Who is behind an Event?

On one of the last days when it was still possible to go out, I went to my usual café during my lunch break, a small place in the Central Station area of Milan and, as I tucked into my food, I overheard a comment: “People are complaining because all the music events have been cancelled due to coronavirus. What a fuss – you can live perfectly well without concerts!”

Although the comment was somewhat irritating, I thought hard about it until I came to a rather obvious question: do people know what lies behind an event? Do they have any idea how much work it takes? Are they aware of the range of professionals involved?

While I doubt the individual who made this statement will ever read what I’ve written, I would like to respond to the many people who believe that a concert – or equally a fashion show, sporting event or Gala Dinner – is superfluous and can be easily dispensed with.

What’s really behind the organization of an event

By way of example, I will you give a detailed description of the Gala Dinner organized by Atelier Esse, the company I have worked at for years, for the fifty-fifth anniversary of the Indonesian Erela Group: a relatively small group made up of around 80 people, including about ten Indonesian technical staff.

In August 2019, we won the tender to organize the event scheduled for February 2020, following months of hard work, budgeting and negotiations. Skimming through the extensive exchange of e-mails between Atelier Esse and certain carefully selected locations, we can start with the Heritage Tower, the chosen location, which will give us a better understanding. An agency, whether large or small, is made up of people and in the course of their work, these people, especially during the delicate site inspection stage, move around and meet many other people.

Having examined the technical specifications and spaces, we carried out a site inspection in January 2020 and on the chosen day, after taking a train (transport, both private and public, is crucial and provides work for many people), we reached the hotel in question, which in February would host not only our staff, but also the artists and their agent.

Who’s behind an event

After taking a closer look at the hotel, where a large team of staff ensures that services run completely smoothly, we moved nearby the location to further study the area and to find out, for example, where the whole team could have lunch the next day.

Once we had determined the place, we eventually arrived at the Heritage Tower, a recently renovated gem located in the industrial area of Mestre.

We were welcomed by the venue’s founders and one of their technicians, our fitter and head of the audio/lighting/video department, and the head caterer.

These three different types of professionals are the backbone of every event: we rely on these experts, placing our utmost trust in them while they, if only momentarily, become part of the Atelier Esse family.

The venue’s managers were the perfect hosts, giving us a kind and professional welcome. They proceeded to show us their plans for us, answering our questions.

In the meantime, our fitter and the head caterer took note of the layout and connections, picturing the service in their minds and passing on the information to their respective offices in order to put together a team as the details became clear.

A team? Of course! In terms of the location, we’re talking about managers and cleaning staff. Meanwhile, the set-up and A/V system requires a crew that transports, installs and assembles equipment for hours, eventually dismantling everything (in this case it took around 8 people). The catering service employed technical staff to prepare and lay 10 tables, a chef and two sous chefs to cook the dishes and 8 waiters to serve and clear the tables.

Everything that is set up then has to be disassembled according to agreed timescales, which requires other people – more manpower – to return the location to its original state, without extra furniture or bulky stages.

Even if we haven’t had a chance to meet them, we mustn’t forget that meals are served not only because someone cooks them, but also because of the people who produce, supply and transport the raw materials.

There are many different types of set-ups and certain surfaces, since they are branded, have to be printed, which then requires graphic designers, typographers and printers!

Earlier I mentioned artists – that’s because there’s never any shortage of music and dancing at our Gala Dinners!

At this point other professionals come into play: the agent with whom we have collaborated for years, who suggests different artists every time and who has greatly enhanced many of our events; the artists, with all their requirements that it is essential to take note of; the sound engineer; the royalties agent, who is essential in order to avoid the copyright quagmire and to ensure full compliance.

There were a total of 70 guests and the event took place in winter, which meant that two cloakroom attendants were needed. But where did the guests come from and how did they get back to their hotel? Although in this particular case we did not handle this aspect, transfers play an essential role and guarantee comfortable, safe transport for all guests.

Every self-respecting event must be recorded, which requires another key figure: a photographer! Their job is by no means easy since, as well as dealing with many smartphone owners who consider themselves to be photographers, they are tasked with capturing fleeting moments, smiles, details and snapshots of the evening.

From the above, you can see that even a small event such as this one involved weeks of work by numerous people and companies.

Finally, take a look over the professionals behind an event

Behind an event to conclude orbit dozens of professional figures, in this case if we had to summarize it in a list we would have to work on the event:

1. The Atelier Esse staff, Event Planner;
2. The event Manager and the location event Coordinator ;
3. A/V society with technical sector;
4. The lighting manager and his assistants;
5. Workers and technicians for stage assembly and disassembly;
6. The graphic, and the printer for all the exhibition material used;
7. Catering Agency : chef, souchef, pastry chef, waiters, foreman and insiders;
8. The artist Manager and the artists;
9. The sound engineer;
10. The photographer;
11. Hostesses;
12. The transfer;
13. Hotel and the entire management linked

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Article edited by : Francesca Carbone