Why tech is the invisible backbone of your event

Power is the foundation of everything. Without power there is no light, no sound, no video, no catering and no Wi-Fi. And yet power capacity is one of the most underestimated aspects of event planning.

Start with a load calculation. What do you actually need? Think of stage lighting (easily 10 to 20 kW), sound system (2 to 5 kW), projectors and screens (1 to 3 kW), catering (food trucks up to 16A per truck, coffee machines 2 to 3 kW each) and laptops and charging points for guests. Add it all up and compare with what the venue offers.

Most indoor venues have enough capacity, but not always in the right places. Long cable runs mean voltage drop. Discuss with your AV company and venue manager where the distribution boards sit and whether additional distribution points are needed.

At outdoor events a generator is often required. Choose a quiet model: a standard construction generator produces 85 to 95 dB, an event-grade generator under 65 dB. Place it at least 25 metres from the nearest public area.

Always have a power-failure plan. What happens if the power drops, and is there a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) for critical systems such as the sound and the presentation laptop? A two-minute outage is an anecdote; a twenty-minute outage is a disaster.

In 2026 reliable internet is no longer a luxury but a basic need at every event. Your guests expect Wi-Fi. Your registration system runs on it. Your livestream stands or falls by it. Your payment terminals need it.

Venue Wi-Fi is rarely enough for a large event. The in-house network of a hotel or conference centre is designed for hotel guests reading email, not for 500 people simultaneously filling in a live poll on their phone.

Arrange a dedicated event network: a professional Wi-Fi network with access points sized to the number of users and the required bandwidth. As a rule of thumb, plan on 1 Mbps per user for basic use, 3 to 5 Mbps for interactive tools or livestreaming.

Build separate networks: one for the organisation and AV crew (backstage network), one for guests. The backstage network has priority and is secured. The guest network can be open but runs separately. That way a guest streaming Netflix doesn't slow down your presentation laptop.

Use wired connections for critical systems. Livestreaming, presentation laptops and registration desks should always run over a wired connection. Wi-Fi is too unreliable for systems that can't afford to glitch. Also read our article on organising a hybrid event for the specific demands of livestreaming.

Good sound is the difference between a professional event and a frustrating one. If your audience can't hear the speaker, the rest doesn't matter.

Start with the acoustic of the room. A concrete hall sounds different from a room with curtains and carpet. Hard surfaces cause reverberation and echo, which is bad for speech intelligibility. Ask your sound engineer to assess the space in advance and propose acoustic treatments if needed.

The sound system should match the room and the programme. A presentation for 50 people calls for a different setup than a gala night for 500. Think of line arrays for large halls, compact active speakers for smaller setups and wireless headset microphones for speakers who move around.

Stage monitors are essential for speakers and presenters. They need to hear themselves. At panel discussions a conference microphone per participant is a must.

A sound check is not optional. Allow at least an hour for the sound check, ideally with the actual speakers present. Test not just the volume but the intelligibility on the back row and in the corners of the room.

Mind the sound levels too. At a conference followed by drinks with a DJ or band, manage the levels deliberately. Too loud is unpleasant and may breach Dutch occupational-safety regulations (Arbo: a maximum of 85 dB averaged over an 8-hour day for staff).

Lighting shapes the atmosphere of your event, and the quality of your photos and video. It is both functional and aesthetic.

Basic lighting makes sure guests can move safely, read text and recognise each other. That sounds simple but is often underestimated. Many venues dim the lights for atmosphere. It then becomes too dark to read a name badge or recognise a face.

Stage lighting is a craft in itself. A well-lit speaker radiates professionalism. Moving heads, spots and wash lights create depth and focus. A back light separates the speaker from the background and makes video recordings far better.

Screens and projectors are the visual core of most corporate events. LED screens are more expensive but brighter and more visible in daylight. Projectors are cheaper but sensitive to ambient light. The minimum screen size depends on the size of the room: as a rule of thumb, the maximum viewing distance is six times the screen height.

Don't forget the tech position. Plan a FOH (front of house) position for the lighting and sound engineers, ideally at the back of the room with a clear view of the stage. That position needs power, network and a worktable. Also read our article on photo and video at your event for the relationship between lighting and image quality.

The audiovisual production ties everything together: sound, image, light and IT come together in one coordinated system. And that system has to run flawlessly the moment it matters.

Choose a reliable AV company with experience in your type of event. Ask for references and look at previous projects. The cheapest quote is rarely the best choice. With AV you pay for reliability, speed and problem-solving the moment something goes wrong.

Presentation management is critical. Gather every presentation at least 24 hours in advance on a single laptop. Test every presentation on the actual system. Do the videos play, are the fonts correct and do the proportions fit the screen? A presentation that looks great on a MacBook can look very different on the event laptop.

Confidence monitors are indispensable at professional events. These are screens the speaker can see with the current slide and a timer. They give speakers reassurance and stop them turning round to look at the screen behind them.

Always have a backup plan. Think of a spare laptop, extra cables, a backup of every presentation on USB and a technician who can switch quickly. The kit that fails most often is the simplest. Think of a broken HDMI cable, a dead battery in a wireless microphone or a laptop that unexpectedly starts updating.

Good tech at an event is the result of good communication, not expensive kit. The collaboration between organiser, venue, AV company and caterer decides whether the tech works.

Create a technical rider: a document that describes every technical requirement for your event. Cover power distribution, network setup, sound and lighting requirements, screen positions, cable runs and the get-in and get-out times. Share this document with every party involved at least two weeks before the event.

Plan a technical site visit. Walk the venue with your AV supplier, lighting engineer and, if relevant, the caterer. Discuss cable runs, power distribution, screen positions and the get-in schedule. Many technical problems arise because parties only discover on the day of the get-in that something doesn't fit.

Get-in time is a common underestimate. A professional AV setup for an event with 300 guests easily takes a full day to build. A multi-day conference with several rooms takes two to three days. Plan generously and account for unforeseen delays.

Appoint a single technical point of contact. Don't pick an event manager who is also handling catering and the guest list, but someone who can focus fully on the tech. At larger events that is a technical producer; at smaller events it's the project lead from your AV company. Also read our article on booking a speaker for your event for tips on the technical alignment with speakers.

Want to know how Live Impact handles the technical planning for your event? Call us on 085 401 40 14 or email hello@live-impact.nl.

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