Blog Articles

There is a version of this that happens at a lot of otherwise competent conferences. The sign language interpreter is booked, they turn up, they are excellent, and they spend the day standing three metres stage left in a dim patch of the lighting rig, at an angle where a third of the room cannot see them clearly and the camera mix never cuts to them once.

How Mandarin interpreting actually works at conferences, webinars and hybrid events: booth pairs, relay, terminology prep, and when AI translation does the job instead. 

Think about the last large event you attended or organised. How many of the people in that room — or joining virtually from around the world — were expected to simply follow along in a language that wasn't their own? 

There was a time — not that long ago — when offering interpretation at events felt like a gesture of generosity. Something above and beyond. Now? In 2025, it's fast becoming the baseline.

Part of that shift has to do with legislation. But it’s also about what audiences expect. They’re joining from dozens of countries, tuning in on different devices, and increasingly, they’re asking: Can I actually follow this in my own language?