Hargrove sets an example for planning events that go off without a hitch through their government shutdown contingency plan
After the venue booking, event design, attendee lists, emails, emails and more emails, your event is all ready to go—finally!
But what do you do when something unexpected threatens the flawless experience you’ve worked so hard to create?
Contingency plans are the answer to your prayers. By being prepared for any last-minute disruptions, you can go into your event confident that you and your team will know how to handle anything thrown at you.
Experience production company Hargrove faced this dread when the recent, narrowly avoided, government shutdown loomed. The World Culture Festival (WCF) had booked the National Mall, a National Park Service Property, as its venue for Sept. 29 to Oct 1. If the government shutdown occurred, the space would close to the public on the final day of the event.
Hargrove, however, was prepared with a swift response. They had an outstanding contingency plan in place.
The World Culture Festival 2023
Each year, the Art of Living Foundation organizes the World Culture Festival. Founder of The Art of Living Foundation and International Association for Human Values Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar says, “The purpose of the World Culture Festival is to send a message that the whole world is one family and we can all coexist with our differences. It is an opportunity for leaders from all segments of society—business, politics, religion and academia—to come together and renew their vision to work for the common welfare.”
At the WCF, guests witness music and dance performances that preserve local and indigenous traditions. They can join a yoga flow of thousands of participants and enjoy countless international meals. “This is a movement for the revival of universal human values such as love, compassion and friendliness,” says Shankar.
As the festival’s planners worked endless hours to put on the major event, news began to circulate that the U.S. government may face a shutdown on Oct 1, the final day of the festival. And the shutdown would not be certain until the midnight before.
Read More: 4 Contingency Planning Scenarios You Need to Prepare For Today
Meeting Planners Plan Ahead
Hargrove made up the event production team for this year’s WCF. Smart Meetings spoke with Vice President of Event and Trade Show Production at Hargrove, Lisa Miller. She says, “Constant change and volatility are the new normal for meeting planners. The need to mitigate risk and safeguard against social, political, economic, environmental and technological disruptions is to be expected.”
She shared that the ultimate goal of a continency plan is to make sure there any kind of unexpected disruption has no impact on attendee engagement. “Event planning and design need to be resilient to external threats, minimizing negative impacts and upholding the attendee experience.”
Hargrove’s contingency plan was not limited to a government shutdown. In fact, they had multiple contingency plans for any scenario that may arise. Because the venue was outdoors, they developed plans for different weather conditions and to ensure attendee safety.
When the government shutdown news emerged, their team developed an additional layer to their existing contingency plans. Their team met both internally and with major city agencies to determine what they could do if the shutdown occurred.
Contingency Plans in Action at The World Culture Festival
On Sept. 28, Hargrove announced that if the National Mall closed to the public that coming Sunday, the remainder of the WCF would live stream from a private venue and attendees could view it online. Art of Living Foundation Spokesperson Kushal Choksi said in the announcement, “Friday and Saturday programming on the National Mall remains unchanged irrespective of the government shutdown outcome…We are excited to welcome hundreds of thousands of people to the National Mall this weekend in celebration of diversity and harmony.”
Soon after, the National Park Service and the Mayor of the District of Columbia, Muriel Bowser, agreed to keep the National Mall open for the planned third day of the event, whether or not the shutdown took place. In this announcement, Choksi said, “We are grateful for our partnership with the Mayor’s Office and the District of Columbia in addition to the National Park Service for allowing us to welcome the world to Washington on Sunday as well.”
Miller shared that Hargrove has a long-standing history of working within the D.C. area and with the federal government. These connections allowed them to work with official organizations to help them run their event smoothly.
In this scenario, Hargrove did many things right. Anticipating that their event may face disruption, they worked swiftly to develop a plan and then widely distributed the news of their plan, so all attendees were aware. Even with the plan to live stream the event, they continued to work with various city entities and ultimately avoided any disruption altogether for any shutdown outcome.
Luckily, the government managed to avoid a shutdown and the festivities took place as planned on the National Mall. “We were thankful for the event to continue as planned, not only because the many performers and speakers had rehearsed and planned to be there, but also because our client was able to close out the celebration as intended,” says Miller. “The final day brought spectacular weather and performances to the National Mall and was able to be enjoyed just as they envisioned.”
How to Create Your Own Contingency Plans
When a situation occurs that may cause an event major upheaval, and planners announce contingency plans, Smart Meetings asked Miller if attendee engagement could still falter. Would attendees, faced with even the possibility that their upcoming event may not be what they imagined, opt not to attend at all?
According to Miller, this is very often not the case. “The possibility of a government shutdown didn’t seem to impact attendee engagement. The goal is to not compromise the attendee experience while still maintaining the highest production and safety standards possible.”
She shared some guidelines for planners creating contingency plans for their own events. It is indispensable to work with trusted event production partners and anticipate all possibilities. “You always want to think about any potential eventuality due to weather, safety or service issues. With any great plan, be willing to be nimble and shift that plan when new information comes out or the needs change,” says Miller.
“It is important that planners and producers work together with vendors, venues and clients to understand all rules and constraints,” she says. “When you have that information, you can build a plan that takes into account all stakeholders’ various, and sometimes competing, needs and wants.
“Once you have a plan in place, clearly communicating that plan to all of the relevant parties is critical, so that in case it is needed, they are able to act quickly and confidently.”
Hargrove handled a major potential disruption to their event with grace. They took steps that allowed the World Culture Festival to run without a hitch. Planners organizing events of all sizes can follow in their footsteps to develop contingency plans for their own events.
Sometimes, scenarios come up that we simply can’t avoid. By being prepared with comprehensive plans that consider any type of disruption or last-minute change, planners can avoid excess stress and execute their events to a T.
Read More: Four Crucial Questions to Ask When Developing an Effective Contingency Plan for Events
