German audio technology purveyor, Lawo, was living the life aquatic as the company partnered with the International Swimming Competition, which was held in Asia for the first time in the athletic event’s history. With over 600 of the world’s greatest swimming athletes gathering for the competition held in Singapore in 2025, Lawo was brought on board to meet the broadcasting technology demands for this global sporting event. To rise to the task of providing an official audio mix that met the standards of this renowned, international event, a leading national broadcaster decided to center the mix around Lawo’s mc²56 MkIII production console. Headliner dives in to discover more…
The audio production was handled from the broadcaster’s fully IP-based outside broadcast vehicle, where the 48-fader Lawo mc²56 MkIII serves as the core mixing console. To rise to the intensity of a live sports event and broadcast, a 16-fader mc²36 console was positioned as a standby mixer, ensuring full hardware and network redundancy for uninterrupted coverage.
Aquatic sports in particular throw up unique, and not to mention wet, acoustic challenges. This meant the audio team was required to synthesize multiple, specialized source types into a cohesive final mix. The console was used to balance dynamic elements crucial to the broadcast narrative, including comprehensive crowd ambience, feeds from multiple commentator positions, and the specialized capture provided by underwater microphones.
The mc²56 MkIII’s features — such as native support for immersive audio formats and integrated automix functions — were utilized to manage the complex, fast-moving audio environment. The system’s flexible configuration and advanced workflow tools, including rapid snapshot recall capabilities, allowed engineers to adapt the setup seamlessly between competition heats and finals, maintaining a consistent and professional output throughout the six-day event.
