Microsoft announces live event tool Town Halls for Teams

Microsoft has announced a new events service in Teams. Town Halls makes it possible to set up large, online meetings within organizations. This is a replacement for Teams Live Events, which will disappear next year.

Microsoft writes in a blog post that it is launching Town Halls as a service within video calling service Teams. Town Halls is intended for business users within large organizations. The tool allows companies to create large-scale events for their entire company. This is possible for both internal and external events.

Town Halls allows up to 10,000 participants to participate if the company has an Office 365 or Microsoft 365 package. For packages with Teams Premium, 20,000 participants can participate. Those events can last thirty hours. 365 packages can set up fifteen events and breakout rooms. With Teams Premium there are fifty.

Administrators can also integrate third-party content delivery networks, create a green room as a kind of virtual backstage waiting area, and include options to conduct interviews and record events. The tool also has options to create live subtitles, distribute roles to participants and link email templates to an event.

Town Halls is an alternative to Live Events, which now performs a similar function within Teams. Microsoft says it will discontinue that feature on September 30 next year. In the meantime, the tool will still receive support. Town Halls itself will be available on October 5 this year.