ABSTRACT
The evaluation process is concerned with assessing the outcomes of an event against its stated goals and objectives. Information gained through this process allows event organisers to both report to their various stakeholders and assess the effectiveness of their own internal processes and systems. Insights gained serve to highlight areas where revisions/changes need to be made in subsequent event iterations, while also playing an organisational learning role for event organisers. This chapter begins by examining the nature of event evaluation, along with the role this process plays over an event’s planning and delivery cycle. The chapter then moves on to discuss those internal and external factors that might, depending on the event, be the subject of evaluative interest. The uses to which data resulting from the evaluative process is then discussed, before an overview of the steps involved in generating this information is provided. The chapter concludes with two case studies, ‘London welcomes in 2021 with a message of thanks and hope’ and ‘Being Human festival, United Kingdom’.
