The UFC’s first-ever match in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was showcased in front of thousands of fans and millions more viewing the event broadcast live on television. Cohesion was selected as the audio system to promote coherent, full-coverage audio within Kingdom Arena while maintaining important sightlines for the fans on-site and watching from home.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia wished to leverage high-profile sports spectacles to further drive economic diversification. The arrival of UFC in the country for the first time reinforced the need for state-of-the-art equipment that would showcase the KSA on an international level and help promote it as a destination for the biggest entertainment and live sporting events. The chosen PA needed to promote intelligibility and reinforce the high energy of UFC fights, and it required the ability to cover all corners of the arena without obscuring the broadcast of the Octagon.
Clair KSA deployed a design that featured two main arrays of Cohesion CO10 and four side hangs of Cohesion CO8 flown approximately 90° to the mains, which assisted in covering the shorter sides of Kingdom Arena. Cohesion CP218 II+ were flown behind the mains and were also deployed under the grandstands with two Cohesion CP 118+ under the Octagon for low-end depth and texture. Eight CP6+ were deployed for downfill to assist in covering the thousands of fans on the floor eager to cheer on the fighters from up close. All products (except the CP118+) were flown at minimum 50’ from the ground to assist with coverage as well as ensuring essential sightlines for television broadcasts.
The full pageantry of a UFC Fight Night was on display as a stunning first foray into the KSA market, with the PA just as “punchy” as the bouts on the Octagon. Cohesion products are engineered to provide excellent low- and high-end extension, and they feature industry-leading SPL while covering every corner of a venue. The result in Riyadh was that even though the PA was flown high to accommodate television cameras, every person in Kingdom Arena had full intelligibility for pre- and post-show announcements and seamless coverage throughout. A wide assortment from the Cohesion family was on display for this hallmark event, from the CP218 II+ and CP118+ subwoofers to the CO10 and CO8 arrays and the infill from the CP6+, all meshing together to deliver the necessary coverage for a night of thrilling fights.
“The priority was coverage, especially the ring seats. That was the decision for using the CO8 on the sides, which did a great job covering that space, and CP6+ as infills. We also flew roughly 50’ off the ground to get what we were looking for.”
