Admas University

Event Mgt. III

III
EVENT FEASIBILITY & LEGAL COMPLIANCE

Feasibility simply means that you have looked at the event design objectively to
determine if what you propose is practical given the resources available. This is the
final checkpoint before actual planning begins and, therefore, must be given
adequate time for review. Municipalities often engage professional engineers or other
consultants to conduct lengthy feasibility studies before approving new construction
or other capital expenditures. Although you may not need a battery of consultants, it
is important for you to review all previous steps thoroughly when determining the
feasibility of an event plan.

3.1 Resources

The three basic resources that will be required are financial, human, and political.
Each of these resources may have varying degrees of importance, depending on the
nature of the event.
Example: A profitable or large hallmark event will require significant financial
investment to succeed. A nonprofit event will rely on an army of volunteers;
therefore the human element is more important. A civic event will require greater
political resources to accomplish. Therefore, when assessing and analyzing
feasibility, first determine in what proportions resources will be required for the
event.
3.1.1 Financial Considerations
It is desired to know if sufficient financial resources are available to sustain
development and implementation of the event. Furthermore, you must consider what
will happen if the event loses money. How will creditors be paid? You will also want
to know what resources you can count on for an immediate infusion of cash, should
the event require this to continue development. Finally, you must carefully analyze

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the cash-flow projections for the event to determine how much time is to be allowed
between payables and receivables.

3.1.2 The Human Dimension

In assessing the feasibility of an event, you must not only know where your human
resources will come from but how they will be rewarded (financially or through
intangibles, such as awards and recognition). Most important, you must know how
they will work together as an efficient event team.

3.4 Feasibility: What to assess?

While considering the feasibility of hosting an event, one will need to assess a
number of factors including these points:

 The risks to the event organizers, participants and spectators

 Ability to find an appropriate date(s) and make bookings
 Sufficient funding to conduct the event to meet people's expectations
 The extent of need/support for the event
 Ability to obtain enough paid or unpaid helpers to stage the event
 The proposed venue has sufficient capacity and facilities
 Whether there are any environmental concerns

3.4.1 Risks feasibility

The staging of events has risks for the organizers that should be analyzed and
understood. The organizers need to have a relative degree of confidence that:

 The event will not result in a financial loss

 The event is organized sufficiently well that all parties are satisfied
 The organization's mission will be enhanced as a result of staging the event

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 The risk of injury is minimized as far as possible

 There are contingency plans to ensure the safety and well-being of all
participants
 The venue and equipment will not suffer unexpected damage or loss
 The reputation of all parties (including the sponsor if one exists) as event organizers
remains in tact

3.4.2 Time feasibility

There are a number of crucial factors that determine whether there is sufficient time
to make all the necessary plans and arrangements to stage a special event. In
particular, the two most important factors are:

 The ability to book a venue; and

 The necessity to give participants an appropriate length of notice

Venues, whether they are ovals, sports centers, theatres, pools or other types of
facility, must be booked months in advance. The most popular venues may be
booked more than one year in advance. This has a direct bearing on the feasibility of
staging an event. It is not possible to organize an event unless the hosting
organization has a venue booked. The time needed to plan and organize the event
must be sufficient to ensure that a venue can be booked.

The second factor is having sufficient time to promote the event and ensure that
competitors are able to attend. Imagine staging an event and finding that a very few
competitors were able to attend. If insufficient notice is given to competitors (and
officials) they may be unable to book air flights or arrange for leave. Furthermore
they may NOT attend because they have other engagements that they cannot change
or simply because they have had not time to prepare for the event. There needs to be
sufficient planning time to enable the event date to be inserted on to a great many

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event calendars. This is especially so when there is a likelihood of competitors

traveling large distances to attend (even from overseas).

3.4.3 Funding feasibility

The feasibility study needs to be able to predict the financial outcome of staging an
event to a reasonable degree of accuracy. This entails developing a budget where all
expected revenues and all known costs are listed.

It is most important that would-be organizers exercise a high degree of realism when
estimating possible revenues. Furthermore, it is vital to ensure that all costs are
included. Two typical situations can spell disaster:

 The event goes ahead despite the loss of a major source of income i.e. sponsorship is
not as much as planned, a funding submission to government fails or only half as
many participants enter
 An unexpected cost arises but it is too late to cancel or change the event i.e. venue
costs escalate, errors are made in calculating the cost of officials, or extra equipment
has bought at the last moment

Studies show numerous organizations large and small that have run into financial
difficulty and even bankruptcy as a result of staging an event. A general rule for
running events is that they must not run at a loss except in special and planned
circumstances. Therefore it would be prudent to ensure the initial budgeting
processes are accurate and to aim for substantial profit.

3.4.4 Support feasibility

The feasibility study must gauge whether there is support for the event from within
the organization. This is vital as an event is generally work and many helpers must
be found. Organizational meetings and numerous one-to-one consultations will
usually provide evidence whether support exists.

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Events often need support from outside the hosting organization if they are to be
successful. Some of the reasons to contact and consult other organizations include:

 To estimate the amount of interest in participating

 To seek assistance with equipment lending
 To share facilities and venues
 To seek sponsorship or funding

If the support that an event needs for participants, officials, helpers, sponsors and
other interested parties is not forthcoming then there must be considerable doubt
about the feasibility of this organization to stage this event at this time.

3.4.5 Staffing feasibility

The human resources required to plan, organize and stage an event includes
everyone from the Event Director down to volunteers who serve at the food stall. It is
necessary to assess whether the organization has or is likely to have sufficient
personnel for all event management tasks. If no-one is willing to offer themselves as
an event director or there is no-one with appropriate experience who is affordable,
then it must be assumed that the organization is unlikely to be successful at staging
the event. Furthermore, at the feasibility assessment stage, it is important to count,
analyze and understand the myriad of tasks required and to determine whether
there is sufficient number of available personnel. Provided there is sufficient time,
inexperienced personnel can be trained.

3.4.6 Venue and Equipment Feasibility

Those are responsible for assessing the feasibility of an event must consider whether
there is access to a suitable venue. The venue should be equal to or better than the
standard expected by all participants and other stakeholders. There are dangers for
the organization and sport/recreation activity if the venue is substandard. Therefore
a lack of a suitable venue has a major effect on event feasibility.

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Some categories of equipment such as personal sports apparatus are the

responsibility of the competitor. Other types of equipment such as scoreboards,
lighting and timing equipment are the responsibility of the organizer. If the
organization does not own sufficient equipment to stage an event it can be bought,
borrowed or hired provided there is time and funds available. There may be a
feasibility problem if sufficient equipment does not exist locally and it is too difficult
or expensive to transport equipment from other places.

3.4.7 Environmental Management

The staging of events generally has some environmental impact. This may range
from traffic congestion and parking problems to damage sustained by the
environment. These are some examples of the environmental impact of an event:

 Damage by cars in on off-road area

 Noise pollution
 Traffic congestion
 Sanitary problems
 Danger to fauna and flora
 Water pollution e.g. power boat racing

Benefits of Completing a Feasibility Study for Inaugural Events

 An effective analytical tool that assists decision makers in determining if the

event concept will meet objectives and is viable

 Provides supporting evidence for recommendations and demonstrates the

strengths and weakness of the event concept

 Helps to analyze the business idea in more sources and marketing

environment level

 Reduces the risk of a wasted investment in - time, resources and money

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 Helps reduce the event project planning time for the event - should it go ahead

Establishing the feasibility of your event is an essential first step to success.

Event Feasibility service works with you to identify what matters and ensure
your event is built on solid foundations.
3.5 THE SWOT ANALYSIS

Before beginning planning an event, you usually must implement SWOT analysis to
underpin the decision making. SWOT analysis assists in identifying the internal and
external variables that may prevent the event from achieving maximum success.
3.5.1Strengths and Weaknesses
The strengths and weaknesses of an event are primarily considerations that can be
spotted before the event actually takes place. Typical strengths and weaknesses of
many events are shown in Figure 3.1.

The strengths and weaknesses may be uncovered through a focus group or through
individual interviews with the major stakeholders. If the weaknesses outnumber the
strengths and there is no reasonable way to eliminate the weak- nesses and
increase the strengths within the event planning period, you may wish to postpone
or cancel the event.

Strengths Weaknesses
Strong funding Weak funding
Good potential for sponsors No potential for sponsors
Well-trained staff Poorly trained staff
Many volunteers Few volunteers
Good media relations Poor media relations
Excellent site Weak site

3.5.2 Opportunities and Threats

Opportunities are activities that may be of benefit to an event without significant

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investment by your organization. One example is that of selecting a year in

which to hold an event that coincides with your community’s or industry’s
hundredth anniversary. Your event may benefit from additional funding,
publicity, and other important resources simply by aligning yourself with this
hallmark event. Other possible beneficial outcomes, sometimes indirect, such as
the potential of contributing to the political image of the event’s host, are
considered opportunities.

Threats are activities that prevent you from maximizing the potential of an event.
The most obvious threat is weather; however, political threats may be just as
devastating.

Local political leaders must buy in to your civic event to ensure cooperation with
all agencies. Opportunities and threats are two key factors that generally
present themselves either during an event or after it has occurred. However,
during the research process, these factors should be considered seriously, as
they may spell potential disaster for the event.

Political infighting may quickly destroy your planning. A modern threat is that
of terrorism. The threat of violence erupting at an event may keep people from
attending. A celebrity canceling or not attending can also create a significant
threat to the success of an event. Typical opportunities and threats for an event
are listed in Figure 3.2.

Opportunities Threats
 Civic anniversary  Hurricanes and tornadoes
 Chamber of Commerce promotion  Political infighting
 Celebrity appearance  Violence from terrorism
 Align with environmental cause  Alcoholic consumption

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 Tie-in with media  Site in bad neighborhood

 Winning elections  Celebrity canceling or not attending
 Developing more loyal employees
Event

Although strengths and weaknesses are often related, opportunities and threats
need not be. Once again, in making a decision to proceed with event planning,
your goal is to identify more opportunities than threats. All threats should be
considered carefully, and experts should be consulted to determine ways in
which threats may be contained, reduced, or eliminated. SWOT analysis (see
Figure 3.3) is a major strategic planning tool during the research phase. By
using SWOT analysis, an Event Leader can not only scan the internal and
external event environment but also can proceed to the next step, which involves
analyses of the weaknesses and threats, and provide solutions to improve the
event planning process.
S = strengths
1. Strong funding Internal

2. Well-trained staff Internal

3. Event well respected by media External

Existing conditions
W = weaknesses
1. Weak funding Internal

2. Few human resources Internal

3. Poor public-relations history External

O = opportunities
1. Simultaneous celebration of External
agreed event Internal
Future/
2. Timing of event agreed with
predictive
future budget allocation
conditions
T = threats

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1. Weather External
2. New board of directors leading Internal
this event

The research phase of the event administration process is perhaps most critical.
During this period you will determine through empirical research whether you
have both the internal and external resources essential to make a decision to
produce an effective event. Your ability to select the appropriate research
methodology, design the instrument, and collect, analyze, interpret, and present
the data will ultimately determine whether an vent has sufficient strength for
future success. The first pillar of the Event Leadership process—research—rests
squarely in the center of the other four supporting columns. L though each is equal
in importance, the future success of an event depends on how well ou conduct the
research phase.

3.6 Organizing an Event: Selecting the Event

There are many events that you could reasonably choose to organize. Before you
start planning your event, think about some of the different reasons for staging
events.

 Brainstorm some ideas

 Making choices

You need to understand why you are holding the event the firm has chosen.

 To raise funds for a charity or cause

 To boost sales at a store/improve the public relations of a local business

 To maximize your profits, if you are running a mini enterprise company

 To boost recruitment to your school’s Key Stage five programs

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 To provide entertainment and a sense of community to your peer group.

3.7 Legal Compliance

Legal compliance is one of the important events monitoring purpose.

Current law and regulation control their assess. Management staff and
auditors have to consider event data contained within log as the primary source
through which to gain information and determine level of compliance and
identify deficiencies if any, and search suitable action for the same.

With Legislative venue compliance becoming focal, especially within the event
management industry. When looking at stadiums or large venues and events,
then one can see how complex the infrastructure is, or how having no
infrastructure also can compound issues, with any large area that can, or could
be utilized for public events, somehow, whether they are formal or informal
areas - they all still need to comply with certain aspects of legislation.

The owner that is in the business of renting out or leasing the whole or partial
facility, should always be up to date with current legislation. Certification is a
worldwide requirement when it comes to compliance with legislation covering
aspects ranging from electricity, health, and building regulations for instance to
fire codes, need to be checked beforehand. As they all have limitations,
conditions, and expiry dates. All of which becomes relevant at the point where
we have a full stadium. Do we then comply legally?

Laws and regulations apply to many aspects related to the running of an event.
Successful compliance with laws and regulations requires an analysis of
regulations with regard to a specific event to develop event procedures and
related support documents.

3.7.1 Identifying Compliance Requirements

For any event to proceed, organizers need to meet a range of general and
specific event regulations that include:

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 Responsible service of alcohol

 Food safety

 Occupational Health and Safety (OHS)

Environmental regulations including noise and waste

 Security and crowd control
 Fireworks
 Ticketing
 Entertainment
 Use of temporary structures.
As special events have become more common place in lifestyle, government at all
levels has created and is still enacting legislation to ensure compliance and
thereby protect the stakeholders in the whole fabric of the events industry.

The point worth noting is that each state has its own requirements, so it is
essential to check that all requirements have been identified for the desired
event.

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