The O2 World arena is situated on the banks of the Spree river between Berlin's eastern railway station and the Warsaw bridge. It is Europe's most modern functioning arena. Thanks to its professional environment and the atmospheric ambience the arena offers fans, it also became home to two of the most successful sports clubs in Berlin. The O2 World can accommodate 17,000 people and makes any event an experience to remember.
The O2 World arena is situated on the banks of the Spree river between Berlin's eastern railway station and the Warsaw bridge. It is Europe's most modern functioning arena. Thanks to its professional environment and the atmospheric ambience the arena offers fans, it also became home to two of the most successful sports clubs in Berlin.
The arena can accommodate 17,000 people and guarantees an optimum audio quality and a great view at every seat. The venue is also designed in such a way that it can be converted from a concert hall to a sports arena in a matter of hours, with the safety of players, artists and visitors being top priority.
In September 2007, Bosch was commissioned to provide a security solution for the facility, predominantly because of its extensive expertise in all low voltage sectors. The arena is equipped with an intelligent fire warning system that is controlled via two networked fire panels inside the building, while 2300 special detectors prevent false alarms from occurring.
The interior is monitored by linear optical smoke detectors and linear heat detectors. In addition, the roof features aspirating smoke detectors to keep the arena free from smoke in the event of a fire. In case of fire, the panels fulfill an extensive range of functions throughout the building, such as controlling the smoke, heat venting and sprinkler systems. Two networked electroacoustic systems are in place to initiate evacuation in the event of an alarm, linked up to a total of 1200 loudspeakers distributed across the different parts of the building.
Bosch was also given high specifications to meet in terms of video surveillance. A total of 90 PTZ cameras were installed in the internal and external areas of the arena to make sure all sectors are monitored.
In the event of an alarm, the MPEG4 recording system allows up to 25 images per second to be recorded at extremely high quality on multiple cameras. The data network installed at the complex includes some 170 km of cable, and enables operation of around 2200 ports for PC workstations, IP telephony and the O2 World's own TV system, Arena TV.
All information from the individual surveillance systems is transmitted to the higher-level system of monitoring stations. Each of the three work stations is equipped with a large screen, and there is a separate workstation in the building that is set aside for use by the police. Following the opening of the O2 World in September 2008, Bosch experts were on hand to monitor every event for four weeks, to check all systems thoroughly. These experts are now tasked with the ongoing day-to-day maintenance of the arena's fire detection and intrusion alarm systems, electroacoustic systems, video surveillance equipment and higher-level monitoring stations.