Throwing a party when nobody can leave the house
Tate Lates was never built for a screen.
It was about bodies in a building, music vibrating through the Turbine Hall, strangers leaning in to be heard over the bass.
Then the pandemic hit and the doors closed.
We stopped trying to replicate the in-person experience. Instead, we designed something native to digital — live, but made for people on their sofa, in their kitchen, or halfway across the world.
Our approach
Borrowing more from TV and radio than live events, we built a programme of short, varied segments:
Artist interviews cut with live DJ sets
At-home workshops people could follow along with
Interactive moments — Q&As, live chats, creative prompts — that made the audience part of the night, not just a silent viewer
What we learned
You can’t fake the energy of a live crowd — but you can create a different kind of intimacy online.
Short, varied content beats long uninterrupted streams for online attention spans.
Interactivity is essential — audiences engage more when they can shape the experience.
Why it matters
The first online Tate Lates drew the biggest, most geographically diverse audience in its history — including people who had never set foot in London. It didn’t replace the in-person experience, but it proved that a cultural night could adapt to lockdown without losing its spirit.