FILE PHOTO: Athletics – Diamond League – Monaco – Stade Louis II, Monaco – July 12th 2019 Justin Gatlin of the USA wins the men’s 100m REUTERS / Eric Gaillard
(Reuters) – Several Diamond League athletics meetings this season will use a groundbreaking system that faithfully reproduces the noise of the audience to make up for the shortage of spectators caused by COVID-19 safety precautions, the sports association said on Friday.
World Athletics said in a statement here that the system “can generate the typical audience noises that can be heard at the right moment at athletics meetings”.
“Ghost events don’t have to be silent,” said Florian Webber, World Athletics event presentation manager.
He said the system will “create an environment that athletes are accustomed to, help them assert themselves and perform better, while improving the viewing experience for the television audience.”
World Athletics said it developed the system with Australian designers at aFX Global and a sound operator would use it to generate “real-time custom viewer sounds”.
It will be used later on Friday at the meeting in Monaco, where a maximum of 5,000 people are admitted, and at the meetings in Stockholm and Brussels, which are held behind closed doors.
Monaco marks the first official meeting of the Diamond League season shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Writing from Brian Homewood; Adaptation by Ken Ferris
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