What is live event management? This is a growing field of managing live events for all kinds of occasions from parties, weddings, corporate events, trade exhibitions, award shows, product launches, sporting events, charitable and fundraising events, political and social events, celebrity events, fashion shows, concerts, festivals – the list goes on.
To manage a live event, a whole host of people are involved but those overseeing managing live events will most likely be Events Managers or Marketing professionals or PA’s with events management as part of their role.
The function of live events management involves much planning and attention to detail, so is suitable for people who thrive on this kind of pressure. Event Management planning will generally include: identifying event goals, creating and presenting event proposals to clients, managing event-planning schedules, organisational charts, duty rosters, detailed record-keeping, recruitment (of staff for the event), reviewing event contracts and agreements – with the client and also any contracted suppliers and identifying troubleshooting for the event.
The role of the Event Manager will also include the essential task of working well with all people involved in the event – so they must be able to identify the team roles and resources available to them, manage event and task timelines and manage, plan and co-ordinate team and suppliers.
The individual tasks will come down to the specifics of the event but as a start, location, venue, housekeeping (furniture, facilities etc), sound and vision production, live entertainment and catering will be some of the initial considerations.
In managing live events, the Events Manager may also have to consider marketing the event and enabling press and PR. This may mean working with a current Marketing team or finding a PR agency to identify the appropriate publicity required for the event. There are a number of PR companies that specialise in PR for live events management so will be worth considering if it is a particularly large or important event.
A further important part of managing live events is collating event evaluation. This is important to the client to identify the success of the event and also for the live events management company themselves, to identify any problems which occurred which can be avoided for future events.
For those interested in working in Live Events Management, if there is no way to move into this within a current role or organisation, the best way to see if its for you is to try and get an internship or placement or an entry position with an events management company. There are a number of charities that are also looking for volunteers to help out with events too as well as a number of Event Management qualifications that can be obtained.