Manchester Central venue in north-west England, has opened up a new broadcast studio to a range of businesses and organisations, signalling the beginning of the new era of hybrid conferencing in the UK.
Under the banner of ‘Studio Sessions’, the venue, which launched its Studio at Manchester Central concept earlier this year, has opened up the doors of its newly launched facility to give city partners and clients an insight of what studio capabilities on this scale can add to virtual and hybrid events.
Featuring a fully integrated set with customisable LED backdrops, lighting, full AV equipment, Studio aims to help businesses produce high-quality content for both virtual and live event experiences.
In preparation for this change, several members of the Manchester Central team have successfully completed qualifications from the Virtual Event Institute, ensuring the business can advise clients on how to get the most out of hybrid and virtual events.
The TV-quality broadcast studio facilitates the professional recording and streaming of panel sessions, product showcases, virtual conferences and podcasts. The studio sits alongside the venue’s ‘plug and play’ hybrid offer, ‘Live from the Auditorium’ which is housed within its purpose-built 800 seated space. It also supports professional live streaming in real-time to audiences at home, at the same time as hosting delegates in the room.
Shaun Hinds, CEO at Manchester Central, said the venue was fully prepared for a rise in demand for hybrid facilities as a complementary element of the overall event experience. “We fully expect digital and real-life activities to co-exist and complement each other to make events accessible for everyone, as well as restore in-person confidence. We are absolutely delighted to have been able to welcome a variety of our partners to our Studio at Manchester Central in recent weeks. Hybrid conferencing is increasingly popular and our job is to help businesses and event organisers understand how to tap into its true value and potential," said Hinds.
"Not only does this way of delivering event content help to reach more delegates from across the UK and beyond, it also enables organisers to provide a more curated and personalised event experience. This in turn presents new commercial opportunities for sponsors and event partners to achieve brand exposure.”
Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce attended a ‘Studio Sessions’ panel event. Lewis Crowe, head of membership, said: "It’s a fantastic studio set-up, with wonderful staff that make you feel at ease, which is really important with this kind of thing. It's certainly an impressive experience and something I'd love the Chamber to be involved with again in the future."
