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Festival Cruïlla has become one of the world’s first testing grounds for 5G technology applied to the entertainment and live music industry thanks to Mobile World Capital Barcelona, Cellnex Telecom, ACCIONA, MASMOVIL and Qwilt, in the context of the 5G Barcelona initiative. The festival will be held from 3 to 6 July in Barcelona’s Parc del Fòrum.
This initiative will enable attendees at the tenth Festival Cruïlla to experience what it feels like to enjoy a live concert from the stage, beside their favourite artists, using 360° virtual reality and immersive experience.
Festival Cruïlla is further expanding the range of activities on offer to its audience. This time it is the turn of technological innovation addressed to improving user experience. Festival Cruïlla does not aspire to being the largest festival but rather the best, with an emphasis on the public’s experience. This year it has therefore made a pledge to 5G technology, which will offer new potential to the entertainment and live music industry.
The project is already involving artists such as Bastille, Years & Years and Love of Lesbian, who have agreed to take part in testing this new technology and “virtually share” the spotlight on the stage with spectators. The full list of artists who will take part in the experience will be specified at a later date.
An immersive experience
The project will involve the installation of a 360° camera on the festival’s main stage. This will record images of the concert. Once these have been processed, they will be sent via small cells –micro-antennae– to 3D virtual reality headsets located in the Cruïlla 5G area in the festival Village. Spectators may use these headsets to watch 360° streaming video and experience the feeling of being practically on stage with the group.
The video flow is broadcast with minimum latency –response time– and is therefore viewed virtually in real time, because of two factors. First, 5G’s characteristics: broader bandwidth, and greater velocity and reliability. Second, the temporary memory storage capacity and the extreme data processing of the network itself, which is known as edge computing.
The result is a better experience for users, who can now feel part of the show. It will be used to encourage the development of new technological experiences in culture and entertainment.
Cruïlla 5G partners
This pilot at the festival is a collaboration among Cruïlla, Mobile World Capital Barcelona, on behalf of 5G Barcelona, and has been developed technologically by ACCIONA, Cellnex, Qwilt and MASMOVIL
This project is part of 5G Barcelona, an initiative intended to turn the city into a 5G digital hub in Europe and promoted by the Government of Catalonia, Barcelona City Hall, Mobile World Capital Barcelona, i2CAT, CTTC, Atos and the UPC, in partnership with cutting-edge 5G development companies.
