Budget Camera Help

I desperately need some help with trying to get hold of a decent budget camera. Im going to be covering a live gadget/tech event in the UK called Gadget Show Live with the aim to film and photograph products etc. Only problem is that not much money is left over for a decent camera so a DSLR and probably a Micro Four Thirds is out of the question for now.

What Im looking for, is a compact digital camera that can take awesome, near-DSLR looking shots and high quality video for websites. Stabilisation shouldn't be too much of a problem as I'll probably have a tripod with me.

This is my first press pass to a big event and I am hoping to get some quality content so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I have looked around online but I am getting very mixed reviews for digital cameras unless they are DSLR's or Micro Four Thirds.

Also, any tips on how to film/shoot these kind of live events?