The concert of the German group Rammstein, last Sunday evening at Parc Jean-Drapeau, was heard for miles around, which annoyed many people in Montérégie. The evenko promoter, however, ensures that it has complied with all the noise level rules.
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“We have restrictions to follow, we follow them.” At the end of the line, the vice-president of concerts and events at evenko, Nick Farkas, is sorry that several people were disturbed by Rammstein’s concert on Île Sainte-Hélène. “The concert ended at 10:20 p.m….”, he adds.
On Sunday, on social networks, people from Saint-Lambert, Longueuil, Boucherville and Saint-Bruno said they heard the concert at their homes. Some people have written that the walls of their house were vibrating so much the show was loud.
In various media, the mayor of Saint-Lambert, Pascale Mongrain, declared that the spectacle of the German rockers had been “extraordinarily loud and disturbing”.
Photo agence QMI, Mario Beauregard
She said she had received around 20 complaints from citizens.
Nick Farkas has heard of about thirty complaints. But he was not aware if evenko had received calls from certain towns in Montérégie. “We often speak with the park [Jean-Drapeau]. We look to make sure that the limits are respected.
“We never want to harm. I am always disappointed to know that there are people who complain, continues the promoter. […] We worked on this show for three and a half years. We were lucky to be the only city in Canada to host the show and one of the few in America. There are 45,000 people who wanted to see the show.
In 2019, evenko inaugurated the new amphitheater in Parc Jean-Drapeau, at a cost of $73 million.
While renovating the space, the developer had considered how to improve noise control.
“We spent for years an enormous amount [d’argent] on the technology to try to ensure that the sound travels as little as possible. It’s important to us, says Nick Farkas. […] The delay towers have been set up so that the noise pushes directionally. This resulted in fewer complaints.”
THE NOISE AGREEMENT WITH SAINT-LAMBERT
– In November 2020, an out-of-court agreement was reached between Saint-Lambert, the Société du parc Jean-Drapeau and the promoter evenko. This five-year agreement sets the noise limit for events at 65 decibels. Twenty additional decibels are allowed for low frequencies.
– Concerts must end at 11 p.m.
– The sound level is measured near the Olympic Basin, on Île Notre-Dame, halfway between the new amphitheater in Parc Jean-Drapeau and Rue Riverside, in Saint-Lambert.
– The number of shows presented in front of more than 20,000 spectators is limited to 19 between 1is May and the first Monday in September, and at 3 p.m. between 1is July and the first Monday in September.
– The Canadian Grand Prix is excluded from the agreement.