Look on the
bright side
3
Summer Events
Julia Charles-Wiginton, MD, Julia Charles Event Management, knows all too well how the British
summer weather can wreack havoc for event organisers
he British
summertime: an idyllic
haze of strawberries,
sunshine and Ascot,
or torrential rain, umbrellas and
mud? Most years it is an
unpredictable combination of both,
so when planning an outdoor
corporate event, consideration (and
planning) must be taken for both
eventualities.
We recently created a company
festival and decided that a bad
weather plan was a necessity. It
was the height of summer, but our
client didn’t want to just cross their
fingers and hope for the best and
risk their staff’s experience and
enjoyment of the event.
The event was 10 months in the
planning, and so we were able to
build a relationship with a marquee
supplier to be ready for a Plan A
(good weather) and a Plan B (rain).
The audience was 300 staff and
encompassed a full festival music
line up centred round a main stage,
fairground attractions, chill out
areas, high-end food vans and
multiple bars. The structure we’d
planned could hold up to 90 people,
which was fine in the sunshine, but
not adequate to shelter everyone
should it rain. Plan B included a
second structure to accommodate
more people in bad weather. We
created an agreement with the
structure hire company so that we
could have an additional structure
at short notice (seven working days
before the event) should the
“WE WERE
ABLE TO
BUILD A
RELATIONSHIP
WITH A
MARQUEE
SUPPLIER TO
BE READY FOR
A PLAN A
(GOOD
WEATHER)
AND A PLAN B
(RAIN).”
short-term weather forecast be
bad. Our client was also
briefed and ready with
extra budget to pay
for the additional
structure.
The structure
company were happy to
do this for us, even though it was
their peak season and keeping a
structure ‘on hold’ for us meant a
potential loss of earnings. They did
this because we were able to
guarantee a minimum spend with
them – they provided the structures
for the event, including most of the
furniture, and tent draping.
Seven working days out, the
weather forecast predicted an
overcast but dry day, so
Plan A was put into
practice, along with
the purchase of
ponchos and
many, many
www.conference-news.co.uk
umbrellas strategically positioned
around the site in poser tables
created from oil drums – just in
case of a few drops of rain.
The week before the event was
torrential rain, but on the day, it was
glorious sunshine, which enabled
the company’s staff to rave into the
warm, summer night.
Another consideration was the
ground. Despite being warm and
sunny on the day, we ensured that
the soft (rain-drenched) ground was
prepared for the many suppliers,
fairground rides and trucks that
would potentially churn up the
ground. The event ground was
covered in matting, wood chips and
hay where needed to prevent a
Glastonbury style bog.
Outdoor events are amazing and
really do create lasting memories
and experiences for an internal
audience, butdo remember to have
a Plan B.