Event Overview

• 27 events in 25 days
• 15 virtual events delivered
• 8 hybrid events
• 60–120 attendees per session
• Nearly 100 comments per online sessio
• 400+ in-person attendees
• 1,880 virtual attendees
• 200+ unique on-demand playbacks after the festival
• Over 90% positive feedback across festival sessions from attendees

Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT), the second largest NHS Trust in the UK, appointed First Sight Media to deliver the live streaming and video production for Ignite, its flagship Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) festival. Spanning 25 days and 27 events, the festival brought together colleagues through a mix of virtual, hybrid and in-person experiences, all designed to spark meaningful conversations around equality, diversity and inclusion.

The Challenge

How do you create a truly inclusive event for one of the UK's largest workforces? With thousands of colleagues spread across multiple hospital sites, working varied shifts in both clinical and non-clinical roles, a traditional conference would inevitably exclude many people.

MFT needed a production partner that could remove those barriers and deliver the same high-quality experience, whether attendees were sitting in an auditorium, joining from another hospital site or watching from home.

The Solution

First Sight Media provided a complete end-to-end production solution. Beyond live streaming, the team managed every aspect of the event, including multi-camera broadcast production, venue AV, presentation management, audience interaction, accessibility services and on-demand content delivery. The result was a seamless experience for speakers, organisers and audiences alike.

Across the festival, 15 virtual and 8 hybrid sessions were successfully delivered, alongside 4 in-person events. Every event was produced to the same broadcast standard, ensuring a consistent experience regardless of where delegates joined.

Results and Feedback

The impact extended far beyond the venue. Alongside 400+ delegates attending in person, the festival reached 1,880 virtual attendees, allowing colleagues who would otherwise have been unable to participate to join the conversation. Every session was professionally recorded and made available on demand, generating 200+ additional playbacks and ensuring staff working shifts or unable to attend live could still access the content when it suited them.

Accessibility and engagement were central to the festival's success. Live captioning helped make sessions more inclusive, while integrated audience interaction through Slido enabled delegates to submit questions and comments in real time, whether attending in person or online. Sessions consistently generated almost 100 audience interactions, creating valuable feedback and insight for the Trust while making remote delegates feel as involved as those in the room.

Most importantly, the technology helped create an experience that resonated with audiences. The festival achieved an impressive 90% positive feedback rating across its sessions, demonstrating that accessibility, engagement and production quality combined to deliver a genuinely meaningful experience.

We were attempting to do something we'd not done before and the idea of a festival of events over a 5-week time frame felt like an almost impossible task for us. However, First Sight Media gave us the reassurance and delivery expertise to go out and really push the envelope. Ultimately, they engaged over 2000 staff and developed a suit of high-quality content that we can use moving forward.

- Justin Brett, Senior Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Practitioner (MFT)

By combining broadcast-quality production, hybrid event expertise and inclusive technology into one joined-up solution, MFT were able to transform Ignite from a series of events into a festival that reached thousands of colleagues, broke down geographical barriers and ensured conversations around equality, diversity and inclusion continued long after the live sessions had ended.