Having worked in event management for 18 years, I’ve organised hundreds of different types of events, but if someone told me a year ago that I would be organising an event where 550 people were doing headstands simultaneously for at least ten minutes, I would struggle to believe them. Getting the call to work with Iyengar Yoga (UK) on their three-day convention has not only been an interesting challenge but also a privilege.
In many respects the various aspects of organising the yoga convention have been the same as other events. Venue, catering, staging, stallholders, attendee registration and managing contracts and relationships remain. Challenges faced by those of a corporate or public event exist for this member organisation too; Promotion to increase sales, establish a robust marketing and communications plan and budget management.
But what has been so special and different is the privilege of working with a group of people who are so passionate about their cause. They are volunteers wholly committed to bringing together fellow yoga practitioners and have been doing so for over ten years. Their need to bring in a professional events manager stems from their growth and success. They wanted to take their event to the next level to organise a much larger event, increase attendee numbers and ensure maximum customer satisfaction. Having someone to provide strategic vision, an operational overview as well as have the essential attention to detail needed was imperative and has paid dividends.
Here are a few pictures to give you a flavour of what has been happening at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham this weekend. It’s been a privilege to have played my part.
If your organisation needs help with an event – please contact me! catherine@r-gevents.com