Event audiovisual covers everything that makes a stand visible and audible: screens and LED walls, video projection, sound, lighting, rigging structures and electrical distribution. Behind this one word lie several different services. Dry hire of equipment supplies the machines, which the exhibitor installs and operates itself. A full service commits the provider to the technical study, cabling, setting up the equipment, then having a technician present during opening hours, what the trade calls crewing. Rigging refers to hanging trusses and screens overhead: a lifting activity governed by each venue's own rules.
Paris and the Île-de-France region concentrate France's major exhibition venues, from Paris Expo Porte de Versailles to Paris Nord Villepinte, via the Palais des Congrès de Paris and the Grand Palais. This is where VivaTech, SIAL Paris, Maison&Objet Paris, the Mondial de l'Auto Paris and Batimat are held, events where image and sound matter as much as the product itself. Agoris lists seven audiovisual providers whose head office is located in the zone; as elsewhere in this trade, many travel well beyond the department where they are based.
Hire equipment or commission a full service?
Between the two, the deciding factor lies less in the equipment than in who will operate it. Dry hire is enough when the staging stays simple: a screen, a speaker, a few projectors, and someone on the exhibitor's side who knows how to plug in and adjust the settings. As soon as several video sources need to be shown, sound needs to be managed without disturbing the neighbouring stand, or equipment needs to be rigged overhead, the technical study and on-site crewing stop being an extra: they are what stops the problem being discovered on the morning of opening.
What does the provider need to know about the venue's regulations?
Every venue imposes its own technical regulations: the load allowed for rigging, the electrical power available at the stand location, the tolerated noise level, and the build-up hours and conditions. An audiovisual provider must work from this document, not just from the stand plan. It should therefore be passed on from the first enquiry, along with the hall, the actual dimensions and the clear height under the ceiling.
Does a technician need to be present during the show?
Having crew on site is not automatic. It becomes useful when the product demonstration depends on image or sound, when the stand hosts talks or presentations, or when the same pool of equipment serves several spaces. Without a technician on site, it is the sales team that ends up restarting a player, replacing a cable or resetting a video wall, at the exact moment it should be welcoming visitors.
How should audiovisual work be coordinated with the stand?
Audiovisual choices are decided alongside the stand, not after it. The placement of screens, the routing of cables, the fixing points and the electrical supply are drawn up on the technical plan produced by the stand builder. Getting the two trades talking to each other early avoids reworking the structure on site, extension leads running across the walkway, and screens placed where no one will look at them.