When PANTHER came in, that was a brand-new tool, which gave us more opportunities to solve problems, It’s very light, it’s smaller. It’s not that wide if you look at it from the front. That’s one of the benefits for the stage design.”
Jan FlerlageTechnical Manager
Parookaville returned to Weeze Airport in Germany July 17–19 for its 10th edition, welcoming about 225,000 “citizens” across the weekend for performances by more than 300 electronic dance music acts, led by headliners including Armin van Buuren, Hardwell, W&W, The Chainsmokers, and Timmy Trumpet.
Longtime production partner POOLgroup is responsible for design and full production across six of the festival’s main stages, with Meyer Sound systems deployed on Mainstage, Bill’s Factory, Cloud Factory, Power Plant, and Time Lab stages. POOLgroup production director Robert Sommer oversaw production design and technical direction while technical managers Jan Flerlage and Simon Jermer headed an audio team of approximately 40 engineers and technicians.
Sound Fits the Scenery
Each year, Parookaville transforms the airport site into its elaborate “City of Dreams,” an immersive festival metropolis of themed stages, streets, civic landmarks, scenic structures, lighting, and video that continually reshapes the audio team’s challenges.
“The stage design is a new thing every year,” says Flerlage. “That’s one of the tasks for our audio team—to put an audio system we know works into a new design. If you just put a P.A. tower there in front of this stage, you destroy parts of this design.”
On the Mainstage, which accommodates an audience of roughly 70,000, the challenge is to preserve that visual experience while delivering the direct, high-impact sound audiences expect from electronic music. “You want the same direct sound, like in a club, for everyone in this big area,” says Flerlage. “Everyone should feel like they are a part of this.”
For the fourth year, POOLgroup designed the Mainstage system around PANTHER line arrays. The 2026 deployment comprised 180 PANTHER loudspeakers, 30 2100‑LFC and 66 1100-LFC low-frequency control elements, 16 LEOPARD line array loudspeakers, and six UPQ point source loudspeakers. For the past several years, the POOLgroup team has handled sound design in close collaboration with Meyer Sound Senior Technical Support and Education Specialist Merlijn van Veen. System calibration and tuning for the Mainstage system was handled by systems engineer Matthias Pelz.
PANTHER’s compact profile and low weight continue to give the team flexibility as rigging, lighting, video, and scenic requirements evolve. “When PANTHER came in, that was a brand-new tool, which gave us more opportunities to solve problems,” says Flerlage. “It’s very light, it’s smaller. It’s not that wide if you look at it from the front. That’s one of the benefits for the stage design.”
Refining a Proven Design
Rather than reinventing a system that already works, POOLgroup uses each edition of Parookaville to make targeted improvements based on measurements, engineer feedback, and changes across the site. “We’re pretty experienced with PANTHER for some years now, but there are small changes every year,” says Flerlage. “Sometimes you need to work on some tiny things where you see, okay, we could use some more headroom over there.”
Those refinements extend to coverage, subwoofer deployment, and delay systems, as well as controlling energy outside the intended audience areas, he says. “Audio design is starting months before production with really detailed work of our system engineers.”
Beyond the Mainstage, PANTHER systems supported Cloud Factory, Power Plant, and Time Lab, while Bill’s Factory was anchored by LEO and LYON line arrays. Flerlage says that throughout the festival, visiting engineers have the confidence that what they hear at front of house carries throughout the audience. “What I heard is they were really happy with the even coverage in nearly every position. That’s one of the most difficult things in such a big area—to have the same sound for everyone.”
That consistency has helped make Meyer Sound a trusted foundation for Parookaville’s large-scale production, says Flerlage. “Everyone who comes to Parookaville knows they can expect a 100% working, high-quality P.A. system.”