Events checklist

• Your event may have happened before, but what needs to change now?
• What is the purpose of your event? Can it achieve this if certain restrictions are in place?
• Who is the event for, and is there a current demand for it?
• Where can you remove or reduce the risk of close physical contact between attendees, participants or staff?
• Does the event need a live audience? Could it happen ‘behind closed doors’ (the performance or activity happens live which is then broadcast)?
• Could the event be live in small, localised formats linked into a larger whole digitally?
• What and where is the venue – indoor/outdoor; how will people travel; what is the capacity with social distancing measures in place?
• What is your audience profile and how does it impact your planning?
• Do you have appropriate and legally competent workers and Health and Safety Officers, who can ensure the current guidance is being applied in the event planning?
• How flexible is the event plan to adapt to changing COVID-19 guidance – either in the lead up to, during, or de-rigging of the event?

Risk Assessment and Method Statement

• Have you conducted a robust RAMS which encompasses all COVID-19 related risks?
• Does this take staff, participants and visitors into account?

Safe event planning

• Is there sufficient time to plan the event (for all stakeholders)?
• Do/will the emergency services (Police, Ambulance, Fire Brigade) have capacity to commit to overseeing the safe planning, and support delivery, of your event?
• Do you have sufficient skilled and legally competent staff in place to plan the event safely - including contractors and suppliers? 
• Have you considered the scenarios that would necessitate cancellation, and the timeframe for decision making for this?

Medical

• What additional hygiene measures must be put in place across the whole site and what procedures do you have for maintaining them throughout the event?
• Have you factored in a deep clean overnight for events of more than one day?
• Are there sufficient supplies of PPE/medical equipment available?
• What plans do you have for isolating suspected COVID-19 patients on site and have you considered your duty of care to them and others thereafter?

Crowd Management Plan

• What is the latest social distancing advice - protocols and practices?
• How does this impact on your Crowd Management Plan (and the staff to maintain it)?
• Have social distancing measures been applied both inside and outside your event, including measures in place to protect staff?
• Are there separate entrances and exits?
• How are you planning to marshal all queues (entry and on site)?
• How will social distancing measures work where close contact is needed, for example first aid or ejections from site? 

Facilities

• Have the provision and management of facilities (e.g. toilets, cloakrooms, green rooms, changing areas etc) had COVID-19 risks considered (hygiene, social distancing etc)?
• Do you need more staff to implement this? What measures are in place to protect them?

Food & beverage

• Have all COVID-19 risk mitigations and new protocols for the handling and serving of F&B been incorporated into your event planning?
• Have you considered varying the food offer to minimise queueing, such as meal deals, hampers, one-stop shop provision?
• How will people buy the food, such as queueing at food stalls / safe waiter service etc?

Artistic collaborators

• Will artists want to perform under current conditions?
• Would they have to travel and if so, have these challenges been considered?
• What happens if your participants, artists, athletes come from international areas where COVID-19 restrictions change at short notice or a travel ban is re-imposed nationally or internationally?
• Have you considered any visa implications, obligatory testing, or quarantine requirements?

Community participation

• With all the disruption that the pandemic has caused, are community groups, schools and/or sports teams able to get involved in the event?

Training

• Have staff, volunteers and participants at your event been trained in their role in minimising the spread of COVID-19?

Getting to the event

• Will visitors need to use public transport to get to the event or can they cycle, walk or drive?
• Capacity on public transport may be reduced. People’s willingness to use public transport may also be impacted. Have these considerations been factored into your planning?
• If people choose to drive – what impact will this have on congestion on local roads and parking facilities?

Audiences

• What is the public demand for the event? Has this been assessed in the context of COVID-19 risks and mitigations being adopted?
• What is the public sentiment – both audience and those living or working around your event? What reputational impact could this have?
• What will the audience experience be, and how will this be impacted with mitigations such as social distancing, face masks, restricted access to facilities?
• What considerations do you need to make for vulnerable groups?
• Can you collate and safely maintain contact details of staff and visitors, if needed by any Track & Trace requirements?

Accommodation

• Staff, participants and visitors may require overnight accommodation to take part in your event. Have any current restrictions been factored in?

Communications

• Have you considered the messaging around your event and how they can be communicated at short notice? How will you do this for a non-ticketed/public free flow event where direct contact is not possible?
  • General information
  • COVID-19 specific messaging (ensuring any links you give to public information are up to date)
  • Cancellation timelines
  • Refund status and process (if applicable)

Finance

• Do you have sufficient financial stability and cash flow to manage ‘sunk costs’ if the event is cancelled at short notice?
• What are your contractual obligations with suppliers/venue/other and their payment? How does this impact your timeframe for decision making and safe planning?
• Will a reduced audience capacity, with increased operational costs, make your event financially viable?
• Has all funding been confirmed - are all sponsors, partners, and concessions still contributing?

Insurance

• Have you reviewed cancellation, and other, insurance as to how COVID-19 impacts this?

Legal

• Do you understand your legal responsibility, and liabilities, in organising an event?
• A robust Risk Assessment is a legal requirement.
• Have you considered and mitigated against all risks related to the event, including COVID-19?

The GLA is not a licensing body. It does manage Trafalgar Square as a venue for public events, rallies and filming. For details on making an application to hold an event on Trafalgar Square, please visit our Booking Trafalgar Square page.