New method standardizes crowd noise measurement across stadiums
Guinness World Record's 142.2 dB(A) reading lacks reproducibility—researchers propose a fix.
A team of researchers—Alejandro Osses, Bente Ackermans, Helmer Nuijens, and Rick Scholte—has published a paper on arXiv proposing a standardized method for measuring crowd noise in stadiums. They challenge the current Guinness World Record for the loudest stadium roar (142.2 dB(A), set in 2014), noting that those readings are based on a single instantaneous peak at one location, with no information on the instrument used, time weighting, or number of measurement positions. This lack of reproducibility prevents scientific comparison across venues.
The authors advocate for a spatially distributed acoustic measurement framework as the recommended route for representative cross-venue comparisons. When distributed measurements are not feasible, a single anchor measurement can serve as a minimum reporting baseline. This approach standardizes data collection, enabling fair comparisons of stadium loudness and potentially debunking or confirming existing records. The work has implications for sports venues, event organizers, and even Guinness World Records itself.
- Current loudest stadium record is 142.2 dB(A) from 2014, measured without standardization.
- Proposed method uses spatially distributed measurements across multiple locations for representative data.
- Single-anchor measurement serves as a minimum baseline when distributed measurements are infeasible.
Why It Matters
Standardized crowd noise measurement enables scientific comparison of stadium loudness, challenging outdated records.