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Quest Training

Large-Scale & Major Event Planning and Delivery Training Course

Plans and delivers large-scale, high-risk events as complex programs, focusing on scale, governance, and major risk rather than routine conference organizing.

ECE · Event & Conference ManagementAll Levels#3134ClassroomEnglish , Arabic
Duration
5 Days
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Free substitution at any time · 30+ days' notice: full refund minus 10%. Cancellation policy

Sectors:Tourism, Hospitality & EventsCategories:Event & Conference Management

Course Overview

The Large-Scale & Major Event Planning and Delivery Training Course equips event directors, program managers, government organizing committees, and venue operators with the methods needed to plan and deliver events whose size, public profile, and risk exposure place them beyond ordinary event practice. Rather than covering the general running of meetings and conferences, the course focuses on what changes at major scale: multiple venues, long planning horizons, many authorities and contractors, and consequences of failure that can reach national reputation. Governments and large organizations across the Gulf and Africa host summits, national celebrations, exhibitions, and international sporting and cultural events, and they need teams able to run them as complex programs. The course treats a major event as a program rather than a single activity. Participants examine the feasibility case and event vision, the governance model linking sponsors, organizing committees, government agencies, and delivery partners, and the master schedule that works backward from an immovable opening day. They learn to build a work breakdown structure across functional areas such as venues, transport, accommodation, security, ceremonies, media, volunteers, and hospitality, and to manage the dependencies between them, where a late decision in one area quickly becomes a crisis in another. Risk receives particular weight, because scale multiplies its consequences. Participants work with ISO 31000 risk management principles, ISO 20121 for event sustainability management, and ISO 22301 for business continuity, and they apply them to crowd and public safety planning, temporary structures and overlay, weather and heat, supplier failure, reputational exposure, and cancellation scenarios. Command and control arrangements, the integrated operations center, readiness testing through rehearsals and test events, and the transition from planning to live operations complete the scope. The course is delivered through major event case studies, governance mapping exercises, master schedule building, risk workshops, tabletop readiness scenarios, and a final workshop. Participants leave with a governance map, a functional area matrix, a master schedule framework, a major event risk register, a readiness testing plan, and an event delivery plan they can adapt to their own programs.

Learning Objectives

  • Distinguish major events from routine events by scale, complexity, public exposure, and consequence of failure.
  • Build a feasibility case and event vision that give sponsors a clear basis for decisions.
  • Design a governance model linking sponsors, organizing committees, government agencies, and delivery partners.
  • Develop a master schedule that works backward from a fixed opening date, with stage gates and decision points.
  • Structure the event into functional areas with clear scope, ownership, and interfaces.
  • Manage dependencies across venues, transport, accommodation, security, ceremonies, media, and volunteers.
  • Plan multi-venue operations, temporary overlay, and venue handover from owners to event teams.
  • Apply ISO 31000 principles to build a major event risk register and treatment plans.
  • Integrate public safety, health, security, and weather planning with the wider delivery program.
  • Prepare continuity and contingency plans for supplier failure, disruption, postponement, and cancellation.
  • Establish command and control arrangements and an integrated operations center for live delivery.
  • Design readiness testing through rehearsals, tabletop scenarios, and test events.
  • Plan sustainability, legacy, demobilization, and post-event review using ISO 20121 thinking.

Who Should Attend

This course is designed for event directors, senior event managers, program and project managers, organizing committee members, functional area managers, venue and operations managers, and planning leads responsible for large public, national, or international events. It is equally relevant for officials in ministries, tourism and culture authorities, sports bodies, municipalities, and civil defense and security agencies who sponsor, host, or oversee major events and need to understand how they are governed and delivered, including where approval and public safety decisions sit within the program. Professionals in event and exhibition companies, convention centers, destination management organizations, sports federations, national event offices, and consultancies supporting bid and host organizations will find the course directly applicable. It is particularly valuable for experienced conference and event professionals moving up to larger programs, and for project managers from construction, energy, or government who are joining a major event team. Teams preparing a bid, or those taking on a first international event, will also find a practical framework for organizing their work from the earliest planning stage through to closure.

Learning Outcomes

  • By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
  • Explain what separates a major event from a routine one and why it must be run as a program.
  • Prepare a feasibility case and event vision that support clear sponsor decisions.
  • Design a governance structure with defined roles, mandates, and decision rights.
  • Build a master schedule backward from a fixed opening date, with stage gates.
  • Organize delivery into functional areas with clear ownership and managed interfaces.
  • Plan multi-venue logistics, temporary overlay, and venue handover.
  • Build a major event risk register with owners, controls, and treatment plans.
  • Prepare contingency and continuity plans for disruption, postponement, and cancellation.
  • Set up command and control arrangements and an integrated operations center.
  • Design and run readiness tests, including tabletop scenarios and test events.
  • Plan demobilization, legacy, and a structured post-event review.
  • Coordinate government agencies, contractors, and delivery partners through a shared operating rhythm and clear escalation routes.

Course Outline

Course Outline:

Day 1

Major Event Fundamentals, Vision, and Governance

  • What makes an event major: scale, exposure, complexity, and consequence of failure
  • Feasibility, event vision, objectives, and the sponsor's decision case
  • Governance models: steering committee, organizing committee, delivery partners, and government agencies
  • Roles, mandates, and decision rights across public and private parties
  • Stakeholder mapping and engagement with authorities, communities, and participants
  • Political, diplomatic, and public expectations around a national or international event
  • Hosting agreements, rights holder requirements, and commitments made at bid stage
  • Practical application: participants draft a governance map and decision matrix for a national event
Day 2

Program Planning and the Master Schedule

  • From vision to delivery plan: work breakdown across functional areas
  • Functional area scope, ownership, and interface management
  • Building a master schedule backward from a fixed opening day
  • Stage gates, decision points, and critical path management
  • Resources, procurement lead times, and contractor packages at major scale
  • Progress reporting, change control, and escalation
  • Budget envelopes, funding approvals, and the link between scope decisions and cost
  • Practical application: participants build a functional area matrix and a master schedule framework
Day 3

Venues, Overlay, and Multi-Site Logistics

  • Venue selection, capacity, and multi-venue planning
  • Temporary overlay: structures, power, seating, cabling, and back-of-house areas
  • Venue handover, use agreements, and shared responsibilities with owners
  • Transport, accommodation, and arrival planning for delegations, guests, and the public
  • Workforce and volunteer planning, access passes, and catering at scale
  • Early site surveys and a shared venue operating plan across all functional areas
  • Traffic management, road closures, and coordination with municipal services
  • Practical application: participants plan the overlay and logistics for a two-venue event
Day 4

Major Event Risk, Safety, and Continuity

  • Applying ISO 31000 to a major event: context, assessment, and treatment
  • Public safety, crowd movement, health, and security as planning inputs
  • Heat, weather, and supplier failure: trigger points and fallback arrangements
  • Contingency planning for disruption, postponement, and cancellation
  • Business continuity with ISO 22301 and insurance as a risk transfer tool
  • Coordination with civil defense, police, health, and municipal agencies
  • Reputational risk, public messaging, and the decision authority to change or stop activity
  • Practical application: participants build a major event risk register with treatment plans
Day 5

Readiness, Live Operations, and Closure

  • Readiness testing: rehearsals, tabletop scenarios, and test events
  • Command and control and the integrated operations center
  • Daily operating rhythm, issue escalation, and crisis communication
  • Demobilization, legacy planning, and sustainability with ISO 20121
  • Post-event review and capture of lessons for future events
  • The transition from planning mode to operations mode, including team relocation to venues
  • Final workshop: participants develop an integrated delivery plan for a large-scale international event

Upcoming Dates

Selected date

Istanbul · 9 – 13 Nov 2026 · Classroom

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CityDatesPrice per ParticipantEarly Bird
IstanbulScheduled
9 – 13 Nov 2026€4,700—
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JeddahScheduled
15 – 19 Nov 2026€4,200—
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KigaliScheduled
16 – 20 Nov 2026€5,100—
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Kuala LumpurScheduled
23 – 27 Nov 2026€4,400€3,960until 2 Nov
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LisbonScheduled
30 Nov – 4 Dec 2026€5,400€4,860until 9 Nov
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LondonScheduled
30 Nov – 4 Dec 2026€5,600€5,040until 9 Nov
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MadinahScheduled
7 – 11 Dec 2026€4,200€3,780until 16 Nov
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MadridScheduled
14 – 18 Dec 2026€5,400€4,860until 23 Nov
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MakkahScheduled
21 – 25 Dec 2026€4,200€3,780until 30 Nov
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ManamaScheduled
21 – 25 Dec 2026€4,700€4,230until 30 Nov
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MuscatScheduled
28 Dec 2026 – 1 Jan 2027€5,300€4,770until 7 Dec
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OnlineScheduled
3 – 7 Jan 2027€1,700€1,530until 14 Dec
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ParisScheduled
4 – 8 Jan 2027€5,700€5,130until 14 Dec
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Sharm El-SheikhScheduled
11 – 15 Jan 2027€4,300€3,870until 21 Dec
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AbujaScheduled
18 – 22 Jan 2027€5,100€4,590until 28 Dec
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SingaporeScheduled
18 – 22 Jan 2027€6,700€6,030until 28 Dec
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AccraScheduled
25 – 29 Jan 2027€5,100€4,590until 4 Jan
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AmmanScheduled
31 Jan – 4 Feb 2027€3,100€2,790until 11 Jan
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AmsterdamScheduled
1 – 5 Feb 2027€5,400€4,860until 11 Jan
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BakuScheduled
8 – 12 Feb 2027€4,800€4,320until 18 Jan
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BarcelonaScheduled
15 – 19 Feb 2027€5,400€4,860until 25 Jan
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BeirutScheduled
21 – 25 Feb 2027€4,000€3,600until 1 Feb
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BerlinScheduled
22 – 26 Feb 2027€5,800€5,220until 1 Feb
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CairoScheduled
28 Feb – 4 Mar 2027€3,300€2,970until 8 Feb
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CasablancaScheduled
8 – 12 Mar 2027€4,300€3,870until 15 Feb
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Cape TownScheduled
8 – 12 Mar 2027€5,100€4,590until 15 Feb
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DammamScheduled
14 – 18 Mar 2027€4,200€3,780until 22 Feb
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DohaScheduled
21 – 25 Mar 2027€4,400€3,960until 1 Mar
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DubaiScheduled
28 Mar – 1 Apr 2027€4,400€3,960until 8 Mar
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ErbilScheduled
28 Mar – 1 Apr 2027€3,100€2,790until 8 Mar
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Available in: Istanbul · Dubai · London · Doha · Amsterdam

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