Riedel Hints at Olympic Deal

The company isn’t quite coming out and saying it, but Wuppertal, Germany-based Riedel seems to be deploying a major intercom installation at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

“Just guess which opening and closing ceremonies this intercom installation might be going to?” a press release from the company teased before calling the mystery gig “probably the world’s biggest and most complex temporary intercom installation ever.”

The system, whatever it is, will contain eight Artist digital matrix intercom systems linked via fibre, 80 intercom control panels, 24 system interfaces for the integration of digital partylines, 210 digital partyline beltpacks, 44 RiFace radio repeaters/interfaces, 650 Motorola radios, six FM transmitters as well as 12,000 radio receivers for mass monitoring of the on-field actors.

“Wherever this system might show up—it’s a very promising indicator that the ceremonies coordinated via this communications system will reach new standards,” the company release said.

It wouldn’t be too much of a surprise. Riedel has Olympic experience; it was one of the major suppliers of communications equipment to the 2006 Winter Games in Torino, Italy.