1. Compliance with COVID 19 quarantine requirements during the hybrid event

COVID-19 rules are often changed and supplemented in accordance with the state of health in the country and the world. Event halls around the world accept one participant for every 2 or 4 m2, depending on country regulations. Sometimes venues have to tell you the number of participants they can accommodate indoors according to the maximum number of participants, and sometimes in the event halls according to social distancing requirements between participants. By changing these rules over time, in general, the distance between each speaker in the presidium on the stage is 1.5m for each participant sitting in the hall, the number of people sitting at the banquet table is regulated by 5-6 people per table. The rules may have changed while you were reading this article, so be sure to check the current rules at the venue.

2. Cost of halls for a hybrid event

One of the main budget items for events has always been the cost of the halls. Hybrid events significantly reduce this element of the budget, as the rental of a virtual venue for online participants is much less than the cost for physical participants.

If you also want to save on your event budget, you can opt for a smaller event hall, reducing the number of physical attendees. Due to this factor, there is room for smaller event halls as venues that were unable to host such events prior to covid-19 are able to take bookings for large events thanks to hybrid event technology.

3. High Speed Internet Access at Hybrid Events

One of the factors that was not taken into account at the traditional event was the speed of the Internet connection of the venues. An Internet connection, sometimes used to register participants for a conference and sometimes during coffee breaks to view attendees’ social media on their personal mobile devices, is one of the highlights when choosing a venue for a hybrid event. In order for your hybrid event’s live stream to be stable and uninterrupted, the event venue must provide an uninterrupted internet connection for you or your Audio-Video service partner. This means that the Internet connection provided to you must be a channel that is not open to other restaurant guests, including members in the room. Such Internet usually has to be provided by cable, it is not always possible to get a stable Internet with Wi-Fi.

4. Competent selection of a partner for audio-video equipment in hybrid events

Proper implementation of the technical elements of hybrid events directly affects the success of the event. Although hybrid conferences have been held in our country for more than a year, there are not so many companies specializing in this area. You have several options for choosing a partner who will provide audio and video equipment. First, ask the venue. Since the events are held daily at the venues, they recognize companies that have experience in the hybrid component of these events. Get advice from the institution. The second option is to look for yourself. Regardless of which option you choose, you need to pay attention to the following:

Does your chosen event organization have its own technical team?
What experience does this company have in the field of hybrid conferences? How many events have been held in the last year? The company that will provide technical support for the hybrid event must have experience of hosting at least 20 major hybrid conferences in the last year.
Does the hybrid event company have its own video recording, video transmission devices and mobile video studio for live video transmission? For such events, the BlackMagic mobile studio is usually used.
Does the hybrid event company have sound equipment? Bosch microphones with German technology for conference microphones are the best in this field. How many events did the company hold at the selected site? Are they familiar with the acoustics of space?
Is the hybrid event company familiar with hybrid platforms?
Is there interpretation equipment available to handle the interpretation element of the hybrid event? Is this equipment a product of Bosch, the most advanced technology in this area?

5. Understand the difference between an AV equipment partner and a production company in hybrid events

Sometimes in hybrid events, video production companies also take over the technical work of the entire event, since the hybrid event is a video recording element, which means that such events will face a problem that has not yet begun. The experience of production companies is limited to video filming of the event, which is then recorded on disk and transferred to the customer. However, in addition to video recording at the hybrid event, conference microphones, simultaneous translation equipment, live audio and video from the event must be streamed live to the other party through the hybrid event platform, and the other party’s audio and video must be broadcast to the LED monitors in the venue holding events. Manufacturing companies do not work with this technique. Konsis Events, the most experienced company specializing in hybrid events, with experienced staff in audio, video recording, video streaming, video streaming, social media streaming, simultaneous translation equipment, LED screens, prompts, davos-style microphones is a company working in this area. At the same time, with 15 years of experience in all conference venues in Azerbaijan, you can get advice from Konsis on the technical capabilities of these venues for holding hybrid events.

6. Other Features of the Hybrid Event Space

When choosing a venue for a hybrid event, in addition to considering the technological infrastructure for online participants, it is important to consider the following needs of the physical audience of the event:

Space kitchen, dining room and tea/coffee making facilities
Sponsors of the event, if there is an exhibition component, must have a foyer or additional halls so that there are sponsor stands and separate areas for individual meetings
Enough space for entrance, cloakroom, event registration area
Parking places.