CHAPTER THREE

EVENT FEASIBILITY AND LEGAL COMPLIANCE

An event feasibility is a controlled process for identifying challenges and opportunity,
determining objectives, defining successful outcomes and assessing a range of costs and
benefits of an event concept. It is a preliminary study undertaken before the real work of an
event. Feasibility is about looking at event design objectively to determine if what you
propose is practical with given resource available.
3.1. Resources
Resources in event management angle can be seen as the elements you need in preparing the
physical setting for an event function like Facilities, tools, refreshments, and furniture.
The basic resource required includes, human resource, financial resource. They are vary in
their degree of importance and nature of event.
3.2. The Approval Process
An approval process is a type of business process that includes steps to formally approve
work from different levels of the organization. It ensures that all the necessary steps take
place to complete any approval, while rules govern how the request is handled at various
stages of the process.

Benefits of Completing a Feasibility Study for 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 depth, providing greater clarity on the
event concept, defined objectives and key stakeholders.
 Allows for better, more informed decisions on the event concept at a logistical,
financial, resources and marketing environment level.
 Reduces the risk of a wasted investment in - time, resources and money.
 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.

3.3. Key Questions

3.4. Feasibility: What to assess?
If you are considering the feasibility of hosting an event, you will need to assess a number of
factors including: (more details below)

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  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

Risks feasibility
The staging of events has risks for the organizers that should be analyses 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
 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

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 canters, 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

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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 event calendars. This is especially so when there is a likelihood of
competitors traveling large distances to attend (even from overseas).

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 organisers 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:
1. 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
2. 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 to
bought at the last moment
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.

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

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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.

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 a 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.
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.

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.

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. The following are
some examples of the environmental impact of an event:
 Damage by cars in an off-road area
 Noise pollution

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

3.5. SWOT Analysis: Finding the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats
SWOT helps you analyze the success of current, past, and upcoming events. With the
SWOT analysis, you not only identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
of your project, but also divide the factors into internal and external. This facilitates the
assessment for the following project. You can't change most of the external factors of your
event, such as the weather. But you can make sure that you are well-prepared for all
circumstances. Important hint for your SWOT analysis: Stay realistic. No whitewashing, no
doom and gloom. You should always conduct an initial SWOT analysis before your event
takes place.

Internal factors of the SWOT analysis include individual strengths and weaknesses of
your event and project team: personnel, image, motivation, leadership qualities etc. These
factors are very individual and can be different for different events. They should therefore
always be developed individually. A SWOT analysis can also be useful for a competing
event concept. If you happen to focus on a field where your competitor is strong, but you
are weak, this will be noticed, and you can adjust your strategy. Event concept, Location,
Team formation, Motivation of the team, Relationship to partners, Relationship to
investors, Good network of speakers and service providers, Innovation, Technical know-
how, Efficiency of operations, Image, Creativity, Loyalty of guests, Fixed costs.

Generally; Strength of an event include: Strong funding

Good potential for sponsors

Well-trained staff
Many volunteers
Good media relations
Excellent site
Weakness of an event include: Weak funding
No potential for sponsors
Poorly trained staff
Few volunteers
Poor media relations
Weak site

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External factors in the SWOT analysis include, for example, trends, political changes or
legal circumstances. Competition, Legal requirements, Weather, Market development,
Changed legal situation, Economic situation, Local events, Reception by guests,
Cooperation.
Opportunities are activities that may be of benefit to an event without significant investment
by the organization. One example is that of selecting a year in which to hold an event that
coincides with in community’s or industry’s hundredth anniversary. event may benefit from
additional funding, publicity, and other important resources simply by aligning 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 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 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 have 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 event planning. A modern threat is that of terrorism. The threat of
violence erupting at an event may keep people from attending. A celebrity cancelling or not
attending can also create a significant threat to the success of an event.
Opportunities of an event include: Civic anniversary
Chamber of Commerce promotion
Celebrity appearance
Align with environmental cause
Tie-in with media
Winning elections
Developing more loyal employees
Threats of an event include: Political infighting
Violence from terrorism
Alcoholic consumption
Site in bad neighbourhood
Celebrity cancelling or not attending

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3.6. Organizing an Event: Selecting the Event
There’s a lot that goes into hosting an event, from choosing your venue to selecting the
speaker line-up. The key is in the preparation: getting the big jobs ticked off so that you can
focus on bringing everything together and, most importantly, enjoy your event. Our ultimate
guide features all the essential steps to organize an event. Plus, it simplifies every step of the
process to make planning as hassle-free as possible.
The importance of preparation
Taking the time to plan your event four to six months in advance will help you to turn any
idea into a success. Up your event organiser skills and use these event management steps to
help avoid any last-minute issues, and create an experience that your audience won’t be able
to turn down.
3.7. Legal Compliance
What are the legal requirements of an event?
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.
Understanding your responsibilities under law is an essential part of effective event
management. Organizing an event involves taking care of a variety of legal issues. At the
outset you need to define the legal responsibilities associated with running your particular
event, and if they can be delivered within the available timescales.
Importance of Legal Compliance
For any event to proceed, organizers need to meet a range of general and specific event
regulations that include:
 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.
Contracts & Agreements
Organizing an event involves making a whole range of agreements with a number of
organizations and individuals including funders, sponsors, venues, suppliers, performers, staff
and volunteers. It is essential that you put all agreements in writing thus ensuring that each
party understands exactly what is expected of them. The agreements you make are likely to

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range from quite substantial formal contracts between the key event partners to purchase
orders with suppliers.
Licenses and Permissions
It is likely that you, the venue, concessionaires and subcontractors, etc will need to have
certain licenses or permissions in place before the event can be held. Many licenses are issued
by local authorities, so it’s best to take their advice early in the planning stages of your event.
 Create the right client contracts. Every event planning contract you write for a client
should include certain clauses that cover all your bases in case things go wrong for either
party.
 Get ahead of business name disputes.
 Secure Commercial General Liability Insurance.

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