NEC Events Week Live

On the 30th November and 1st and 2nd of December, I took part in NEC Events Week Live. It was an opportunity I was given through my University, and my Event and Exhibition Planning module - one at which I jumped at the chance of, in fact, as Event Planning is a great passion of mine, especially in recent years and months. The event that we based our learning and discussion on was Clothes Show Live, as it was in set-up stages for the first two days and the first day of the show was our final day of the Events Week.

I have some past experience in Events, mainly voluntary through organising my own fundraisers and concerts and Sixth Form events when I was Head Girl, and some through working in hospitality, where I've gained an insight into a really wide range of events - some of which witnessing has simultaneously frustrated me and made me more determined, as it was clear I so desperately want to be putting on events like them, rather than just serving the food!

These three days were based around giving the group of us from the University an insight into the work that goes into Event Management, the many different work roles and responsibilities there are involved in running events to the scale the NEC does, and helping us understand some practical logistics problems and how they're overcome. We learnt all about venue management and services, event organisation and also about contractors and how an event is built.

It was interesting seeing work from this large-scale production with so many years of knowledge and experience behind it and applying and comparing it to what I'd already learnt and experienced in the industry. I was also able to get a better idea of the different working roles available, and which I may be more suited to, and which I'd like to gain more knowledge in.

Being given this insight into the industry and what possibilities the future could hold, has increased my drive even more to work and achieve all I can!  It has also made me consider becoming Event and Exhibition Industries specialist on my course, instead of a broad course Media and Communications, as I am so certain this is the industry I want to be working in the future, it feels like it makes sense to specialise in that field.