Managing Large Events

With hundreds of thousands of events being held every year, often attracting vast numbers of people, event management has definitely become a popular career option. While it can seem very glamorous, with lots of celebrity participation – event management can also be very daunting as there is so much background work involved.

Achieving a successful event requires a lot of skill and planning.

Concept

Creating a concept is an essential first step to any event. You need an idea, a reason why the event should be held and what will make it memorable and identify why people will want to come. Developing a concept means identifying the key features – speakers, performers, and activities. Equally important is the infrastructure required such as catering, choosing a venue, security, organising marshals and stewards to deal with car parking and visitor entrances.

Developing a schedule

Co-ordinating a planning schedule ensures that nothing is forgotten or overlooked. This should cover everything you need to incorporate in the event from budgeting, booking car parking marshals, audio visual equipment and even decorations. Tasks can be delegated to other team members but make sure that everyone knows exactly what they are expected to do.

Event management control

All to often this is overlooked amid the pressure of organising an event. You need to keep check on all aspects of the planning, making sure people are meeting deadlines and that the schedule is being followed. Have fall back plans available in case a speaker or performer has to cancel at the last minute, or there are unexpected transport problems. Ask yourself what happens if there are problems with caterers or if the budget begins to overrun. Plan for the worst case scenario and be prepared.

D-Day

The day of the event is when your plans are tested to the limit. This is when you need to make sure that everything is perfect from start to finish.

Rehearse and run through the programme with your team beforehand, and during the event keep checking to ensure that the programme is being followed.

Closeout

Speakers, participants, public are all going home but your work is not over. Make sure that feedback forms are distributed, ensure that payments to caterers, the venue, security and car park marshals are made in good time.
Talk over the event and all feedback received with your team. Such final assessments are the only way you can improve your skills and event management ready for the next time