Hybrid Event Venues in London

Events remain a great way to share experiences, meet new people and promote businesses, so with a few tweaks and tricks you can make your upcoming events calendar just as exciting as you had envisioned.

Hybrid events are a great way to celebrate the old and new, bringing some of the traditional event elements together with technology, so even more people can enjoy your upcoming event.

What is a hybrid event and how has it changed?

Typically, a hybrid event is an online event with live elements that are brought straight to the participants watching online. For example, if you were organising a wine tasting the hybrid element would be sending the wine to the guests participating from home. Then they can watch a demonstration and explanation online while enjoying the wine. 

There are lots of ways of incorporating live elements into your hybrid event, depending on the atmosphere and experience you would like to create for your attendees.

Finding the right venue

Pairing with a knowledgeable venue is highly recommended if you’re organising a hybrid event in London. Unlike some more low-key live streamed events, your hybrid event would really benefit from the support and expertise of a venue manager. A key point to note is that finding the right venue will depend on the type of event you’re intending to organise, and whether it’s for a public or private audience. 

Bringing the fun to them

The easiest way to make sure your hybrid event is compliant with government recommendations is to bring the fun to your guests at home! What elements of a live event will translate really well into your attendees’ houses? If you’re organising a breakfast meeting, why not share a brunch menu in advance with recipes for them to cook along? Or you could send a breakfast hamper directly to their home! Other fun ideas could be photobooth accessories for a virtual wedding, some at-home pampering treats for a wellness session, or a new sample for a product launch.

Hybrid event technology

Whether you’ve hosted hybrid and live streamed events or if this is your first, you’ll need to make sure you’ve got all the technology to capture your event and share it with your attendees. Your technology set-up will differ depending on what you’ll be capturing and what kind of event you’re organising: working with a knowledgeable venue manager is the best way to ensure everything runs smoothly. If you’re collaborating with other suppliers for your events, make sure you check in with them in advance so you know what their technology requirements are as well as they may differ from what you had in mind.

Try one out!

If you’re new to hybrid events, the best way to organise one is to experience one for yourself! If you have a specific venue in mind that you would like to or you know you’ll be working with, ask them if they have any other hybrid events coming up and whether you could attend. If not, London is always buzzing with an exciting and interesting events calendar so you’ll easily be able to find hybrid meetings or attend some hybrid venues to get some good ideas!

How does a hybrid event work in London?

The key different between a hybrid event and a live streamed event is there are two events happening at the same time – one live event, and one online. Unlike live streaming which just shows an event or talk online, a hybrid event has interactive elements so participants feel more like they’re participating rather than just watching. Even though live events are limited right now, you can use hybrid events to make your live streaming more personal and memorable for all your guests at home. In London you can hire a venue to host the live portion of your event, even if you don’t intend to invite the public. Hiring a venue can ensure that you’ve got all the technology you need, and your environment won’t detract from your content, so you won’t need to worry about your backdrop or any neighbourhood noise.

What’s the best hybrid event checklist?

Your checklist should have three big items on it: test your technology, prepare your content, and find your attendees. Be sure to talk to your venue manager about what technology they would recommend for your event as every hybrid event will need a different set-up, and then once you have it in place it’s really important to do at least one test run so you can make changes to your equipment.

How do I market a hybrid event?

Whether it’s a virtual event or largely online, every event organiser’s worst nightmare is nobody showing up. As such, the first place for marketing is to use your contacts. If there’s no limit to the number of online guests, why not encourage them to get their friends involved too? Once you’ve got the ball rolling, set up an online email newsletter campaign to your wider network and make sure they know why your event is going to be unmissable. Then, post about it on social media to stay in touch with all audiences.

What are the latest hybrid event ideas and trends?

It might seem like hybrid events are a totally new concept, but they’ve actually been increasing in popularity for a number of years. The main difference currently is the shift in emphasis between the live event being the most important element, to now bringing live elements to remote attendees. Event packages are a really fun way to organise online hybrid events. Just like a venue manager will create event packages for their venues, why not offer packages as an events manager? You can offer varied options for different events from meetings to hen parties, and each package could include personalised live elements as well as events to participate in online.

What are the best examples of hybrid event types?

Although you may not be familiar with hybrid events, it’s a format that can suit a range of different event types. Whether your event is private or public, for five people or 500 there are elements of hybrid events that work well for many types of gatherings. If you’re organising a team day, why not share a link to an online yoga video that you can participate in together? Or you can throw an online cinema club and all watch the same film with popcorn and drinks. If your event is corporate, why not provide your slides as a print-out, so everyone can see your work in detail? Every live streamed event from a virtual wedding, to a conference and webinar, or even a concert can benefit from some personalised live elements to make it truly memorable.