02 Jul How to Safely Host Live Events Now
As businesses get the all-clear to re-open, it is the responsibility of the business owner & leaders to create a safety plan. This is essential to not only adhere to current state guidelines but to ensures the safety of your staff and clients or customers. It will also effectively portray your business in a positive light and deliver some much-needed peace of mind.
Below are proactive steps on how to safely host live events as we resume hosting weddings & other gatherings:
- Have clear communication upfront about what guests should plan for or expect, as well as what they should bring.
- Require a temperature & screening check for all on-site staff and attendees.
- Have all staff wear masks & appropriate PPE.
- Create signage to remind guests to practice good hygiene, including wearing face masks and using sanitizing and hand-washing stations.
- Encourage cleanliness throughout the event by providing disinfectant wipe stations and staff cleaning through the event.
- Provide a PPE Bar or request that guests bring a mask to be admitted. To encourage this and make it more fun, consider hosting a best mask contest.
- Create more spacious floor plans and physically mark spaces to keep people 6′ apart. Consider creating map paths to follow, similar to what grocery stores and other businesses with queues are doing.
- Move all or part of your event outdoors with plenty of space to spread out.
- Seat fewer guests at each table and, if necessary, reduce the overall guest count. Alternatively, you might have the same event back to back with 2 separate audiences.
- Have smaller tables, set-up in a lounge-style where family groups or couples can be seated together.
- Ask attendees to sit in the same seat throughout the event.
- Utilize and enforce staggered time slots for when attendees can visit a trade show floor.
- Mark tables so that you can send people to a food line or take a break in intervals so that everyone is not up and moving at the same time.
- Serve individually packaged foods. Hire a catering staff to oversee pick-ups/hand-outs or serve at an attended buffets with plastic guards.
- Bulter pass food, using safety shields and washing serving trays between use.
- Have extra rentals on hand, regularly replacing serving or bar tools like ice scoops or trays.
- Designate attendants to work touch screens for photo booths or other interactive high-contact areas.
- Keep doors propped open to limit contact with handles.
- Live stream the event to include older/vulnerable populations that could not otherwise attend.
Be sure to check out these other resources for guidance on hosting live events including the WHO’s recommendations and the Event Safety Alliance’s recommendations. Shout out to A&M Agency in Nashville as well – their team has also been doing a great job sharing ideas, some of which made this list.
Do you own a business that hosts or assists with the execution of live events? Our team can help you prepare the necessary crisis communication as you enact new policies and adjust your services, including website updates & a branded business response. Get in touch with us here to schedule your one-on-one consultation today.