How to schedule a webinar for Europe and the US

Scheduling one webinar for Europe and the US can turn into a time-zone puzzle. A time that works after lunch in London may land during the morning in New York, and it may be too early or too late for people farther west.

Compare the actual local times for the cities where people will join, then choose whether one live session or more than one session makes sense. TooLab's World Clock can help you compare city times before you send the invitation.

Find a time that works across both regions

1. List the cities you need to cover. Start with the places where most attendees live, not just the labels Europe and US. London, Paris, Berlin, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles give you a useful starting set. Add other cities if you expect attendees there.
2. Compare local times for the webinar date. Open the World Clock and compare the selected cities. Check that the date is the same in every city, since a late-evening meeting can fall on the next calendar day somewhere else.
3. Choose the trade-off you can support. Look for a time that falls within reasonable waking hours for the largest share of attendees. A single session may require an early start for some people or an evening session for others. If that is not acceptable, plan two sessions or offer a recording.
4. Write the date and time in several clear ways. Include the date, the time zone name, and the UTC time in the invitation. For example, write “October 15, 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time, 14:00 UTC,” after confirming the conversion for that date. Avoid a time like “10:00” without saying whose local time it is.

For a common one-session compromise, a late afternoon or early evening in Europe can overlap with morning in the eastern US. Check the selected date and the westernmost city in your audience before settling on the final time.

Choose the right webinar format

One live session

Use one session when people need to participate together, such as for a product demonstration or a live discussion. Pick a time that suits the largest group, and be direct about who may need to join outside standard work hours. If attendance is optional, share the recording afterward.

Two live sessions

Two sessions can provide a fairer choice when the audience is spread across Europe and several US time zones. You could repeat the same presentation at a Europe-friendly and a US-friendly time. State whether attendees should choose one session or are welcome to attend either.

Live session with a recording

A recording lets people in less convenient time zones watch later. If questions matter, pair the recording with a written Q&A or a second live question period. Tell attendees when the recording will be available and how long they can access it.

Check the invitation before sending it

1. Confirm the time-zone abbreviation. Use a named zone such as Eastern Time or Central European Time, rather than assuming everyone knows whether a short label means standard time or daylight time. If your calendar provides a city-based zone, use the matching city when you set the event.
2. Check the calendar date in each region. Compare the day as well as the hour. This matters especially for late sessions, when a time in the US may already be the next day in Europe, or vice versa.
3. Preview the calendar invitation. Check that the event is set for the intended date and time, not as a fixed offset from UTC. Calendar software usually displays the event in each attendee's local time, but the invitation should still state the main time zone and UTC reference.
4. Include a reminder of the intended audience time. In the email or event description, show the main local equivalents for the cities most attendees use. Keep the list short enough to scan, and make clear which time is the official event time.
5. Ask someone in another region to check it. Have a colleague or attendee in Europe and one in the US confirm what their calendar displays. Fix any disagreement before sending a large invitation list.

Watch for daylight saving time changes

Europe and the US do not change clocks on the same dates. Most European countries switch on the last Sunday in March and the last Sunday in October. Most of the US switches on the second Sunday in March and the first Sunday in November. For a short period around those changes, the time difference between cities can be one hour different from what you expect.

This is why a remembered conversion is not enough. A time that normally corresponds to 3:00 p.m. in London might correspond to a different local hour during the weeks when one region has changed clocks and the other has not. Use the actual webinar date in the World Clock and check the conversion again if you move the event.

Not every place follows the same clock rules. Arizona, Hawaii, and some other locations have different daylight saving practices, so include the city or named time zone for attendees outside the main regions you checked.

If you offer multiple sessions, make sure each invitation identifies the same webinar clearly while showing the correct local start time for that session.