Summary: When a client hires an event planner based on their expertise and experience and then proceeds to disregard advice, it's every event planner's worst nightmare. This usually results in logistical challenges, skyrocketing costs, attendee discomfort, and dissatisfaction. No where is this more evident than when there is fallout from high profile events like the 2010 G20 Summit. Let's look at some lessons that we can learn from this and other high profile events.

Event Planning Fallout: When Clients Ignore Professional Advice

Lessons from the 2010 G20 Summit

Photo Credit: scolirk @scolirk

It has been said that "He who pays the piper plays the tune". Every event is the client's event and, ultimately, the client has the right to make final decisions and "call the shots". Unfortunately, some clients get so caught up in their vision of an event that they forget that event planners aren't just there to do their bidding. Their role is make you look good by:

• ensuring alignment with corporate strategy (so event planners need access to decision makers and key stakeholders)
• helping you avoid mistakes and bad decisions
• designing and executing a plan for smooth successful execution of your event

Think of professional event planners, consultants, and local experts as your "fallout shelter". Their advice can shelter you from negative fallout from your event but it will only work if you listen. It is suprising how often clients pay for professional advice and then disregard it. It's even harder to understand why this happens. I hope that after reading this you'll share your comments and perspective.

I run a Toronto based business consulting, team building, and event planning firm. While I facilitate retreats and organize events all over the world, I have lived in Toronto for over 20 years.The usual calm has been returned to downtown Toronto. Last weekend, I watched in horror as a textbook example of what happens when clients ignore the advice of professional experts was played out on the streets of Toronto in FULL view of the world.

3 Poor Decisions with Major Negative Fallout

Yes the G20 was a high profile international summit but first and foremost, it was an event. It was a very large and high profile leadership retreat or conference similar to what corporation and associations around the world organize on a regular basis.

Through this mega leardership retreat, I saw repeated with disastrous results some of the mistake event planners see clients make when they disregard advice. I would like to call it a comedy of error but it was beyond laughable and far from funny. The poor decisions were numerous but I will focus on the three that had the greatest negative fallout.

1. Selecting the wrong venues.

The selection of an event venue is one of the most important decisions any client can make. Select the wrong venue and you will be plagued with a host of logistical challenges that can derail your event. A critical error that many clients make is disregarding an event planner's advice about venue selection. A professional event planner takes many factors into account when recommending a hotel or other venue:

• ease of access including traffic to and from the venue
• ease of logistics within the venue
• parking
• security
• catering and staff access
• proximity to required activities and resources

When clients ignore advice about venue, this can complicate event logistics and significantly inflate event costs.

2010 G20 Summit Fallout 1:

Tuesday's Toronto Star headline said it all and I'm glad that Toronto's Mayor David Miller had the guts to blow the whistle on this one:

Toronto’s advice ignored on G20, Miller says

Summit moved from CNE to downtown over Toronto’s objections, mayor says

The original plan had been to hold the G8 and G20 summits in the Muskokas and give dignitaries and journalist a real taste of what Ontario had to offer. Somewhere along the line, the plan was changed and the G20 Summit was re-located to Toronto

Based on the feedback provided by Mayor David Miller, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his team completely disregarded advice about the appropriate venue for the G20 Summit. Toronto Mayor David Miller reccommended the CNE grounds. Any Toronto resident knows that this would have been a great site. The CNE grounds are located to the West of the downtown core and away from heavy congestion and the heavy flow of traffic. A summit at that location would have been far less disruptive than staging such a high profile event in Toronto's downtown core.

Security was a major factor in venue selection and it would have been very easy to secure the CNE. The CNE grounds cover a huge enclosed area and a lot of it is already already fenced in. For example, the Princess Gates is the access point from the East.

The area could have been secured at a much lower pricetag than putting up a fence to cordon off part of Toronto's downtown Core. The CNE has a number of event spaces including the Colisium that is used every year for the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. The Colisium has a huge arena and ample space in it's various exhibition halls. It's also an easy space for staff access. Caterers and other staff could have entered through the Dufferin Gates leaving the Princess Gates for Heads of State and other VIPs. There are 2 access routes to the CNE Grounds, The Gardner Expressway and Lakeshore Blvd. Lakeshore Blvd. could easily have been blocked off from Yonge Street to to Parkside just West of Palais Royale and local traffic could have flowed comfortably on The Gardniner. Finally, parking is ample and would have been more than sufficient to meet all requirements.

Bonus: Since part of the goal was to give dignitaries and journalists a taste of Toronto and Ontario, instead of wasting money on a fake lake, part of the CNE midway could have been used to stage a mini-Canadian National Exhibition one evening. Someone just wasn't being creative enough.

• 2010 G20 Summit Lesson 1: Follow the advice of professional event planners & other LOCAL experts when you select your event venue. Failure to bring key stakeholders into the loop andheed their advice can cause your plan to unravel.

2. Substituting fake environments for real "Green" ones.

In Event Manager Blog, which was replaced by Event Coup have previously blogged about:

5 Wrong Moves that Could Derail Your Corporate Event

These "wrong moves" apply even more to high profile events with international visibility. In that article, I discussed the fact that some clients disregard the advice of event planners and select hotels that are far away from the activities they want to provide for their group. Foreign clients who have never set foot in a destination are particularly guilty of this. I've never understood why a client would disregard the advice of a local expert when they have never even been to a destination. It boggles the mind. As a result of these poor decisions, I watched groups endure great discomfort and hours of travel or sitting in gridlock. It's so unneccesary. Related to the ludicrous practice of selecting accommodation far away from desired activities and attractions, is the even more absurd tendency of substituting fake environments for real ones.

2010 G20 Summit Fallout 2:

There has been a lot of negative media coverage as well as public outcry about the $58,000 that was spend to a fake lake in the G20 Media Centre at the CNE's Direct Energy Centre. The intent was to give journalists a taste of Ontario. This could have been accomplished at far less expense by housing the media centre at venues on Lake Ontario. This next clip discusses the issue and provides a view of the "fake lake".

The absurd part of the decision to create a "fake lake" is that Ontario Place with its huge Atlantis Pavilions is located across on the other side of Lakeshore Boulevard where the CNE's Direct Energy was used for the media centre. The view of Toronto from Ontario Place and the floor to ceiling windows of the Atlanis Pavilions is a journalist's dream.

I spoke with Jennifer Kerr, Manager, Media Relations for Ontario Place. She made it clear Ontario Place had no role any of the G20 Summit planning or decisions. She also indicated that "Ontario Place always has been and always will be media friendly". In fact, Ontario Place had extended an invitation G20 Media attache and welcomed journalists to tape their reports on Ontario Place grounds against the stunning backdrop of Toronto and, yes, Lake Ontario.

This clip filmed by a Toronto TV news reporter at the Fake Lake is hillarious.

For readers who have never been to Ontario, here is a preview of a real, truly "green" Muskoka lake experience:

Journalists could have had experienced a real Ontario lake with a lakeside location for the media centre. If Ontario Place was not big enough, there are a number of lakeside private clubs (The Boulevard Club, Toronto Argonaut Rowing Club) as well as the Palais Royale which could have been rented. They are acccesible from Lakeshore Blvd. and they fall within the area that I suggested as appropriate to cordon off for the G20 Summit. Some of the journalists could even have stayed at the Sheraton Four Points and used the meeting rooms for their work.

On Twitter @NorthMuskoka tweeted about the fact that there are 15 lakeside resorts in North Muskoka alone. Familiarization trips could have been provided for journalists after the summit in Niagara-on-the-Lake, the Muskokas or other areas of Ontario where real lakes are in abundance. In fact, these could have been provided as day trips and, with proper coordination, the journalists could have been dropped at the airport in ample time for their flights.

Here is the bottom line. If you want your group to experience a beach BBQ, select a location on a clean beach where the group can experience and take full advantage of the environment. If you want the group to go on an urban safari, then make sure that you have them stay at a hotel in the downtown core, not at the airport or 2 hours away at a resort. If you want journalists to experience a lake, locate your Media Centre on a lake, especially when a venue with a real lake is on the other side of the road. Don't disregard advice and try to substitute a fake experience for a real "Green" one.

• 2010 G20 Summit Lesson 2: Pinpoint the experience you want to provide for your group and use the guidance of local experts to identify "real" environments where this can take place.

3. Disregarding the Needs of the Local Population.

I have previously blogged about the importance of respecting people and placesin the destinations and at the venues where events are planned. This means balancing the experience we provide for event participants with the needs of the local population.

Sometimes noise levels come into play when advice is disregarded and late night events are held in close proximity to residential communities and neighbourhoods. In other instances, the start and end time of events clashes with when the local population is moving to and from work. I have seen this happen in Toronto, Dubai and the Caribbean.

2010 G20 Summit Fallout 3:

The poor choice of venue for the G20 Summit had a ripple effect. It mean that a part of Toronto's downtown core, including part of the business district, had to be fenced in by a security gate. This greatly impacted the coming and going of residents and businesses located in the downtown core.

Newspaper boxes were removed, trees were cut down and saplings uprooted for fear that protestors could grab them and thrown them. Portions of the underground PATH network had to be blocked off. TTC and GO Transit experienced delays and diversions. Some of these inconveniences were unavoidable but by heading the advice that had been given, some disruptions could have been avoided.

Also, the Fairmont Royal York was a poor choice for delegate accommodation. It would have been fine for journalists from some of the less high profile newspapers and networks. After all, accommodation was required for 2,000 journalists Don't get me wrong. I love Fairmont Hotels. I have had the pleasure of staying at and arranging team buiding sessions for my clients at various Fairmont Hotels. I have facilitated team building sessions at the Fairmont Royal York and it is an exquiste venue. However, it was a poor choice venue choice for G20 delegates.

The following video shows the Fairmont Royal York and Union Station, two Toronto landmarks, are located directly across the street from each other.

Union Station is one of Toronto's major downtown transportation hubs. VIA Rail, Go Transit and Ontario Northland trains pull into Union Station. Union Station is also one of the main subway stations accessible to Toronto's downtown business section. Across the street, from Union Station is the Go bus terminal that brings commuters from all over the GTA and other parts of southern Ontario into Toronto. The need to secure that location for such a large group of high profile guests was a great inconvenience for Toronto residents.

Even though the G20 Summit took place on the weekend, the area of Toronto surrounding Union Station is still very busy. The part of the security fence that was needed to cut Union Station off from the Fairmont Royal York had to be erected more than a week prior to the G20. I know because I encountered it when I returned from the PCMA Education Conference in Montreal.There was absolute confusion as VIA Rail passengers and the people who were picking them up scrambled to adjust. During the G20 Summit, VIA Rail trains were diverted to suburban stations FAR away from Union Station.

The Westin Harbour Castle Hotel right on Lake Ontario would have been a better choice for the Heads of State. Queen's Quay could have been blocked off from Yonge Street over to Bathurst St. This would have provided a number of access points to Lakeshore Blvd.

Remember, most places where you stage your event are not Disneyworld. They are not dedicated playgrounds set up for the amusement of you and your group. It's a city or country that someone calls home.

• 2010 G20 Summit Lesson 3: Ensure that you respect people and places as you select your location and plan your itinerary.

The Fallout from the Toronto G20 Summit

All of this inconvenience fueled the anger of many Toronto residents and set the stage for troublemakers and hooligans to create unrest on the streets of Toronto. Ensuring the safety of Heads of State and other high profile dignitaries had to be paramount. Can you imagine the negative impact on Toronto's image if anything had happened to any of the Heads of State while they were in Toronto? Factoring in the needs of the local population into the plan would have reduced the intensity of the protests and the level of friction. The manner in which this event was orchestrated placed Toronto Police in an untenable situation.

Headlines

• G20 Violence in Toronto Predictable Resulted from Police Buildup
  If you spend $1 billion to line Toronto streets with people who look like Darth Vader, you're going to get a reaction
• Lawsuits Loom in Wake of Police Power Confusion
• Store Owners Defiant After Property Damaged During G20 Riots
• G20 Violence Beamed Around the World
  Toronto the Good Risks Losing its Squeaky Clean Image

Unrest on the streets of Toronto, smashed store windows, burned police cars, and over 600 arrests later, I hope that Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his team think all of this was worth it.

Next Steps

Event planners and their clients can all learn important lessons when there is negative fallout from high profile events. This also happens when when clients disregard the advice of professional event planners and other local experts. It is rarely of the magnitude or international scope of a G20 Summit but the discomfort to members of your party, inflated costs and logsitical challenges are equally real and avoidable. Lawsuits can arise when safety precautions are not followed or a client disregards advice about alcohol service and someone gets injured during or after an event.

So go ahead, have a vision for your event but do take the time to do some reality checking with experts who can help you gage the extent to which your dream can be translated into reality without negative fallout. It's better to sacrifice part of your dream than to force attendees, the other members of your planning team, and event staff to live through a nightmare.

Thank you for listening. I look forward to your comments. I hope that some readers from Toronto will stop by and share their reactions.

Photo Credit: Police Car on Fire scolirk

Photo Credit: Heads of State in Breakout Sessions Office of the Prime Minister - Great Britain

Photo Credit: Toronto Skyline Gabe Ramos

Photo Credit: CNE Princess Gates S.D.Allen

Photo Credit: Police DGriebeling