Opus | Auracast™ at Eurovisión 2026

Eurovision 2026: Assistive Audio in One of Europe’s Most RF-Complex Environments

How Auracast™ Enabled Assisted Listening at a Large-Scale Event

Each year, the Eurovision Song Contest brings together thousands of people for one of Europe’s most important music and television events. In 2026, the Stadthalle in Vienna hosted the contest with a clear operational requirement: ensure access to audio content for all attendees, including those with hearing loss.

A technically complex environment for assistive listening

Accessibility in large venues is not only a matter of regulatory compliance, but also of technical feasibility in each environment. The European Accessibility Act sets out the need for assistive listening solutions in large public events, but implementation depends heavily on the existing infrastructure.

At the Stadthalle in Vienna, the RF environment featured a very high density of wireless systems. The venue operated with hundreds of RF microphones, DMX lighting systems, and multiple additional transmissions distributed across most of the available spectrum.

Under these conditions, a traditional induction loop system was not a viable option. The infrastructure complexity required, combined with spectrum congestion, made it impossible to ensure consistent and homogeneous coverage across the venue.

Spectrum assessment and Auracast™ deployment

The Hearit team conducted an RF spectrum analysis of the venue to determine the available operating conditions. The study identified the 2.4 GHz band as the most suitable environment for deploying an Auracast™-based solution.

Based on this assessment, an architecture built around AuraGate transmitters was deployed, distributed across the different areas of the Stadthalle to ensure signal continuity and coverage redundancy.

Attendees used AuraSTRX receivers, enabling autonomous audio channel selection via a touchscreen interface, without requiring technical assistance.

System configuration was performed on site using the AuraCONNECT application, allowing operational parameters to be adjusted during the event. Among these adjustments, a mono output conversion was applied to improve speech intelligibility within the venue’s acoustic conditions.

Implementation results

The system remained fully operational throughout the entire event with no reported technical incidents.

Users who requested AuraSTRX receivers were able to access real-time audio with latency below 30 ms and high-definition quality, fully synchronized with the live production.

The project demonstrated the deployment of Auracast™ in a highly demanding RF environment, establishing it as a viable assistive listening solution for large-scale events without the need for dedicated wired infrastructure.

In summary

• Auracast™ technology in a high RF-density environment
• No need for traditional induction loop systems
• Light and distributed infrastructure deployment
• Autonomous audio selection via AuraSTRX receivers
• Compliance with event accessibility requirements

Solutions used

AuraSTRX Auracast™ receiver with touchscreen interface for autonomous audio channel selection, designed for assistive listening in high-traffic venues and events.

AuraGate Auracast™ transmitter for large-area coverage, integrable with existing professional audio systems.

NID is an official distributor of Opus Technologies in Spain and Portugal.
For more information about Auracast™ assistive listening solutions, please contact our team.