Your venue — whether it's a warehouse in Berlin, a Zoom call, or both — is where the magic happens. Get the logistics right and nobody notices. Get them wrong and it's all anyone talks about. This chapter covers what you need for each format.

The perfect hackathon venue has:

Space. Banquet-style tables (round or large rectangular) that seat 8–10 people each. This is the hacking setup — teams need room to spread out with laptops, notebooks, and snacks. Banquet layout holds fewer people than classroom or theatre style, so factor that into capacity.

Power. You need at minimum one power strip per table, plus extension cords. Every participant has a laptop, most have phones, some have external monitors. Tripping a circuit breaker during the event is a nightmare — ask the venue about circuit capacity and breaker locations.

Wifi. This is the single most common failure point at hackathons. You need fast, reliable internet that can handle dozens or hundreds of simultaneous connections. Test it with multiple devices. Check that common developer ports aren't blocked (SSH, HTTPS, etc.). Get the venue IT contact's phone number for event day. Bring mobile hotspots as backup — this is not optional.

Projection and audio. A projector and screen for presentations, plus a microphone for large rooms. Test these in advance. Bring your own adapters (USB-C to HDMI at minimum). If the projector fails during demos, the entire closing ceremony is ruined.

Separate spaces. Ideally you want: a main hacking area, a separate room for workshops, a quiet space for calls/breaks, and a food area away from the laptops. Not every venue has all of these, but it helps.

Accessibility. Wheelchair-accessible entrances, pathways, and seating. Gender-neutral bathrooms. Good lighting. Accessible stage (if there is one). If your venue has accessibility gaps, document them and communicate to participants before the event.

Practical stuff. Can you bring food in? Is there a kitchen or at least a food prep area? What about air conditioning/heating outside business hours? Can you get in and can participants get in — especially if the building's front door is locked? Who has the key?

For hacking, you want banquet-style: big tables where teams can sit together, see each other's screens, and collaborate. Avoid classroom-style (everyone facing forward) for the hacking area — it kills collaboration.

For workshops, classroom-style works better: rectangular tables with chairs on one side, facing the presenter.

For the opening ceremony, everyone needs to be in one room. If your main hacking room can't hold everyone standing/sitting, plan for the opening in a larger space and then disperse.

This is non-negotiable. Visit the venue the day before and verify:

Food is surprisingly expensive and surprisingly important. Budget $7–15 per person per day.

The golden rule: think like a parent. Participants won't prioritise their own nutrition — they'll grab whatever's fastest and sugariest. Your food choices directly shape focus, energy, and mood across the event. A greasy lunch at hour six buys you a room full of tired, grumpy builders at hour ten.

Dietary requirements are mandatory, not optional:

What to serve:

What to avoid:

Labelling: Put a card next to every dish listing ingredients and which dietary restrictions it accommodates. This takes five minutes and saves people from having to ask.

For online events, your "venue" is your technology stack. You need:

A central hub — BuilderBase serves as your event platform: registration, challenges, team formation, submissions, judging, and participant dashboard. This is where everything lives.

Video conferencing — For opening/closing ceremonies and workshops. Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams. Make sure your license supports your expected attendance. Test breakout rooms, screen sharing, and recording.

Communication platform — Slack or Discord for ongoing conversation. Set up channels thoughtfully: #announcements (organisers only), #general, #tech-support, #team-formation, per-challenge channels, and private channels for organisers, mentors, and judges.

Collaboration tools — GitHub for code, Google Docs for shared documents, Miro for whiteboarding.

If your participants span multiple timezones, you need a clear strategy:

Just like an on-site walkthrough, test everything:

Hybrid requires everything from both sections above, plus the technology bridge:

Cameras — At least two: one for the stage/presenter, one for a room view so online participants can see the venue.

Microphones — Lapel mics for speakers, a room mic so online participants can hear questions from the audience.

Large screen — At the venue, showing online participants' video feeds so the room can see remote attendees.

Streaming — Either via Zoom/Teams (simplest) or a dedicated streaming setup (OBS, YouTube Live) for larger events.

Two-way audio — Online participants need to be heard at the venue, not just seen.

A bridge coordinator — Someone whose sole job is making sure the two worlds stay connected. They monitor whether the stream is working, whether online questions are being surfaced, and whether remote participants are being included.

Budget 1.5x the staff of a single-format event. Test the entire AV bridge multiple times before event day.

Don't forget the small stuff:

Key takeaways: