Most event planners ask this at some point. The AV equipment is booked. The venue is sorted. And then someone says: do we actually need a technician on the day, or can we just set it up ourselves?
The honest answer depends on your event. But most people who skip the technician do it for the wrong reasons.
What a technician actually does
A technician is not just there to plug things in. They set the equipment up correctly for the room. They run a sound check. They balance microphone levels. They make sure the screen is showing the right input at the right resolution. They check everything works before your guests arrive.
And then they stay.
If a wireless mic drops during a speech, they fix it. If the projector loses signal, they fix it. If the sound level shifts between sessions, they adjust it. None of this requires you to do anything. You run your event. They make it sound and look right.
That is the job. It sounds simple because when it works, it is invisible.
When you can probably manage without one
Small events with simple setups do not always need a dedicated technician. A Bluetooth speaker for background music at a 30-person networking drinks does not need an engineer on site.
If you are setting up a basic PA in a room you know well, with a wired microphone, and you have used the equipment before, you can probably handle it.
But even in these cases, someone from your team needs to own the AV on the day. That means they are not running registration, greeting guests, or managing anything else. They are the person who watches the equipment and responds when something changes.
When you need a technician
If any of the following apply to your event, book a technician.
- Multiple wireless microphones in use
- Video playback during presentations
- More than one speaker switching between presentations
- Live streaming or recording
- An awards ceremony or scripted show
- A venue you have not used before
- More than 100 people in the room
- Live music alongside the main event
Each of those adds complexity. And complexity means more ways for something to go wrong at the wrong moment.
What goes wrong when you do not have one
Here are the things that happen most often.
Microphone feedback. Someone picks up a mic and walks toward a speaker. Without an engineer on the desk to pull the gain down, the room fills with a high-pitched squeal. Every person in the room flinches. The speaker is thrown. It takes thirty seconds to recover. That thirty seconds feels much longer.
Video that does not play. A presenter goes to their slides and the video embedded in the deck does not have audio. Or it plays on their laptop but not the room screens. Or it plays fine in the green room but crashes when they are live. An engineer sees this in the sound check and fixes it before anyone notices.
Mic dropouts. Wireless microphones lose signal. Batteries die. Channels conflict. When that happens mid-speech with no one monitoring, the speaker either carries on without amplification or stops and waits while someone scrambles to fix it. Neither option is good.
Level creep. Audio levels set at the start of an event shift as the room fills and the acoustics change. What sounded fine in an empty room starts sounding quiet, or harsh, or boomy once 200 people are sitting in it. An engineer adjusts for this continuously. A pre-set system does not.
The real cost calculation
People skip technicians to save a few hundred pounds. That is a reasonable instinct when you are managing a tight event budget.
But think about what a technical failure at your event actually costs. A CEO who cannot be heard giving the keynote. A product video that does not play at the launch. An awards ceremony where the winner is announced to silence because the mic died.
The cost is not the equipment. It is the room full of people who noticed, the clients who formed an impression, and the fact that you cannot get that moment back.
A technician on site for a full day typically costs a few hundred pounds. Against the cost of the event overall, that number looks different when you frame it that way.
Hiring a technician is not about expecting things to go wrong. It is about making sure someone is there to stop a small problem becoming a big one.
What to ask when you book
If you are hiring AV equipment, ask whether a technician is included or available to add. Most professional AV companies in London include a technician in their full-day packages, or offer them at a clear day rate.
Find out how long they will be on site. Some technicians set up, do a brief sound check, and leave. Others stay for the full event. For anything with a live programme, you want them for the full day.
Ask whether the same person sets up the equipment and operates it on the day. When those are two different people, handover notes get missed and the operator does not know the quirks of that specific setup.
You can see how we handle this as part of our event AV services. Our technicians stay for the full event, not just the setup. Read more about professional live event standards on the PLASA website, which covers technician qualifications and what professional event production looks like.
Common questions
How much does an AV technician cost for a day?
For a London event, a technician typically costs between 250 and 500 pounds for a full day. Most AV companies include one in a full hire package rather than as a separate line item.
Can the venue staff operate the AV instead?
Sometimes. Some London venues have in-house AV teams. But they are not always available for the full event, and their job is the venue, not your programme. If something goes wrong with equipment you hired separately, they may not be able to help.
What happens if I just hire the equipment and manage it myself?
For simple setups it can work. But if something goes wrong mid-event, you are the one troubleshooting it while your event is running. Most people find that is not a position they want to be in.
