never heard such a clear, great sounding gig. “For our large scale international events, we cannot compromise on sound quality and that’s why we come back time and again to the team at Sound By Design, led by Dave Shepherd. I cannot imagine doing one of our Rallies without their professional support, as their care, commitment and flexibility are second to none.” Nick Woodward-Shaw – Events, Forever Living Products