Our top 10 things you need to consider when organising an event

When you go to an event, most of the time things run smoothly, you really enjoy yourself and then you go home.

Not many people think about what had to happen to make it happen. A sign of a good event is that it goes seamlessly and that’s down to meticulous planning and great organising.

So here’s our top 10 list of things that you need to consider when organising your event, whether it’s big or small.

 

  1. Have you thought about the timing of your event and how long it’s going to last? When will people arrive and can people get to your event easily.
  2. Have you checked any planned transport closures on the day your event is planned? Just logon to www.tfl.gov.uk and it should give you everything you’ll need to know.
  3. Now what about tickets and prices. Will your event be free? If not, how much are you going to charge and how will the tickets be sold or booked?
  4. This is a big one – don’t forget your budget, costs can escalate quickly so make sure you’re aware of what you’ve got to spend and be strict.
  5. Get some help. Try contacting someone with experience in running your type of event, for tips and advice at an early stage. You’ll be amazed at what you can get from them. Try searching on social media for ideas and ways you can organise your event.
  6. If you want to use one of our parks for your events you’ll need to have a chat with us and we can help guide you through the process of how to book and what it costs.
  7. Remember also that depending on what your event is you’ll need to contact other areas of the council. For example if you’re planning to serve food or alcohol you’ll need a licence and also deal with our food safety department. Make sure you know who needs to be involved.
  8. Leave enough time! Depending on the scale and type of event, applications may need to be submitted a year or more ahead for the necessary planning steps to be completed. Don’t leave it too late.
  9. More time. You also need to allow time for the statutory authorities for example the police, fire and ambulances services and us here at Lambeth to make arrangements for support.
  10. Make sure you consider everything in our organising section on this website too. There’s lots of helpful and useful information to make your event go well.