Researching & Planning an Event
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma in Business
Unit 4 - Managing an Event
Chloe Roberts
,INTRODUCTION / THE MET GALA
Introduction
This report will start by investigating the staging of several events to determine common success factors,
then it will explain the event Idea that my classmates and I have chosen to pursue. Afterwards, I will assess
the feasibility of the event proposal. Next, I will explain and analyse the factors that need to be considered
when producing a detailed plan for an event. Finally, I will produce a detailed plan for an event and evaluate
and justify the feasibility plan, making any required contingency adjustments.
The Met Gala
“The Met Gala or Met Ball, formally called the Costume Institute Gala or the Costume Institute Benefit, is an
annual fundraising gala held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in New
York City. The Met Gala is popularly regarded as the world’s most prestigious and glamorous fashion event
and social gathering and is known as fashion’s biggest night, where an invitation is highly sought after.”
In order for the fashion magazine - Vogue - to host this iconic event successfully, there has to be a lot of
“creativity, patience and flexibility” throughout the organisation process. “The first step in planning the Met
Gala is selecting the theme. The theme is the foundation for the entire event, shaping everything from the
decor to the dress code. The selection process for the Met Gala involves a team of curators and designers
who work closely with the Museum’s director to identify a relevant and engaging topic. Once the theme is
selected, the team begins the event planning process, which includes designing the event, including the
guest list, decor, and outfit designs.”
“The guest list for the Met Gala is one of the most closely guarded secrets in the fashion industry. The event
is invitation-only, with a mix of Hollywood celebrities, fashion icons, and political figures in attendance. The
guest list for the Met Gala 2023 was curated and exclusively picked by Vogue’s editor - in - chief Anna
Wintour. The curation process involves various factors, including the theme, cultural relevance, and
personal relationships. The 2023 co-chairs, Timothée Chalamet, Billie Eilish, Amanda Gorman, and Naomi
Osaka, were tasked with selecting individuals who represent the theme and could add value to the event
through their contributions to fashion and culture.”
“Once the guest list is finalised, the event space is designed. Unlike other fashion shows, the Met Gala is
known for its elaborate and immersive decor, with each year’s theme inspiring a unique design aesthetic.
The seating arrangement for the Met Gala 2023 was circular, with the co-chairs seated at the centre of the
room. This allowed for a more intimate experience, with guests being able to interact with one another
throughout the night.”
Afterwards, the event decor is chosen. “The decor for the 2023 event was inspired by Lagerfeld’s love of
black and white, with bold graphic designs adorning the walls and ceilings of the event space. Carefully,
selected to create a sense of drama and intrigue, with subtle nods to Lagerfeld’s signature style throughout.
In addition to the set, the lighting design for the Met Gala 2023 was carefully planned to create a dynamic
atmosphere. The lighting changed throughout the night, highlighting different areas of the room and adding
to
, THE MET GALA / READING FESTIVAL
to the overall experience.”
Once that is all decided on, it’s important for them to focus on managing the tickets. “The event tickets are
renowned for their high prices, starting at $30,000 and going up to $300,000 per table. Guests are
expected to make substantial donations to the Costume Institute in addition to the ticket cost. The grand
total funds raised at the event have exceeded $15 million in the past years.”
“Finally, there’s the logistics and security of the event. The Met Gala is a massive undertaking, requiring a
team of professionals to coordinate everything from transportation to catering. Security is also a significant
concern, with high-profile guests and valuable fashion pieces needing protection. According to reports, the
Met Gala had a budget of around $30 million, with a team of over 1,000 people working to make the event
successful.” “America Arenas has partnered with the Metropolitan Museum of Art since 2011 to design and
custom build interconnected, open air structures staged over 6 days while the museum remains open. In
order to set the main structure that ascends the steps of the museum, a crane is utilised. The entire
structure spans nearly 2 blocks to accommodate all the media, talent, security and hospitality required for
the 3 hour event that draws 650 guests. “
In conclusion, the Met Gala is a huge social enterprise event to celebrate fashion and creativity, whilst also
“paying homage to legendary designers. The meticulous planning and attention to detail that goes into the
event are a testament to the effort and dedication of the event planners and their team. From selecting the
theme, curating the guest list, and designing the decor, every aspect of the Met Gala is carefully considered
to create a memorable and immersive experience.”
Reading Festival
“The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds
in England. These events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank
holiday weekend. The Reading Festival, the older of the two festivals, is the longest-running popular music
festival in the UK. Many of the biggest bands in the UK and internationally have played at the festival over
five decades. The festival has had various musical phases over the years, but since the current two-site
format was adopted in 1999, rock, alternative, indie, punk, and metal have been the main genres featured in
the line up. More recently, hip hop has comprised an increasing proportion of the lineup, including headline
sets by artists such as Kendrick Lamar and Post Malone.”
“Festival Republic is the UK’s leading festival and event promoter” and it is currently responsible for
organising Reading Festival, which has been situated at Richfield Avenue in Reading for the last 35 years. In
order to secure this venue they must work with the “local authorities” to obtain the necessary “permits” and
permissions for the event needed to take place.
Next, they have to select and book a “lineup of artists and bands” to perform at the event. This proves to be
a very time-consuming and costly process, however, the networks that they have within the music industry
seems to help them drastically with this.
Afterwards, they have to ensure that they have the correct facilities, such as: staging, “sound equipment,
lighting,
,READING FESTIVAL / ENCHANTED CINEMA
lighting”, security, food and drink, toilets, and camping facilities. Once they have established all of this then
they can move onto the marketing and promotion. Festival Republic promotes Reading Festival through
various marketing channels, including “social media, posters (print advertising), and partnerships” with
brands and sponsors. The tickets then go on sale via the event’s official website or other authorised
ticketing outlets like ‘Ticketmaster’.
During the festival, the team of event organisers manage the artists’ schedules to ensure that they run
smoothly, ensure that the “crowd is controlled” and ensure the overall safety and well-being of the
attendees. Once the event has finished, the UK music promoter will “gather feedback” from everyone and
this helps them to plan for events that could potentially take place in the future.
In conclusion, Festival Republic must have good organisation, time management, and communication skills
in order to pull off this entertainment event. In addition to these skills, they will need to be good at
multitasking, especially since they are planning the Leeds Festival alongside of this one!
Enchanted Cinema
Enchanted cinema is an outdoor cinema experience based in Cambridge. “They loved making an evening of
going to the cinema, a delicious meal before, a music night after, drinks across both. They wondered how to
incorporate this, into a summer’s evening in that moment on one of Cambridge’s many green spaces,”
hence Enchanted Cinema was established. Each experience includes cozy seating arrangements and food
from local street food vendors. They love the city that raised them and “always will be about keeping it local
and creative,” which helps to enhance the movie-watching experience.
Although there is no information about how they organise their events, I’m going to take an educated guess
and say that the first step is to “find the perfect location.” In the past, they have teamed up with “The
Gonville Hotel and other pubs and hotels located in Eddington, Bourne, Royston, Duxford,” etc. Whilst
looking for a venue, it’s important for them to consider the weather. Their cinema experiences are all
outdoors but if the weather is bad then they may need a location with “shelter,” or maybe even a venue that
allows them “to cancel or postpone” the event last minute.
Next, they would probably need to “curate a lineup of films to screen,” considering factors such as
“audience preferences, the availability of ”screening rights”, and the overall “theme and atmosphere” they
want to create for each event.
As Enchanted Cinema already owns a projector, screen, sound system and lighting they won’t have to worry
about the equipment and logistics, therefore, they can move straight on to promoting their events and
managing their ticket sales through “their website and social media platforms such as Facebook.”
On the day of the event, the outdoor cinema company would have to oversee the setup and logistics to
ensure that everything is in place for a smooth experience for attendees. This would include organising staff
and handling tasks such as “seating” guests, managing “concessions” and “addressing any technical issues”
that may arise. Throughout the event, they would ensure their attendees are getting a positive and
“memorable experience” and then after the event they would clean up the venue so that it’s left in good
condition.
, ENCHANTED CINEMA / OUR EVENT IDEAS
condition. In conclusion, Enchanted Cinema has quite a “comprehensive approach” to their event planning
process, just like may other business’s do. The only difference is that Enchanted Cinema focuses on
providing “a unique and enjoyable outdoor cinema experience” instead, while being prepared for any
potential challenges like weather conditions.”
Our Event Ideas
For the next section of this assignment, my classmates and I had to choose an event idea that we would be
able to stage and manage. We came up with loads of event ideas, including:
EASTER FAIR CAR BOOT SALE FOOD FAIR
MOVIE DAY BAKE SALE FUNDRAISING GALA
RECIPE BOOK LAUNCH SCAVENGER HUNT ESCAPE ROOM
We managed to narrow these ideas down to three and they were a bake sale, a movie day, and a car boot
sale. After doing some further research, we realised that a car boot sale would be quite difficult to access,
none of us would have had the availability to do it, and finally we didn’t have many goods to contribute
towards it. This would have impacted the final outcome of our event, therefore we didn’t go ahead with this
idea.
Although a bake sale would have been very simple and feasible, we thought that this idea would have been
very cliché. Additionally, there have been a lot of bake sales at college over the duration of the last few
months and we didn’t want to add to them in case people got bored and decided not to attend. One of the
biggest issues that I’ve seen reoccur is that there is a lot of wastage after each bake sale and we didn’t want
to contribute to this. Finally, not everyone has great baking skills so the workload would have been unequal
and
