How does a live stream funeral work?

Put simply, a live stream is a live transmission of an event over the internet. Video cameras are set up at the location where the event is taking place, and the footage is broadcast in real time over the internet for people to watch along at home. This ‘real time’ aspect allows people to still feel a part of the event as it happens, rather than just watching a video back at a later date or being told about it.

This live stream can be made publicly accessible to everyone, or it can be kept more private and require a password or a link to access it. Often the footage is recorded as well so that it can be watched back at a later date if someone cannot be available to watch it live.

The short answer is yes, you can. As long as the family of the deceased, the funeral directors, and the venue are all aware and are on board with the idea, then there is nothing stopping you. The only laws against taking video footage relate to private property or commercial use, so as long as you have permission of the venue and you’re not using the footage for any commercial reasons then you have nothing to worry about.

The first thing to do is tell your Funeral Director that you are interested in live streaming the funeral. It’s more than likely that they will have done it before or at least been asked about it previously, so they will know who they need to contact. Often the church, crematorium or cemetery will have live stream equipment already installed and ready to use, just as long as the Funeral Director has pre-arranged it with them.

There are also some companies out there that can arrange everything for you if it’s not something your funeral director or venue has done before. Funeral Streaming is an example of a UK family business that have a wealth of experience when it comes to streaming all kinds of events, including funerals.

Details for this will usually be communicated to family and friends on an individual basis, normally through the funeral directors or via whichever family member is making the funeral arrangements. There will usually be a link to a website that you have to visit at the scheduled time. It’s always best to log on a few minutes early to make sure you can access it ok, the last thing you will want is any last minute worry. There may be a password needed in order to access the stream and keep it private, again this will be given out by the funeral director or the family.

Streams can usually be watched on any device, whether that be a laptop, PC, tablet or mobile. Just make sure you have enough battery life and have the sound on, as you don’t want to miss any important moments looking for a volume control or a charging cable.

Hopefully this blog has provided you with enough information to answer most of your questions or concerns over the live streaming of a funeral. If you want to know more then Funeral Streaming’s Helpful Information section has a several articles about different aspects of funeral live streams, including topics such as ‘Funeral streaming during Coronavirus’ or ‘How do I live stream a funeral myself?’

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