Conference run of show template.
A multi-session day with keynotes, tracks, sponsors and a lot of moving parts.
Doors at 8:00 AM.
A complete, timed run of show for a conference. Every cue has an owner and a duration, so when you edit one, the show clock keeps the rest aligned.
- 8:00 AMRegistration & badge pickupsetup · Registration desk1h
- 9:00 AMWelcome & opening remarkssegment · Host / MC15m
- 9:15 AMOpening keynotespeaker · Keynote speaker45m
- 10:00 AMCoffee & sponsor expobreak · Catering / Sponsors30m
- 10:30 AMBreakout sessions, block 1segment · Track leads1h
- 11:30 AMLunchmeal · Catering1h
- 12:30 PMBreakout sessions, block 2segment · Track leads1h
- 1:30 PMClosing keynote & wrapspeaker · Host / MC30m
- Set the theme, date and venueLogistics16w before
- Open the call for speakers / agendaProgram12w before
- Launch ticketing and registrationGuests10w before
- Sign sponsors and plan the expoSponsors8w before
- Confirm AV, staging and recordingProduction4w before
- Publish the schedule and appProgram3w before
- Brief volunteers and room hostsOn-site1w before
- Build the master run of showProduction1w before
8 tasks, timed and grouped.
The weeks before, turned into a clear list with owners and due dates so nothing slips.
A conference is a full day of parallel moving parts: registration, a keynote, an expo, two tracked breakout blocks and a closing keynote, all built around sponsors and volunteers as much as content. The registration hour at the start is the first stress point, since a slow badge pickup pushes the welcome late and compresses everything after it. The second is the breakout blocks: when rooms run on slightly different clocks, hallways get crowded between sessions and the sponsor expo sits empty because the coffee break and the expo were never actually scheduled to overlap on purpose. Good conferences treat the expo as a destination built into the break, not a side room, and keep every track leader working from one master run of show so a 60-minute block means the same thing in every room. The work starts months out, with a call for speakers around twelve weeks before and a published schedule a few weeks ahead, so volunteers and room hosts are briefed well before doors open rather than the morning of.
Frequently asked questions
How many staff or volunteers do I need per 100 attendees?
A rough starting point is one staff or volunteer per 25 to 40 attendees, more if you are running multiple tracks that each need a room host, or a registration desk handling a rush at the start of the day. Treat this as a floor to test against your own room layout and check-in flow, not a guaranteed ratio.
How long should coffee and expo breaks be at a conference?
Thirty minutes is a reasonable default between a keynote and the first breakout block, long enough for people to actually visit sponsor booths rather than just refill a coffee cup and move on. Shorter breaks tend to get skipped by attendees trying to grab a seat in the next session instead.
Should breakout sessions all be the same length?
Yes, wherever possible. Uneven session lengths across rooms mean attendees moving between tracks arrive mid-session or wait outside a locked room, and it makes the master run of show much harder for staff to manage. A single shared block length, even if content varies, keeps hallway traffic and room turnover predictable.
Use this template in Event70.
Start free and this run of show and checklist are ready to edit on a real event.
See all templates or read the planning guides.