Planeringsfasen i fokus : En studie av fyra eventverksamheters projektplanering

Event is something that an increasing number of Swedish cities are investing in since it contributes to higher attractiveness of cities and generate economic revenues. New arenas are built around Sweden to meet the increasing demands to host such events. Event projects are carried out in Sweden and it is important that the planning phase is carried out thoroughly to get a successful project. This thesis aims to look more closely at selected organizations and how they plan their projects and whether it is possible to follow project plans in the event projects. Karlstad has many events that recur annually, including the Swedish Rally. The city is investing a lot in events of various kinds, and is currently building a new arena to further enhance Karlstads image as a city with many big events. The organizations that have been studied are: Visit Karlstad, the conference department at Karlstad University, HotSpot and the event organization department at the municipality of Karlstad. All of these organizations work with event in some form. The organizations have been researched by an interview process to chart their way to work on projects and their event planning process. Event is a word that is very popular today and the definition of this concept is of varying nature. Thus, there is no recognized definition of events, which further complicates the use of it. In this thesis, the concept of events has been used as a generic term that includes events, meetings, fairs, congresses, conferences and sports competitions. This is to facilitate for the reader when the use of the term has been found in the studied literature as well. Planning an event project is more complex than planning a traditional project since the implementation occurs at the same time as the event is being submitted to the client. The planning phase can be seen as particularly important in event projects. If the event project is not planned carefully, it is difficult to have time to clear all the parts before it is time for implementation. Thesis results show that decisions are taken at an early stage in event projects which may affect the outcome of the event. For example, hotel rooms need to be booked if the customer chooses to go through with the event. The timeframe is also a distinctive part of the planning of an event since the event can´t be implemented one day later than specified. The planning phase of an event project can be divided into two parts; where one part is linked with the feasibility study. Part two in the planning phase can begin only when the decision comes from the customer. In addition, each event is unique, which suggests that it should be performed as a project, leading to that the planning must be adapted along the customer's wishes and requirements