Visitors to IBC2026 will be able to experience the IBC Accelerator project Immersive Festival Live (IFeL), which explores how immersive audio, video and audience interaction can transform remote audiences from passive viewers into active participants. Bringing together broadcasters, technology companies and researchers, the project aims to create a convincing sense of presence that enables viewers to feel connected not only to performers and venues, but also to fellow audience members.
Rather than focusing solely on improving production quality, the project examines how immersive technologies can create a convincing sense of presence by combining immersive audio, immersive video and low-latency audience interaction within a single delivery pipeline. Luke Porwol, head of sponsorship at MIT Reality Hack, describes IFeL as “a convergence of immersive technologies, especially immersive video and immersive audio, with novel audience engagement in one single pipeline”. Rather than replacing conventional broadcasting, he says, the goal is to “extend existing remote presence options” and create experiences that have not previously been possible.
Immersive audio forms a central part of the project. Rich Welsh, president of SMPTE and a co-champion of IFeL, argues that many existing immersive experiences fail to create a realistic sense of presence because audio has not kept pace with advances in visual technologies. Working alongside King’s College London and other partners, Shure contributes immersive audio expertise to help recreate the spatial realism of live events while supporting new forms of audience participation.
Beyond immersive capture, the project also investigates how remote audiences can become active participants rather than passive viewers. “The idea that now you can interact with the audience or even interact with the artist is a huge step,” says Welsh, who believes recreating the feedback loop between performers and audiences is central to delivering a convincing sense of presence. Longer-term ambitions include enabling virtual attendees to interact with performers and even appear within live audiences through telepresence technologies, creating new forms of two-way engagement between physical and remote participants.
Participants also point to the value of the IBC Accelerator programme itself, which brings together broadcasters, technology vendors, standards bodies and researchers to explore concepts that would be difficult for any single organisation to pursue independently. Organisations involved in the project include the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, SMPTE, MIT Reality Hack and Shure.
The project will be demonstrated at IBC2026 following trials at live events including the Montreux Jazz Festival, where the team is evaluating immersive capture workflows and audience interaction in real-world environments.
