Sound hire, lighting hire, video services, staging and stage set builds — planned for hotels, conference centres and historic venues across London, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire.

A conference lives or dies on whether people can hear the speaker, read the slides, and look at a stage that feels intentional. The kit list is only half the job. The other half is matching that kit to the room, the programme and the county you are working in.

This guide walks through the four pillars of conference AV hire — sound, lighting, video and staging — and how they typically come together for events from a 40-person board briefing in a Berkshire hotel to a 600-delegate day at a London conference centre.

Why conference AV is different from “a projector and a mic”

Hotel packages and in-house AV can be fine for a short meeting. A proper conference usually needs more:

• Speech that stays intelligible at the back of the room, not just loud at the front.
• Screens bright enough for rooms with windows — common in Surrey and Berkshire country-house hotels.
• Lighting that makes speakers look good in person and on camera if you are recording or streaming.
• A stage that frames the content, hides cable runs, and gives presenters somewhere confident to stand.
• A technician who can switch presenters, fix a laptop that will not output HDMI, and keep the show on time.

Dry hire (kit only) works if you already have crew. For most organisers, wet hire — delivery, install, operator, de-rig — is the safer route.

Sound hire: the thing audiences notice first if it fails

If delegates cannot hear the keynote, nothing else on the stage matters. Conference sound hire is about speech first, atmosphere second.

What a typical conference PA includes

• PA system sized to the room — column arrays or compact line arrays for banquet rooms; distributed speakers if pillars or L-shaped rooms create dead spots.
• Wireless microphones — lavaliers or headsets for keynotes, handhelds for panels and audience Q&A, a podium mic as backup.
• Mixer and playback — walk-on music, video sound, and a clean feed if you are recording or sending audio to a stream.
• Foldback / confidence so speakers can hear themselves without shouting.

Plan more microphones than the run-of-show suggests. A late-added panellist is a common reason events scramble on the morning of the show. Frequency coordination matters in central London venues where several rooms may be running wireless at once.

Small room (40–80)

Two speakers on stands, 1–2 wireless mics, compact mixer. Often enough for a hotel syndicate or training day in Hampshire or Surrey.

Main conference (150–500+)

Even coverage front to back, delay speakers if the room is long, multiple wireless channels, and an engineer at front of house.

Lighting hire: visibility, brand and camera

Lighting is still treated as decoration. For conferences it is a working tool. Faces need to be lit, screens must stay readable, and brand colour should appear without washing out the content.

The layers that usually matter

• Presenter key light — front-angled wash so speakers do not stand in a cave or a silhouette against an LED wall.
• Stage wash — even coverage for panels and award walk-ups.
• Uplighting — battery or mains LED fixtures in brand colours for columns, walls and registration areas. Very common in Berkshire and Surrey hotels.
• House light control — dimming so slides and LED walls stay punchy.

If the event is filmed or live-streamed, specify camera-friendly fixtures (high CRI) and a colour temperature around 4000–4500K so skin tones do not shift between rooms.

Video services: slides, LED, IMAG and hybrid

Video hire for conferences now sits on a spectrum from a single 65-inch screen on a stand to a curved LED wall with confidence monitors and a switched camera feed.

Common video options

• Projectors and screens — still the right call for blackout-friendly rooms and tighter budgets. Specify lumen output for rooms with daylight.
• Large format LED / video walls — best in bright rooms, for cameras, and when the backdrop is part of the brand. Widely used in London conference centres.
• Confidence monitors — speakers should not have to turn their back on the audience to read slides.
• Presentation management — a technician running laptops, clickers, holding slides and last-minute file swaps from a central point.
• IMAG and streaming — cameras for image magnification on the big screen, plus a clean programme feed for remote delegates.

File hygiene saves more conferences than extra kit. Ask speakers for 16:9 slides, embedded fonts, and a backup copy on a USB the night before.

Staging and stage set builds

Staging is the frame. A 400–600mm riser for 80 people in a Guildford hotel is a different brief from an 8 × 4 metre gloss stage with lectern, steps, handrails and a branded set at ExCeL.

What staging hire usually covers

• Modular decks with carpet or gloss finish, skirting and steps.
• Lecterns — plain, branded, or with an integrated confidence screen.
• Panel furniture and top-table risers.
• Truss for lighting and banners where the venue allows rigging.

Stage set builds

A set build goes beyond hired decks. It is the designed environment: printed flats, logo walls, reveal pieces, integrated LED apertures, and lighting positions planned in from the first drawing. Good set designers work backwards from sightlines, camera angles and how presenters actually move — not just from a mood board.

• Stock / modular sets — faster and kinder on budget; brand with print, lighting and a centre screen.
• Bespoke builds — CNC-cut scenic, custom heights, branded lecterns, and 3D visuals signed off before anyone cuts timber.

Always design the set around the video, not the other way around. An LED wall that does not fit the aperture, or a lectern that blocks the first three rows, is an expensive afternoon.

How the pieces should sit together

A practical conference stack

1. Lock the venue, audience size and whether the event is in-person only or hybrid.
2. Agree the stage footprint and screen size against sightlines.
3. Specify speech audio and microphone count from the run-of-show.
4. Add presenter lighting, then brand uplighting.
5. Decide projector vs LED based on ambient light and cameras.
6. Book crew: at minimum an audio/video operator; add lighting if there are cues.
7. Do a site visit for anything larger than a simple meeting package — power, load-in, rigging points, and neighbour events using wireless.

London, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire

The same kit list behaves differently by county because the venues do.

London

Conference centres, hotels and historic rooms. Watch load-in windows, union or in-house AV rules, and crowded wireless spectrum. LED walls and full production crews are the norm for larger days.

Surrey

Country-house hotels, golf estates and purpose-built meeting space. Daylight through tall windows is the usual video problem; battery uplighting and tidy cable runs matter in listed interiors.

Hampshire

From Winchester Guildhall and Ageas Bowl hotel space to Farnborough’s exhibition centre. Mix of heritage rooms and large, flexible halls — PA coverage and staging height change quickly with room type.

Berkshire

Reading, Windsor, Newbury and Thames Valley hotels. Strong local hire market for mid-size corporate days: sound, projection or LED, uplighting and compact staging delivered and crewed the same morning.

A supplier who already knows the venue’s loading bay, power and in-house restrictions will quote faster and have fewer surprises on show day than a company pricing from a photo of the ballroom.

What it tends to cost

Published packages in the South East often start around a few hundred pounds a day for a small meeting kit (screen or projector, one mic, compact PA). A mid-size conference with dual screens or a modest LED, several wireless mics, staging and an engineer commonly sits in the high hundreds to low thousands. Full production — LED wall, designed set, lighting plot, cameras and a crew — scales from there into five figures for large London shows.

Price follows labour and risk as much as boxes. An operator, backup microphones, and a rehearsal hour are usually better value than shaving the quote and hoping the laptop works.

Questions worth asking a hire company

• Do you own the kit or sub-rent it?
• Will a technician stay on site, and are they staff or a day-hire?
• Have you worked this venue before?
• What is the backup if a transmitter or playback machine fails?
• Is public liability insurance documented, and who is responsible for PAT and rigging?
• Can lighting, video and set be designed as one plot rather than three separate invoices?

Planning a conference in the South East?

Share the date, venue, audience size and whether you need sound hire, lighting hire, video, staging or a full set build. A single production brief is easier to deliver than four suppliers meeting each other for the first time on site in London, Surrey, Hampshire or Berkshire.

There’s something about Old Sessions House that makes people walk in and immediately start taking photos. The former Georgian courthouse on Clerkenwell Green has that rare mix of drama and ease — soaring rooms, weathered plaster, a proper chandelier, and just enough history that it never feels like a blank box.

The venue does half the work

Old Sessions House sits on its own island site a short walk from Farringdon. Built in 1782 as Middlesex Sessions House, it was once the largest courthouse in the country. Today the Great Room, courtroom bar, dining spaces and rooftop give you options without ever feeling scattered. Guests can spill between rooms. The architecture does the heavy lifting; we just make sure the flow, timing and atmosphere match the couple.

For this wedding, dinner lived in the Great Room. Speeches happened there too. Then the evening opened up and the energy shifted — which is exactly when production matters.

Speeches that people can actually hear

A gorgeous room is useless if the speeches disappear into the ceiling. We supplied a proper PA system so every toast landed — clear, warm, and loud enough without turning the room into a festival.

It’s one of those things couples don’t think about until they’re standing there. Then they’re grateful someone did.

Then the party started

Evening entertainment was designed as a complete look, not a pile of kit in the corner.

Starlit LED dance floor
The white starlit floor became the centre of the night. Twinkling LEDs underfoot, high-gloss finish, first dance and then a packed floor until last orders. In a historic room it does something special: it feels current without fighting the building.

DJ booth & full DJ equipment

A clean, considered booth so the DJ looks like part of the design, not an afterthought. Proper decks, reliable playback, and enough presence that guests know where the night is happening.

Moving head lighting

Moving heads gave us control: soft washes through dinner and speeches, then sharper beams and colour once the dancing started. The room could change mood without anyone noticing the “switch.” That’s the goal — lighting that serves the night rather than announcing itself.

Together it meant the couple could stay in the moment. We handled the technical side so they could be guests at their own wedding — which is still the whole point.

Why this combination works at Old Sessions House

Heritage venues can swallow generic disco lighting. They also punish cheap sound. A starlit floor, a tidy booth, intelligent moving heads and a speech-ready PA sit with the architecture instead of against it. The plaster and chandelier stay beautiful. The party still feels like a party.

High-Impact AV Production at Kimpton Fitzroy London: Delivering Crystal-Clear Conference Excellence

We recently had the pleasure of delivering full AV production for a prestigious conference at one of London’s most iconic venues, the Kimpton Fitzroy London. From pristine audio to stunning visuals, our technical setup ensured every delegate was fully immersed, whether in the main auditorium or breakout sessions.

The Technical Setup That Impressed

At the heart of the event was our flagship D&B Audiotechnik sound system. Renowned for its clarity, power, and even coverage, the D&B rig delivered exceptional speech intelligibility across the room — essential for conferences where every word matters. Paired with the industry-leading Midas M32 digital mixer, our audio engineers had complete control over dynamics, EQ, and routing, resulting in a warm, natural sound with zero feedback or dropouts.

For presenter mobility, we deployed a full set of Sennheiser radio microphones. The reliable RF performance and pristine audio quality meant speakers could move freely on stage without compromising sound, while our frequency coordination prevented any interference — even in central London’s challenging RF environment.

Visually, we installed a large-scale LED video wall that brought presentations, live camera feeds, and branding content to life with vibrant colours and razor-sharp resolution. The wall provided perfect sightlines from every seat, enhancing engagement and ensuring key messages landed with maximum impact.

Why This Combination Works So Well for Conferences

• D&B Audiotechnik – Studio-grade clarity with concert-level headroom
• Midas M32 – leading manufactures within the av world
• Sennheiser – Trusted wireless reliability
• LED Video Wall – High brightness and contrast for daylight venues

The result? A seamless, professional AV experience that allowed the organisers to focus entirely on content and networking rather than technical worries.

Professional AV Production in London

Whether you’re planning a 100-delegate boardroom meeting or a 500+ conference, our team specialises in delivering reliable, high-end AV hire and production across London. We understand heritage venues like the Kimpton Fitzroy London — beautiful spaces that still demand modern technical performance.

We supply high end professional speakers for hire. Speakers for large events and small. Corporate events, festivals, weddings and much much more.

We supply high end professional speakers for hire. Speakers for large events and small. Corporate events, festivals, weddings and much much more.

We are well and truly settled in to our new home in Camberley. Situated in the heart of Surrey, allowing even more ease of access to Hampshire, Berkshire, Surrey and London.

Come down to say hello to the team!

We stock battery Powered Uplighters. They have a range of colours and require not mains power to operate. These battery lights are also suitable for outdoor rain or shine.

We supply snow effects using our rang of snow machines. They are popular all year round but most popular in December. Everyone wished for a white Christmas, add the icing onto your event.

What wedding effects have caught your eye? Are you getting married this year or event next year. Wanting to add some effects to your big day. We stock a wide range of effects to really set off your big day. Contact our team today.

Conference hire couldn’t be any easier. We stock all your needs from staging to PA and projectors. We experienced lighting and sound technicians available to ensure the smooth running of your conference.

We supply high end professional speakers for hire. Speakers for large events and small. Corporate events, festivals, weddings and much much more.

Our event Pa systems are available for hire all year round. We can cater for different types and size events.

We supply easy plug and play system to high end festival sound systems.

Contact our team for more information today

Looking to hire speakers but do not any completed set ups?

Our play and play systems are made for you. Simply plug your laptop or device into our Ipod lead and off you go.

Our led backdrops are a cost effect way to cover up those boring bare walls in your venue. With their cool white led’s, the led star cloth is a eye catching effect that can be programmed to be static, strobe or twinkle, giving you full flexibility on how you want it to look in your event space.

We now stock rustic barrels in our hire section. These vintage whiskey barrels are a smart edition for your wedding rustic theme.

Our rustic barrels are a popular option for your guests to put there drinks, maybe even as a cake stand or as a table when coupled up together with a plank of wood.

We supply black staging perfect for all corporate stage hire. Needing carpet and skirting too. That is no problem we have all your corporate stage hire needs. Book yours today to ensure you do not miss out.

Its never been so simple. You do not have a be a speaker technicians to work our speakers. We can supply an Ipod Package for your event.

Are your finding a DJ a little bit out of your price range? All our party speaker hire will need is a laptop or Ipod, our systems are plug and play.

Why choose led wireless uplighter?

Lighting is a key feature for any event not just weddings. Led wireless uplighter are a popular choice for many reasons which we will be touching on in this article.

Led wireless uplighter is an impressive way to compliment the decor and transform the look of your venue. The combination of battery power and wireless DMX control makes them truly portable, enabling extremely fast setup with no cables, thus creating a safer and more attractive environment.

One of the simplest and most effective methods of changing the mood of a room is to change the colour of the lights, this is why led wireless uplighter hire are perfect for transforming a room from subtle sophistication during the day to party mode at night.

What other lighting can i use alongside?

To accompany led wireless uplighter hire would be led disco lights for the dance floor. Having movement in the room really helps that party feel come alive. You can have the best band or dj that money can buy, but sometimes not having the correct lighting and sound can really effect the atmosphere in a room.

Will they work at my conference i have to arrange?

Well the short answer is yes. Uplighters are welcomed everywhere and to date we haven’t found a place where they aren’t.

Wedding Hire 

Welcome to our Wedding Hire page.

Congratulations you have decided to take that next step into your relationship, your ready for your I Do’s.

Wedding Planning should be fun and exciting and we are here to help with that. Lets make your day as special as it should be.

We are a one stop shop when it comes to Wedding Hire.. Our expert team have been working couples reach their wedding goals for many years. We supply a wide range, and if do not have it we will help you find it!.

We can supply you with Wedding Hire for;

• Lighting Packages
• PA Packages
• Speech PA Packages
• Uplighting
• Disco Lighting
• LED Dance Floor
• LED Furniture
• Fairy Lighting
• Festoon Lighting
• Dry Ice Machines
• Confetti Cannons
• Spark Machines
• Light up Letters.
• Post Box
• Gobo Light 

All you need to do is contact us with your vision and we will help you achieve this. Because here at Prestige Sound and Light Ltd we know that its your special day, and its all about you! Your Wedding Hire has never been so simple.

We want to help you find exactly what you are looking for and work closely with you to achieve this. You may be working towards a budget or maybe you just need some advice and we are here to help. There are two ways our Wedding hire works. We can deliver and set up for you. Alternatively, you can go for our dry hire service and meet us where we are based in Camberley.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions even if it isn’t to do with our Wedding Hire.

Because we know the importance of Wedding hire, therefore we have made locating what you are looking for more simply. All you need to do is click on the highlighted words to locate them on our website.

We have been very spoilt so far these last couple of weeks with the British Weather. With the Sun in mind why not throw a garden party and let us sort out your sound and light requirements. #gardenparties #garden #speakers #outdoor #lighting

Added to our rental stock this week is the Laserworld CS1000 RGB Laser. Producing sharp bright laser beams in all different colours, sizes and patterns to create a stunning laser show for your event.

New in to our hire stock is the LEDJ PF 35 Profile Spot WW. This fixture is great for those small intimate venues where you may want to spot light your wedding cake or even use it as a gobo projector using one of the gobos already included or maybe even have your own custom gobo made.

We have some exciting news!! After lot’s of planning and research we have moved into a new unit not to far from our old place. Still being able to operate in the same areas, we have found a secure location to store our for ever growing stock.

Having toilets, parking, heating, electric, security and not forgetting space in one location we are now even closer to the M25 at the Chertsey junction. Why not come down for a visit and check out some of our new and old toys we have to offer, the kettle is always on.

Another Glitterball that didn’t disappoint. Raising money for the Royal Brompton Hospital we provided Sound, Lighting, DJ & Host for the charity ball which was held at Runnymede Hotel. Great night with lots of money raised and a packed dance floor till the end.

Just arrived in stock is the new 100W UV COB Flood Light from Prolight. It has a powerful 100 Watts of pure UV Light which will be great for any Halloween Party.

October started with us back at Park Resorts Sandford for Wessex 2017 Dance Championship Weekender supplying and operating Lighting, Lasers & Effects. Great event with a great atmosphere.

We were asked back again to supply full production for Royal Holloway University Freshers Ball. Supplying a full D&B Audiotechnik Q Series System, consisting of Q1, Q7 & Q Subs as FOH PA. Monitoring was done via Sennheiser EW300 IEM and D&B Max 12 Monitors. Video Wall was also provided to run visuals along with a full lighting rig.

With Scouting For Girls Headlining along with 2 support acts we supplied their full technical band rider.

It was a great success which was enjoyed by all. With thanks to the Prestige Team another job well done.

We are proud to announce that we now stock D&B Audiotechnik Q Series. Adding to our ever growing hire stock Q7, Q1 and Q Subs which are powered by D12 Amplifiers. Contact us today for more info and quotations for your event.

This year we were invited along to Brooklands College BoomBox Music Festival, supplying PA Hire to the Acoustic Tent. It was a great day with great weather and great music. Looking forward to next years.

Prestige Sound and Light have been asked to provide a PA System for a audience of 2000 people, along with Sound Engineer and Stage Crew for the Ricci Martin UK Tour. The tour is being held in 5 Venues across the country where we will be providing a RCF DLine Line Array System.

We would like to wish everybody a Happy New Year and hope you enjoyed the festive break. This year like every other year we plan to carry on providing the high standard of service and products to all of our clients and you will be happy to know that we have decided to keep our prices the same for 2014. If you have any enquiries then please contact us [email protected] or call on 0208 2438642