English moderation makes sense as soon as a relevant part of your audience or your stage cannot follow a German programme. The real question is rarely whether, but how: fully in English or switching between English and German.
Four questions that decide the language
First, the audience: how many guests do not understand German, and are they supposed to just listen or to take part? Anyone expected to ask questions needs a programme in their language. Second, the stage: do your keynote guests and panellists speak German, or do they answer more strongly in English? Third, the company language: if English is the working language anyway, a German stage programme quickly feels artificial. Fourth, the reach: if the event is recorded or streamed and offices in other countries watch, their language counts too, not just the room's.
Fully English or switching
If the audience is international throughout, a fully English programme is the cleanest solution. If German and international guests sit mixed in the room, switching live is usually better: a welcome in both languages, key points briefly summarised in the other language, interviews in the guest's language. A purely English evening can feel distant to German guests, and a purely German one shuts international guests out. Switching carries both groups, but it costs pace when done badly. That is why it belongs in the hands of one person who speaks both languages at stage level, rather than being split across two hosts.
An example from practice
SAP's Tech Leadership Forum ran two full days in English: eight panels in front of more than 300 executives, an international audience, English as company language. The Bosch Global Sales Summit, by contrast, ran bilingually in front of more than 500 participants from 40 countries: German teams and international markets sat in the same room. Jasmin Wölke hosted both formats, and in each case the language decision was made in the briefing, based on audience and occasion, not on habit.
What you can do now
Estimate the share of guests without German and ask your speakers for their stronger language. Then define which programme items absolutely must run in English. With these three inputs, the language question takes ten minutes in the briefing. How bilingual hosting works is shown on the bilingual moderation page, and the briefing checklist structures the preparation.