With Oasis returning to stadiums for its 2025 tour, the production was designed to operate on a large scale. The infrastructure included front-of-house towers, monitor world, and various technical areas distributed offstage, all requiring stable and reliable connectivity.
To meet these demands, Urban Audio Productions developed a hybrid fiber-optic and analog signal network, integrating multiple cabling solutions into a global system capable of ensuring secure and efficient signal transmission throughout the venue.
Coordinating these elements required detailed planning from the earliest stages of the project.
In a stadium production, the infrastructure needs to be defined very early on. Everything has to be interconnected reliably, but you also need to anticipate redundancies and the changes that inevitably arise once the tour goes live, explains Dan Lewis, Director of Urban Audio Productions.
Given the distances involved, fiber optics became the foundation of the system. The setup was built around DiGiCo consoles connected to an Optocore router. “From the moment we defined the system with DiGiCo and Optocore, it became clear that the network had to be fiber-based”, says Lewis. “The HMA Junior Quad connectors allowed us to transport additional protocols while maintaining compatibility with the Optocore network”.
Custom fiber assemblies were manufactured by VDC Trading according to Urban Audio Productions’ specifications, meeting the production preparation deadlines. Among the solutions developed were right-angle HMA connectors designed for engine links in DiGiCo Quantum 852 systems.
It may seem like a minor detail, but in complex working environments, such as the rear section of a dogbox, these kinds of solutions improve operational efficiency, notes Lewis.
In addition to the fiber infrastructure, the system incorporated approximately 500 meters of 12-pair analog multicore cable, used as part of a split system and 128-channel lines deployed on stage. This cabling was supplied by VDC and terminated by the Urban Audio Productions team in its in-house workshop. “We work with this type of cable in touring environments because of its balance between robustness, size, and ease of handling”, adds Lewis.
As is common with tours of this scale, the system evolved throughout the production process with last-minute adjustments. According to Lewis, component availability was a key factor: “In any production of this scale there are always changes. Having connectors and materials readily available makes it easier to respond quickly to those needs”.
It has been a very positive collaboration with Urban Audio Productions. Fiber is playing an increasingly important role in touring infrastructures, and projects like this reflect that evolution, concludes Cameron Clark, Business Development Manager at VDC Trading.
