Understanding Your Community: Will They Support Your Event Bid?

Summary:

More and more, the public is speaking with a unified voice on the topic of hosting or staging major events. Public opinion varies greatly when streets are due to be closed, mass transportation will be re-routed and when their tax dollars are being spent. Voicing these opinions is healthy and handled correctly, these opinions could provide a roadmap for a successful, integrated event that has the potential to flourish year-over-year thanks to the support of a public that feels as though they were part of the event hosting process. This session will examine how and when the public should be integrated into the major event process and what tools are available to make this feasible. We will also discuss reasoning for and against surveying the public prior to a bid or creation of an event, as well as explore the outcomes of recent public referendums.