Panel Discussion AV Hire Manchester
Panel discussion AV hire in Manchester for hosts who need every voice heard.
A mic on every panellist, a confident host lectern, a screen the back row can read and a roaming mic for the audience. Same operator from booking to last question.
21+ yrs
In live AV (11 at the BBC)
Every panellist
HAS the right mic
No dropouts
Tested before doors open
Same operator
First call to last question
What we hire
The kit list for a panel that doesn’t cut out.
A panel discussion fails for one reason: someone in the audience couldn’t hear the answer they came for. A four-panellist room needs four mics that stay on, a host lectern, a roaming pair for Q&A.
Many panels benefit from a screen that holds slides and clips.
EXAMPLE PACKAGE
- Four wireless mics (handheld or lapel) for the panellists
- Host lectern with comfort monitor and a fifth mic for the chair
- Two roaming handhelds for audience Q&A
- PA system tuned for the room
- HD projection screen or TV, to show video clips and remote panellists
- Multitrack audio recording, ready for the show notes or podcast version
- Operator on site, watching levels and swapping batteries quietly
From £1966 + VAT
Every audience member will clearly see, and clearly hear, every word from every panellist and every question from the floor.
Our promise on every event we run in Manchester. See how it works.
How Panel discussion AV hire Manchester works with us
Four steps from first call through to the last question. No agency middlemen, no being passed between teams on event day.
01
Free venue walkthrough
We walk the room with you and the host. Sight lines for the panel, where the Q&A mics live, where the screen sits.
02
Written spec, with the cost
A spec, not a sales pitch. The mic plan per panellist, the audience Q&A workflow and the price you’ll actually pay.
03
In early, line-checked
Each panellist mic is line-checked against their voice in advance where possible, with the host running through the opening from the lectern.
04
On the day, with you
Same operator who walked the room. Mics handed to audience members for Q&A. Battery swaps before anyone notices.
Three ways to hire
For panels we strongly recommend operated, because a flat battery in the middle of the headline answer is hard to come back from.
Dry hire
Up to £350
Your team collects, sets up, runs the panel, returns. From a £118 two-speaker PA up to a full panel rig collected from us in Salford.
Delivered
From £400
We bring it, set it up, tune the room, hand it over, collect it after. Your team chairs the panel and works the Q&A mics.
Operated Recommended for panels
From £2,000
Same operator on site through the whole panel and Q&A. Mics handed to audience members, batteries swapped before anyone notices, recording on.
Panel discussion worked examples
Real-world price anchors. Yours will land somewhere on the line between these, depending on the room.
Low end
Smaller in-house panel
The room: 80 guests, four panellists plus host, single agenda hour.
What we bring: Four lapels + lectern mic, two-speaker PA, single screen.
Service tier: Delivered tier
From £557.14
High end
Industry-day panel keynote
The room: 350 to 500 in-room, plus livestream.
What we bring: Five-mic panel rig + two roaming Q&A handhelds, 3.6m Projector, multitrack recording, hybrid feed with remote-panellist being heard in the room.
Service tier: Operated tier
From £2980.50
Indicative prices, ex VAT. Final quote follows a free venue walkthrough.
Panel discussions we run in Manchester
Different format, different room, same calm operator. Most Manchester panels fall into one of these.
Industry panel
Four expert panellists, a host, slides and Q&A. Standard four-mic + roaming Q&A package.
Fireside chat
Two voices in armchairs, intimate room, two lapel mics + a discreet PA wash that doesn’t kill the mood.
Conference keynote panel
Panel inside a larger conference day. Same rig running for the keynote and the keynote panel back to back.
Hybrid panel
Remote panellists on Teams or Zoom. Room PA, camera on the in-room panel, remote voices fed back into the room without delay.
Panel discussion AV hire Manchester in action
Real Manchester rooms, real ST | AV kit, in service of the event.
Panel discussion coverage across Greater Manchester
Manchester city centre, the Greater Manchester boroughs, Cheshire and Lancashire. Liverpool to Leeds is the regular run for panel kit.
Salford · Stockport · Trafford · Bolton · Cheshire · Lancashire · Liverpool · Leeds
Find us on Google Business for venue staff reviews and Q&A.
Featured client
“Steven and the team handled the room seamlessly.”
Jon Dutton OBE, CEO, British Cycling
On the Velodrome strategy launch panel, with the Duchess of Edinburgh
What our clients say
★★★★★
“Steven and James at ST AV provided the audio visual technology and support for an event. The event comprised of a hybrid session with some attendees in the room and some on Teams, as well as a panel discussion with 4 people on wireless mics plus a host with a lectern mic. It was a technically smooth and successful event.”
Olivia White
★★★★★
“We hosted a live podcast at a bar in Manchester for around 65 people. The service we received from Steven was excellent from start to finish. The booking process was easy, his communication was great and everything went smoothly on the day.”
Vicky Simmance
★★★★★
“ST AV was able to help us with just a couple days notice, with a PA system that worked well, so people could hear easily at a panel discussion we organised.”
Jemma Frizelle
Panel discussion AV hire Manchester: questions we hear most
Straight answers, the ones organisers ask before booking.
How much does panel discussion AV hire in Manchester cost?
It depends on the room. Entry is a two-speaker PA at £118 dry hire, fine for a four-person panel in a 60-seat boardroom. Delivered packages with multiple mics, lectern and screen for a typical 100 to 300 audience are from £400. Fully operated panel days with roaming Q&A, recording and hybrid feed are from £2,000. Larger panel keynotes are quoted per event after a walkthrough.
How do you handle audience Q&A from the floor?
Two wireless handheld microphones move with the operator and a runner. They’re handed to audience members as they stand to ask a question. This keeps the audio clean for the room and the recording, and it stops the moment where a sharp question dies because someone at the back couldn’t be heard.
Do you record the panel audio?
Yes. A multitrack audio recording from every mic is part of every operated panel package. The recording can be edited into a podcast or used as show notes audio if you’re publishing the panel after the event.
Can you support a hybrid panel with remote panellists?
Yes. We pipe Teams or Zoom audio into the room PA so the in-room audience hears remote voices clearly, and feed clean room audio plus a camera output to the platform so remote attendees see and hear the in-room panel. Hybrid event production covers the full stack.
Lapel or handheld for the panellists?
Lapels keep hands free, which suits long conversations, but they pick up jacket movement and sit close to the chest. Handhelds give consistent gain control and the panellist can pass them, which works for fast-cutting panel formats. We pick during the walkthrough based on the panel and the room.
How quickly can you respond to an enquiry?
Same working day. Steven answers his own enquiries, not an agency mailbox. If you send the form before 4pm we’ll get a written response back the same day, including a date for a free walkthrough.
Will you cover venues outside Manchester city centre?
Yes. Greater Manchester boroughs (Salford, Stockport, Trafford, Bolton), Cheshire, Lancashire, and Liverpool to Leeds for the regular run. Venues outside that map are still possible, get in touch with your venue and date.
What if our panel venue already has installed AV?
Often the venue’s installed system is sized for background music or general conferencing, not for clean five-mic panel sound and roaming Q&A. We can supplement or replace. The walkthrough is where we decide.
Advice to event organisers
Four things to get right before Panel discussion day
Practical guidance from 21+ years of running these events. The little decisions that quietly make the day land.
Sound-check every panellist before doors
Voices and mic preferences vary. A five-minute level-set per panellist before the audience walks in stops the host having to ride the gain in the first answer.
Brief panellists about the hot mic
Lapels and headsets are on the moment they’re clipped. Whispers, coughs and stage-side comments hit the room PA and the recording. Brief panellists once at sound-check and they remember.
Plan your Q&A workflow
Two roaming handhelds + one operator + one runner. Audience stands, mic gets to them, mic comes back. The host should already have decided the time cut-off.
Get a clean recording for the post-event
A multitrack recording of the panel is the highest-leverage content asset of the day. Podcast cut, social clips, written transcript. Decide format with us before the panel.
CASE STUDY
British Cycling Velodrome strategy launch
Strategy launch panel inside the Manchester Velodrome with the Duchess of Edinburgh and CEO Jon Dutton OBE. Sony broadcast camera on a riser deck, Catchbox for the floor, a panel that ran seamlessly across two hours.
Pair Panel discussion AV hire Manchester with
The services most events of this type add to the headline rig.
Book AV for your panel discussion
A few details and we get back the same working day with a written recommendation for your panel date and venue.
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