Stage and AV space in event rooms

Space needed by each piece of technical kit

Item	Typical footprint	Best position	Safety requirement
Stage / platform (4 to 6 people)	6 × 3 m (18 m²)	Centre of the main end wall	40-60 cm high + fire-retardant skirt
Speaker's lectern with monitor	2 × 2 m (4 m² clear)	To one side of the stage	Cabling bundled under the platform
Sound and lighting control (FOH)	3 × 2.5 m (7.5 m²)	Back of the room, on the centre line	Marked-out area with rubber cable ramps
LED wall / front projector	4–6 m wide × 1.5 m deep	Back of the raised stage	Truss fixed to the wall or floor
PA speaker stacks	1 × 1 m per side (2 m²)	Front corners of the stage	2.5 m clear to the first row

1. Sizing the stage by the number of speakers

One speaker at a lectern needs a platform of 3 × 2 metres (6 m²). If the event includes a panel discussion with 5 executives in lounge chairs, the platform has to be at least 8 × 3.5 metres (28 m²).

2. The control position (front of house)

The sound engineer needs to hear exactly what the audience hears, so the desk must never sit behind a column or beside the stage.

The ideal position is two thirds of the way back, with a marked-out area for the technicians and the stage manager.

3. Cable ramps and safe circulation

Running loose cables across guest routes or waiter aisles causes serious accidents and unplanned blackouts.

The plan should allow for reinforced cable ramps and perimeter runs kept out of the food service route.

Frequently asked questions

How high should the stage be, given the distance to the back row?

For rooms up to 15 metres deep a 30-40 cm platform is enough; beyond 25 metres you need a stage raised 60 to 80 cm.

How much room does a simultaneous interpreting booth take?

A standard soundproof booth for two interpreters takes 2 × 2 metres (4 m²) and must sit at the back of the room with a clear view of the stage.

This, in MisePlan

Floor plan

In MisePlan you draw the room’s real outline on a grid — whatever shape it is, L-shaped or with a cut corner — place the columns and set the doors. The usable floor area is worked out with the voids taken out, not from the rectangle around it, and that plan is reused for every event that passes through the room.

How to work out the space a stage, sound and AV will need at an event

Space needed by each piece of technical kit

1. Sizing the stage by the number of speakers

2. The control position (front of house)

3. Cable ramps and safe circulation

Frequently asked questions

How high should the stage be, given the distance to the back row?

How much room does a simultaneous interpreting booth take?

Place stages, trusses and technical zones on your plan

This, in MisePlan

Floor plan

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Keep reading

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Theatre versus classroom setup

Setting up in a venue that is not yours

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