When it comes to organising events, size matters — but perhaps not in the way many people think.
The common perception is that organising a large event is necessarily more complex than a small one, which in our view is both true and false at once.
Some aspects of planning may be more visible at a large event, but in reality many of the most significant challenges also show up at smaller ones and need equally strategic approaches if they are to be overcome.
That applies in particular to three areas: logistics, attendee engagement and experience, and managing the team that controls and runs the whole event.
1. Scalability and logistics
2. The attendee experience
Creating a memorable experience for the people taking part is the heart of any event, large or small. And the size of the event clearly shapes how that experience is designed and delivered: at a large event, the main challenge is creating an experience that can feel unique and personal even when it is shared by hundreds or thousands of people. Tools such as event apps, which allow content, communications and sometimes activities themselves to be personalised, are therefore excellent allies for recreating micro experiences inside macro settings, and for managing interactions and tracking attendee preferences.
At a small event, on the other hand, personalisation is easier — but that does not automatically make it effective. Here too digital tools can enrich the experience, offering more targeted engagement and creating a sense of exclusivity.
In both cases, then, the aim is to make every attendee feel valued and involved, and the difference lies less in how many people you are addressing than in the ability to use the right resources to produce the results you want.
3. Coordinating and managing the team
One of the biggest challenges in organising an event is communication and coordination within the working team. At large events this can look more complex, given the greater number of people involved, and what becomes crucial is the ability to coordinate and the efficiency of the communication tools used — from the simplest and most traditional to the most advanced, such as event management apps.
At a small event, by contrast, the team is usually smaller, which might suggest it is easier to manage. But a smaller group often means more responsibility for each individual member, which can bring challenges every bit as demanding. Here too it is essential to guarantee every team member perfect alignment with the objectives of the event and a set of tools that allow communication to flow smoothly and continuously. Tools not so different, then, from the ones considered essential for large events — and which can make just as much difference for a team of a handful of people.
So, in conclusion: is organising a large event harder than organising a small one?
Yes and no, we would say.
Without downplaying the difficulties that a larger event inevitably brings with it, we think it is worth remembering that in the end the meticulous design every event demands is more or less the same, because the final objectives are — essentially — the same. The people you have to engage and satisfy will always be individuals, with their own characteristics, and they can only be aggregated and added up so far. Each of them has to be guaranteed a microcosm of experiences, then multiplied as many times as the size of the event requires. With, of course, all the economies of scale and of management that large numbers so often allow, particularly if you have the right set of tools for designing, running and reporting on the event.