“Colloquium 51” within the Framework of “Summer of Purpose” - International Hybrid Event

Following the lockdown as a result of the corona pandemic, we helped to realise one of the first live events in Munich at the end of June: the “Summer of Purpose” was a hybrid event format combining an in-person gathering – in compliance with all applicable protective measures as well as with daily temperature measurement, mask requirement and distance maintenance –  at the Messe München trade fair site and digital integration of participants and audience via a website and social media channels. Under the heading “What have we learnt in the last 100 days”, 51 leading minds from politics, business, science and sport came together in “Colloquium 51”; a further 100 well-known contributors from around the world also joined in. About 1,500 guests took part digitally in the five sessions and 26 workshops in the three-day social conference; an audience of over 6,000 joined in via the website and social media.

The starting point for the event was an exhibition hall fitted out to meet the client's specifications. With a stage and four projection walls, it represented the focal point of the conference. It was where the in-person audience in Munich and speakers addressing them via a live video link – around 300 participants altogether– met up for face-to-face and digital discussions. We planned and implemented the camera, video, lighting and audio systems for this production within just four weeks. An electronic reporting team recorded the live content, which was processed in our control room and then provided for the livestream. Further content supplied by external sources was also reviewed, edited, processed and made available there. We also made sure that international guests were able to follow the event in different languages: we installed two interpreter booths for German-English translation and integrated them into the technical set-up.

For the workshops, the real conference rooms had to be integrated into the virtual conference rooms. We realised these breakout sessions as online meetings via Cisco’s Webex system and simultaneously recorded them in the background. The “islands” we installed were equipped with a notebook and had an external camera and microphone. The sound was played to the participants via their personalised headsets. The projectors and webcam images were controlled with “Watchout” software.

Such a set-up required a corresponding number of technicians for both the online and live event: about 30 employees carried out tasks including operating the Webex, Watchout and Encore systems as well as the teleprompter. They were also involved in streaming, live camera pictures (and vision mixing), streaming sound, lighting and event direction.

The crew realised five major sessions during the three days of the event and broadcast them online – in high technical quality and at the extremely professional standard required by the organisers. In addition, there were two dozen workshops with creative dialogues, presentations, hackathons and discussions that aimed not only to analyse the status quo but also to deliver new solutions.