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Hamburg, Germany | October, 2011 – Almost half a century after their first gig in the city, The Beatles finally came home to Hamburg when the concept of a permanent interactive exhibition dedicated to the Fab Four became a reality, with a Renkus-Heinz loudspeaker system powering an immersive cinema experience.
Situated at the end of the Reeperbahn, in Hamburg’s famous red-light and club district, and close to many of the venues where the band performed, Beatlemania is a 1,300 square meter (4,000 square foot) five floor celebration of the Liverpool band, from their early days in Hamburg’s Indra club and Kaiser Keller to their break-up in 1970.
Technical partner for the ambitious project was Hamburg-based Amptown System Company (ASC), who designed and installed audio, lighting and video technology and integrated media systems. The client brief also called for a ticketing system using RFID technology to coordinate ticket desks with visitor flows, guide visitors through the exhibition in an enjoyable way, guarantee safety, generate meaningful visitor statistics without involving staff in time-consuming data analysis, and meet data protection requirements by deleting visitors’ personal details at the end of their visit.
From the Port of Entry, where you collect your passport-style ticket, visitors to Beatlemania embark on a journey through the exhibition’s 11 different spaces, each focusing on a different stage of the band’s career.
Step into a stretch of street in the district of St Pauli, lined with shop windows and nightclubs from the 1960s, and wander through the dimly lit Backstage Area with its old jukebox and threadbare sofa, to Abbey Road Studios, where you can listen to a recording session.
From the studio, a connecting walkway plastered with photos and press cuttings takes you to the heart of the exhibition, Beatlemania itself, where a purpose-designed cinema transports you straight into the biggest live performances by the Beatles in 1966.
To achieve the ultimate immersive experience, ASC chose a Renkus-Heinz system to power the sound, using Renkus-Heinz CFX81s for their combination of high audio quality and compact design.
“We wanted to build a creative exhibition that could be developed – not a museum,” says Ulrike Salten, project manager for FKP Ausstellungs-und Betriebs GmbH, the company behind Beatlemania. “ASC was the only supplier who could deliver the technical media expertise and the solution.”