Which lift should I use to install a stage and lighting?

In a hall or on a level floor the best choice is an electric scissor lift: it gives a large platform and a high capacity for floodlights, truss and loudspeakers. When you have to reach over the audience, over the stage structure, or from the side over an obstacle, an articulating boom lift is chosen. On grass, paving or unsurfaced ground you need a 4×4 rough terrain machine.

Can a lift be used above people at an event?

You do not work above the heads of the audience or the crew. The area under the platform and within reach of falling objects must be fenced off and marked, and work at height above a zone accessible to people is done before the audience is admitted or after they have left. This is the responsibility of the organiser and the rigging contractor.

Which lift should I use for an open-air concert on grass?

On turf, a sports pitch or an unsurfaced yard you need a rough terrain machine with 4×4 drive and large wheels, and load-spreading plates are laid under the outriggers and wheels. An ordinary electric scissor lift (on non-marking tyres, for floors) will sink into the ground and will not reach the spot.

Does wind limit the use of a lift at an event?

Yes. The manufacturer gives a permitted wind speed (12.5 m/s for most platforms). Outdoors there is also the “sail” effect: banners, screens and set elements in the platform catch gusts and in practice shorten the weather window. When strong wind is forecast, installation at height is planned earlier or moved.

Do I need a qualification to operate a lift at an event?

Yes. Operating a mobile elevating work platform requires a UDT licence (UDT is the Polish Office of Technical Inspection). Ask about renting the machine with an RK Rental operator when requesting a quote (this is possible when one of our service technicians qualified as an operator is free on that date) or, if the technical crew is to work on its own, train the people with an exam. It is worth planning this before the event, because rigging and de-rigging are often work under time pressure.

Knowledge base

Lift for events: installing a stage, lighting and decorations

Which lift for a concert, trade fair, arena and open-air event: an electric scissor lift on a level floor, an articulating boom lift over the audience and structures, a 4×4 on grass and paving. Height, capacity for equipment, working above people, wind and formalities.

Updated: 10 October 2026 · Published: 24 September 2026 · Author: RK Rental team

When producing an event (a concert, trade fair, gala, fête or company party), a cherry picker (aerial work platform, MEWP) installs what the audience then sees: stage truss, floodlights, LED screens, sound at height, banners, decorations and hall structures. The machine is chosen here for three things at once: height, capacity for the equipment and the ground over which you have to reach the place of installation.

Step 1. Calculate the height to the highest installation point

What counts is not the height of the hall but the highest point at which you install something: a lighting truss, a stage rig, a screen suspension point. You choose the machine for that height, remembering that working height is the platform height plus arm reach (taken as 2 m). More in the article on choosing the working height. At events it is worth taking a small margin: suspension points can be scattered, and the platform has to be set at various angles.

Step 2. Choose the type of machine for the situation

Hall, level floor, vertical installation — an electric scissor lift is best: the large platform holds two riggers with equipment, and the capacity is the greatest in its class. Electric drive and non-marking wheels do not damage the hall floor or a parquet floor.
You have to reach over the stage, audience or a structure — an articulating boom lift takes the platform over and beyond the obstacle, so the machine stands to the side and the operator works above the stage set-up.
Outdoors: grass, paving, unsurfaced ground — a 4×4 rough terrain machine (articulating or telescopic), with plates under the wheels and outriggers.
Quick, spot installations at low height — a light vertical mast lift or a small scissor lift, which are easy to move between points.

Step 3. Capacity for the equipment, not only for people

At an event the platform carries equipment: floodlights, chain hoists, sections of truss, loudspeakers, cables and tools. All of this counts towards the platform capacity together with the riggers. On boom lifts the capacity is sometimes additionally limited at full reach, and the manufacturer then gives two values. How to read this is shown in the article on the load and reach chart.

Step 4. Floor, load and ground protection

In entertainment halls, on parquet and on decorative floors, what counts is the load of the machine on the ground and whether the wheels mark it. You choose electric machines on non-marking wheels, and for work over basements, technical ducts or light slabs you check the permitted load; there is a separate article on the weight of a lift and floor load capacity.

Step 5. Working above people, wind and formalities

Not above heads — above a zone accessible to the audience and the crew you work before the audience is admitted or after they have left. The area under the platform must be fenced off and marked.
Wind outdoors — for most platforms the limit is 12.5 m/s; banners and screens in the platform catch gusts and shorten the installation window.
Time — rigging and de-rigging are work under schedule pressure. Rental with an operator or with a spare machine reduces the risk of downtime.
Qualifications — operating the platform requires a UDT licence. We run training courses with an exam, and you can test your knowledge in the online test.

Frequently asked questions

Which lift should I use to install a stage and lighting?: In a hall or on a level floor the best choice is an electric scissor lift: it gives a large platform and a high capacity for floodlights, truss and loudspeakers. When you have to reach over the audience, over the stage structure, or from the side over an obstacle, an articulating boom lift is chosen. On grass, paving or unsurfaced ground you need a 4×4 rough terrain machine.
Can a lift be used above people at an event?: You do not work above the heads of the audience or the crew. The area under the platform and within reach of falling objects must be fenced off and marked, and work at height above a zone accessible to people is done before the audience is admitted or after they have left. This is the responsibility of the organiser and the rigging contractor.
Which lift should I use for an open-air concert on grass?: On turf, a sports pitch or an unsurfaced yard you need a rough terrain machine with 4×4 drive and large wheels, and load-spreading plates are laid under the outriggers and wheels. An ordinary electric scissor lift (on non-marking tyres, for floors) will sink into the ground and will not reach the spot.
Does wind limit the use of a lift at an event?: Yes. The manufacturer gives a permitted wind speed (12.5 m/s for most platforms). Outdoors there is also the “sail” effect: banners, screens and set elements in the platform catch gusts and in practice shorten the weather window. When strong wind is forecast, installation at height is planned earlier or moved.
Do I need a qualification to operate a lift at an event?: Yes. Operating a mobile elevating work platform requires a UDT licence (UDT is the Polish Office of Technical Inspection). Ask about renting the machine with an RK Rental operator when requesting a quote (this is possible when one of our service technicians qualified as an operator is free on that date) or, if the technical crew is to work on its own, train the people with an exam. It is worth planning this before the event, because rigging and de-rigging are often work under time pressure.