What goes into a great event? Part 3 - THE VENUE

What goes into a great event ? Part 3 – The Venue

For me, this is the third and final thing you have to make sure of before you really commit to any event. By this point, we have a great idea and we have a functioning budget that meets our aims. But if we don't have anywhere to host the event at all, then we still don't have an event. So finding a venue – and particularly the right venue – makes a huge difference.

What are you looking for in a venue? Again, part of the equation is financial, and if the hire rates or indeed the ticket split they are offering work for you. Sometimes it's tempting to go somewhere spectacular and pay over your budget, but you have to match your audience expectation to the venue. Walking into a 1000-seater might make a great impression at first, but when there are 50 people sat in there, it's going to look pretty poor on the whole!

So first off, aim for somewhere with the right capacity. Then it's looking at the location of the venue – obviously city centre tends to be ideal, but often you have to pay through the nose to be right in town. If you're starting to look on the outskirts, then you have to consider how people are going to get there. Are there good travel links locally? Is it a venue that is known to regional audiences? These are the sorts of little factors that can make a big difference to an event.

Once you decide you like the location of the venue, it's time for a meeting, or a visit. If you want to run something at a venue, you'll typically be dealing with the programming manager in the first instance, who will be used to the sort of thing you're talking about. The types of things you are looking at for the visit are:

What sorts of spaces can we use for the event?

How can they be laid out, and how do you want them laid out?

Is there a common mingling space (often known as 'the bar')?

Can they provide any staff support?

Are they able to offer any marketing support?

Does their remit – and audience – fit the sort of event?

I think probably above all these comes 'the vibe' – do you get a good feel off the venue, and do the staff seem keen on what you're proposing? If a venue is willing to really support and throw their weight behind an event, that can make the world of difference.

Once you have the venue in place, then comes the programming – which will be the focus of the next blog in this series.