Important: Microsoft Teams Live Events will retire on June 30, 2026. Microsoft recommends using Teams Town Halls for future large-scale virtual events and broadcasts.

Microsoft Teams Live Events allow organizers to invite external presenters to participate in a live streamed event. External presenters can join using Microsoft Teams on desktop or iPad devices.

External presenters may include:

Individuals outside Seton Hall University
Guest users
Anonymous presenters without a Microsoft 365 organizational account

Before You Begin

To participate as a presenter in a Teams Live Event:

External presenters should use the Microsoft Teams desktop application whenever possible.
Presenters joining anonymously may first enter the meeting lobby and require manual admission by the organizer or producer.
External presenters cannot produce the live event unless explicitly assigned the appropriate role.

Note: Guest users cannot join as attendees on the web and must use the Teams desktop, iPad, or mobile application.

Allow External Presenters When Scheduling a Live Event

Open Microsoft Teams.
Select Calendar.
Create a new Live Event.
On the New live event page, turn on the Allow external presenters toggle.
Complete the remaining event settings and scheduling information.
Select Schedule or Send.

Invite External Presenters

External presenters can be invited directly through the Live Event invitation.

You may also manually send presenter join information after scheduling the event.

To locate presenter join information:

Open the event from your Teams calendar.
Scroll to the bottom of the event details.
Copy the information listed under Microsoft Teams.
Send the information securely to the presenter.

Important: External presenter links should not be forwarded to other users.

Admit External Presenters from the Lobby

At the start of the event, anonymous or external presenters who are not authenticated with a Microsoft account may enter the lobby when selecting the join link.

To admit presenters:

In the meeting controls, select Show participants.
Locate the presenter in the lobby.
Select Admit.

Note: Presenters using a recognized Microsoft 365 organizational account may join automatically depending on event settings.

Change Presenter Roles During the Event

Organizers or producers can manually promote attendees to presenter status during the live event.

To make someone a presenter:

Select Show participants in the meeting controls.
Locate the participant whose role you want to change.
Hover over the participant’s name and select More options.
Select Make a presenter.

Once promoted, presenters can:

Share audio and video
Share screens or content
Participate in presenter group chat

Presenters cannot:

Access organizer-only controls
Remove participants from the event
Manage certain event settings

Live Event Roles

Teams Live Events include several participant roles:

Organizer

The organizer:

Schedules the live event
Configures permissions and event settings
Invites presenters and attendees
Manages reports after the event

Producer

The producer:

Starts and stops the live event
Controls the live stream
Shares video and content
Selects layouts for attendees

Note: Producers are supported only on the Teams desktop application.

Presenter

Presenters:

Share audio, video, and content
Participate in the live event broadcast
Moderate Q&A if enabled

Note: Presenters on iPad cannot moderate Q&A or share system audio.

Supported Platforms

Role	Desktop	Web	iPad	Mobile

Role	Desktop	Web	iPad	Mobile
Producer	Yes	No	No	No
Presenter	Yes	No	Yes	No
Attendee	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Notes:
Linux is not supported for Teams Live Events.
Teams Rooms on Windows support presenter functionality only.
Organizers schedule and edit Live Events through the Teams web experience.

Additional Information

Microsoft recommends transitioning from Teams Live Events to Teams Town Halls before Live Events retire on June 30, 2026. Town Halls provide enhanced event management, attendee engagement, and reporting capabilities for large-scale virtual events.

Allow External Presenters in a Teams Live Event