Event Planner

Event Planners coordinate venues, performers, equipment, and staff to deliver concerts, festivals, and touring productions across multiple cities and countries

Event Planners organise concerts, festivals, conferences, and touring productions by coordinating venues, performers, equipment, and staff across different cities and countries. They manage every logistical detail so that audiences experience seamless events wherever they travel. If you’re highly organised, thrive under pressure, and love bringing complex projects together, this career combines creativity with constant movement.

• Exceptional organisational abilities
• Creative problem-solver
• Calm under pressure
• Detail-oriented mindset
• Relationship builder

Months before an event, you’re securing venues, negotiating contracts with suppliers, and developing detailed production schedules. You’ll coordinate with artists, speakers, or performers to understand their requirements, book accommodation and transport, and ensure all technical specifications are met. For touring events, you’re replicating this process across multiple cities, adapting plans to suit different venues whilst maintaining consistency.

During event delivery, you’re the central point of contact for everything. You’ll manage bump‑in schedules, troubleshoot problems as they arise, coordinate catering and security, and ensure everyone knows where they need to be and when. When a supplier fails to deliver, equipment malfunctions, or weather threatens an outdoor event, you’re the one making rapid decisions to keep things on track.

Between events, you review what worked and what didn’t, reconcile budgets, maintain supplier relationships, and pitch for new business. You’ll research emerging trends, scout potential venues, and develop proposals for future events. Many Event Planners specialise in particular types of events – music tours, corporate conferences, sporting events, or festival circuits – building deep expertise and industry connections over time.

Event Planners work for event management companies, entertainment agencies, corporate organisations, sporting bodies, and festival producers. Some work in‑house for venues or large organisations, whilst others operate independently or run their own event businesses. The touring side of the industry employs planners who travel with productions, managing logistics as shows move between locations.

Your schedule revolves around event calendars, which means intense periods of activity followed by quieter planning phases. During festival season or touring periods, you might work sixteen‑hour days across multiple consecutive weeks, often in different cities. You’ll be on‑site for bump‑in, throughout the event, and during pack‑down, solving problems at any hour. Between major events, hours are more predictable, though deadlines for proposals and planning still create pressure.

The work is mentally demanding rather than physically strenuous, though you’ll spend long periods on your feet during events. Travel frequency varies significantly – some planners are away most weekends during peak season, whilst touring specialists might spend months on the road with a production. Salaries range from average for entry‑level roles to well above average for senior planners managing major events or tours.

The industry continues to grow as live experiences remain popular despite digital alternatives.

1. Gain relevant qualifications Complete a diploma or degree in event management, hospitality, business, or marketing. Many universities and vocational providers offer specific event management programs that include practical placements.

2. Build entry‑level experience Start in assistant or coordinator roles with event companies, venues, or catering firms. You might also gain experience through conference centres, hotels, or tourism organisations that run regular events.

3. Develop specialist knowledge Learn the technical aspects of your chosen event type – staging and sound for concerts, registration systems for conferences, or…