On the Day of your Event

Arrival

On the day of your event, ensure you and any event staff/assistants are at the venue at least 30 minutes before you expect any guests to arrive. This will let you check that all setup arrangements have been made to your satisfaction, that you have all of the equipment and resources you require and allow time to make relevant health and safety checks. Use the Event Management Checklist to assist with your checks and ensure everything is in place before your guests arrive.

Signage

Take some time to ensure that there is adequate signage for your guests to find their way around, especially if they are likely to be unfamiliar with the venue. Put yourself in the shoes of your guests and walk around the venue, paying particular attention to wayfinding information for main event rooms, plenary rooms, catering venues and toilets.

Contingency Planning

Try to ensure that you have contingency plans in place for anything that may not go as planned on the day. Bring along spare delegate badges or table place names in case unexpected guests turn up and give consideration to what you will do in a range of situations, such as a speaker not turning up, a failure of AV equipment, or an emergency evacuation. Ensure that all event staff are aware of contingency plans and what to do in an emergency.

Pre-event Briefing

For more complex events, schedule a pre-event briefing with event staff to ensure they are familiar with the format of the day, venues, special guest requirements, contingency plans and what to do in an emergency.

Health and Safety Announcements

A Health and Safety announcement should be made at the start of all events, outlining the actions that guests should take in the event of a fire or other emergencies. For reference see the following  Sample Fire Safety Announcement for the Great Hall. Please contact the Events and Conferencing Team for more advice.

Event Timings

As your event progresses, pay close attention to your Running Order to ensure everything is running to time. Be prepared to make adjustments to the timings of sessions, breaks, etc if things start to run over as guests are unlikely to stay until the end if the event is running late.  Ensure that speakers are well briefed on their allocated timings and if rehearsals are not possible, consider agreeing a signal system to let them know when they are nearing and at the end of their allocated time. Remember to update the Campus Food and Drink team about any adjustments to catering timings as the day progresses.