Acoustech excel at Bournemouth 7s Festival

Acoustech was appointed as Noise Management Consultants for the 2021 Bournemouth 7s Festival: the World’s Largest Sport & Music Festival, with over 30,000 attendees enjoying Rugby 7’s, Netball, Dodgeball, Hockey, with multiple music stages, and beer tents, 27th-29th August 2021.

The Event Director, Craig Mathie, met us at The Showman’s Show in 2019. He explained that ‘this established, event and had always worked well alongside the council’, and Craig was ‘conscious that there had always been a level of noise complaints, which he wanted to reduce’.

Craig states:

“We wanted to implement a proactive approach to noise management to ensure levels were within acceptable boundaries throughout the Festival weekend. It is important for us to be welcomed by the local community and council and we felt it was an area we could improve on.

“Having contracted Acoustech, Sophia and her team were thoroughly professional and in creating the noise management plan. Her engagement with our team, the council’s Environmental Health Officer, our Head of Sound and the residents was exemplary. Sophia was embedded within our community engagement for the festival, and her technical understanding about sound was invaluable in achieving a huge improvement in their first year working with us.”

Acoustech monitored noise levels from several ‘sensitive’ remote locations adjacent to the site, which Acoustech’s Callum Jones generated a healthy ‘step-count’ going between, as well as the front-of-house mixing position.

Sophia explains:

“We introduced several initiatives to achieve effective noise management for Bournemouth 7s.  Internal communications between all stakeholders across the site was important, so we created a What’s App Group, which was a simple but effective platform to get messages around quickly – and transparently.

“I logged in via remote technology throughout the festival to stay abreast of all noise monitor readings, and the Head of Sound, Oz Jefferies, was wonderfully responsive in tweaking the levels and EQ’s to keep levels within licensing conditions.  

“This was the first year the front-of-house readings had been recorded at Bournemouth 7s, and in the post event report to the council it clearly reassured them that the organisers had been diligent in managing noise levels.”

There was only one noise complaint received across the weekend. Sophia explains:

“I made a house visit to monitor the noise levels for one complaint on the weekend, and readings taken showed that they were within acceptable sound levels. This accurate reading provided evidence to the council that the event was compliant with licensing requirements. I spoke empathetically with the residents, to reassure them we were also working on their behalf to keep levels acceptable and believe I left them satisfied.”