Hello! And welcome to the first ever issue of Ignite! This is my space to share all I can about the events I organise and attend, as well as other people’s insight on what events are all about especially in the Zimbabwean context.
{dropcap}H{/dropcap}ello! And welcome to the first ever issue of Ignite! This is my space to share all I can about the events I organise and attend, as well as other people’s insight on what events are all about especially in the Zimbabwean context.
It’s worth noting that Zimbabwe does not have any special diploma or degree specifically for event management so it is very difficult to officially learn the ropes of the industry. So this column will give you practical ways of handling certain situations and other issues relating to your event!
Zimbabwe is a very interesting atmosphere for event planners. We have a culture that is now only starting to accept the role and the use of an event planner. So yes we have to be a cut above the rest in order to convince our clients that they actually need us especially when in our communities there is always an aunty who can organize a cake and catering for a wedding, or the marketing officer who will double up and also plan a company’s events.
The question is what does the event planner really do?
Many people mistake event planning for simply party planning and it seems like a whole lot of fun. Yes it may seem as if the whole idea is to have fun, but according to Rob Hard in his article on About.com guide, “The event planning professional focuses on the rationale or goal of having an event, and whether it is achieved. And the real work is in the details that lead up to the event.”
For me one of the most important characteristics of an event planner is their attention to detail.
I attended the Lira show held over the weekend and could not help but compare it with the Akon and Sean Paul show held late last year at the National Sports Stadium. The only difference with these two shows for me was the promoters’ attention to detail and execution of that detail. The concept behind the Akon show was amazing, I mean the whole VIP equals different tickets equals different entrances- brilliant!
But the execution process was overlooked.
One of the most important items for a live performance is the actual sound and at the Akon show, I will not even go into that right now. At the Lira show the sound was ok for those in the VIP area, but for some of us in the second tent we heard instrumentals till about the time that Dudu Manhenga came on. But generally I felt they paid better attention to detail than the former.
There is definitely a need for professional event managers if we are to take Zimbabwean events to international levels and let us be a bit more critical about the event planners we choose to manage our functions.
So now at least there is the platform for us to talk about the professional side of events and solutions to make these events work! Let’s Ignite!
– Tariro Ruzvidzo for Zimbo Jam
Tariro runs an event management company called Wildfire Events.
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