Staging, rigging and event equipment

• Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 — Machinery, including lifting accessories
• Directive 2014/35/EU — Low Voltage
• Regulation (EU) 2016/425 for fall protection
• National event safety rules

Who has to appoint one

Manufacturers outside the Union supplying staging, trussing and rigging equipment to EU event producers. Chain hoists used to lift loads over people are subject to specific national requirements that go beyond the machinery baseline.

Thresholds and exemptions

None. Lifting equipment used above people is treated as a distinct category in several member states with additional design and inspection requirements.

What must appear on the label

CE marking, manufacturer and EU representative details, type and serial number, year of construction, the working load limit, and the identification linking each accessory to its certificate.

Marketplace fields

Event producers and venues require certificates and inspection records as a condition of hire, and insurers refuse cover for uncertified rigging.

Documentation you must hold

EU declaration of conformity, technical file with the risk assessment, load calculations, batch test certificates for lifting accessories, and periodic inspection records maintained by the user.

Standards and testing

Proof load and breaking load testing, EN 17206 for entertainment machinery covering lifting over people, and EN 795 for anchor devices in fall protection.

Language requirements

Instructions, load information and inspection requirements in the language of the member state where the equipment is used.

When it applies

Before placing on the market. Periodic inspection in use is a user obligation under national law.

How long records are kept

Ten years for documentation, and inspection records for the life of the equipment.

What happens if you do not comply

Prohibition of use, and criminal liability where a rigging failure injures performers or audience. Event safety failures are investigated as workplace incidents with personal liability for those responsible.

Who enforces it

Market surveillance authorities, labour inspectorates and venue licensing authorities.

Where the boundary lies

Lifting over people is the decisive distinction: standard chain hoists are not designed for it, and using them that way is unlawful in several member states regardless of the CE marking. EN 17206 addresses the entertainment case specifically.

Questions we are asked

Can standard hoists lift over an audience?

Not in several member states, which require equipment designed for lifting over persons with the corresponding safety factors and secondary retention.

Do trusses need certification?

They are structural components requiring load documentation, and users require the calculations for their own rigging plots.