How do you plan and deliver a live broadcast that spans hours, crosses vast distances, and leaves no room for error? In this session, live event director Simon Staffurth shares how he approaches some of the world’s most ambitious productions — where precision, timing, and creative vision are everything.

From Olympic ceremonies to royal events, Simon Staffurth has directed some of the world’s most complex live broadcasts. His credits include five Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies — among them Paris 2024, Tokyo 2021 and Rio 2016 — as well as The Coronation of King Charles III and the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

In this session, Staffurth takes us behind the scenes of the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony — a broadcast that unfolds across huge distances, involving dozens of cameras and thousands of performers. He’ll share how a show of this scale is planned and executed, how you find rhythm and flow across hours of live transmission — and what you do when you wake up on the big day and it's raining.

Whether you're producing live entertainment, sports, or major ceremonial events, this session offers unique insights into the coordination, logistics, and storytelling required to bring large-scale broadcasts to life.