Information Services

Teams Live Events

On this page you will find information about Live Events in Teams.

IMPORTANT: Teams Town Halls replacing Teams Live Events

Over the coming months, ISG Apps Service Management are preparing to transition to Town Halls for large events through Teams. Live Event organisers will be contacted with more details about what to expect over the course of the transition and our guidance pages will be updated with new information as it becomes available.

Over the course of the next few months, Collaboration Services will be preparing for the change on 30th September 2024 from Teams Live Events to Teams Town Halls for large online events. All those directly affected, including Live Event organisers, have already been contacted with more detail as to what to expect over the course of this project. Frequent updates will also be available through a communications and user engagement campaign.

For more information, click here.

Update to Live Events 

Restart your Live Event

For some Teams Live Events, you may want to restart the event after it has already started, or after you have ended it. Microsoft have now added this option to Teams Live Events. For further information, see "restart the Live Event" below. 

 

Guest users in Teams Live Event

Microsoft will no longer be supporting external guest users joining a Teams Live Event via web browser. We recommend encouraging these users to join on Desktop or Mobile instead. 

About Teams Live Events 

Live Events in Teams allow for large scale "town hall" events which can run for up to 4 hours and allow 20,000 audience members. A typical format is multiple presenters taking turns to give a presentation, with audience Q&A. 

The number of simultaneous live events is limited to 15 and these are scheduled centrally by Information Services Group.  Event organisers can request to host a live event using Teams in the "Request to Host a Live Event" section below.

Live Event Recommendations

  • Lead time - We recommend at least 2 weeks lead time before the main event.
  • Checklist before requesting - There are a few things you should consider before filling out the Live Event request form. Please read the "Checklist before requesting your Live Event" section below.
  • Practice - You should run a practice event so that your producer, moderator and presenter(s) can familiarise with Teams Live Events. 
  • Plan in advance​​​​​​ - As with any large scale event, Teams Live Events need planning in advance and the event host needs to organise support during the event (a producer and moderator, if audience Q&A is included). Please read the "Planning your Live Event" section below. 
  • Ensure producers and presenters view the training - Producer training is included in the "producer and presenter training" section below

How Live Events work

  • Live Events have an Event Organiser, who requests that the Live Event be scheduled.
  • Live Events can be internal (for University of Edinburgh users only), or they can be external / public (users outside the University can join). This must be decided before scheduling the Live Event, please see "Checklist before requesting your Live Event" below. 
  • Live Events also have producers who support the presenter(s) in controlling the content that the audience sees during the event, and moderate the Q&A.
  • Live Events have designated presenter(s) who deliver a presentation to the audience. 
  • Live Event producers and presenters can be internal (University of Edinburgh users) or external. If they are external, the event organiser must add them as guests to a Team before requesting a Live Event, please see "Checklist before requesting your Live Event" below.

Hint - Did you know that we can help you choose the right tool for your type of digital event?  If you're still unsure if a Teams Live Event is appropriate for your event, then more help is on hand using our "Online and Digital Events tool selector" and by reading our Online and Digital Events Service webpages.

Getting Started with Teams Live Events

Teams Live Event Tips

Further Queries

If you want to contact someone about Data Protection, you can contact the University’s Data Protection Officer at dpo@ed.ac.uk.

How the University of Edinburgh collects, shares or processes personal information:

Data Protection - Continued Privacy notice 

If you have any questions about Microsoft Teams Live Events, please contact IS Helpline.

If you are looking for privacy information on uploading your Live Event recording to Microsoft Stream, please read the University’s privacy statement relating to Microsoft Stream