There are many types of events around the world, from small community gatherings to world-class events on the international stage. This article explains the 10 major types of events, with examples, how events can be classified by size, and why events are so important to the travel and tourism industry.
What is an event?
Event tourism is a big industry around the world. Whilst there is a lot that goes into events, to put it simply an event is just a thing that happens – in the context of this article, it refers to a public or social occasion which has been planned in advance. Some events are formal, some are all about fun. Some events are big, some are small, but there are many different types of events. Each type is explained below, with examples.
Business events
There are a few examples of business events. These include:
- Annual General Meeting (AGM)
- Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) – This refers to general meetings outside of the yearly scheduled AGM, usually to deal with urgent matters which occur in between AGMs.
- Awards Evening
- Balls (typically for fundraising)
- Formal Dinners
- Team Building Events
These events tend to be exclusive to employees and/or shareholders of a particular business and form part of the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) and business tourism industry. Some may extend invitations to sponsors, investors, employee family members and so on, particularly for balls and awards evenings.
Business events may be held in various venues. AGMs and EGMs are usually held on the business’ own premises if they are big enough to host all of the people who need to be there. If not, they might be held in a hotel or conference space with more room. Team building events happen in all sorts of places depending on what they are – you might visit an escape room or activity centre, or go to a venue specifically aimed at team building.
Global and national sporting events
There are many examples within these types of event and it is common for sports tourism and event tourism to intertwine. This is to be expected as there are so many different sports, all of which have competitions. Some specific examples include:
- FIFA World Cup (the 2026 tournament, co-hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico, was the first with 48 teams)
There are many more examples, with most sports having domestic leagues as well as international cups and competitions. These are some of the most popular and famous sporting events in the world.
Depending on the type of sport, they are held at different venues. Tennis competitions like the French Open and Wimbledon are held at large tennis clubs with multiple courts and plenty of space for spectators. Football matches in domestic leagues such as the Bundesliga and Premier League are held at each clubs’ respective stadium. When it comes to the competitions under the Olympic umbrella, they are held in large purpose-built arenas (as well as making use of smaller existing stadiums and arenas) in a different host city each time, with the Summer and Winter Games each held every four years. Recent and upcoming hosts include Paris (2024), Milan-Cortina (2026 Winter Games) and Los Angeles (2028).
Sporting events bring in a great deal of money through tickets, merchandise, food and drink, accommodation and transport, making these types of events very important to the travel and tourism industry. Read more about sports tourism.
Large-scale recreation events
These types of events also come in many variations – most large-scale recreation events are held outdoors due to the nature of them, and they cover a lot of different niches or interests. You can see some examples below:
- Flower shows such as the Chelsea Flower Show or the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show
- Regional food festivals such as the Abergavenny Food Festival in Wales or the Taste Cheshire Food and Drink Festival (see also food tourism)
- Town or city Christmas light switch-ons
- Bonfire and firework displays
Some of these types of events are free to attend, while others are ticketed. Christmas light switch-ons usually last a single evening, whereas flower shows and food festivals may last a few days or even a week. There are often stalls selling food, drinks and souvenirs too.
Local interest events
Local interest events are much more community-focused. Often they are organised and attended only by locals – people generally don’t visit from out of town specifically to attend these types of events unless they have a personal interest in it for some reason. There is also often a charity focus with these types of events. Examples include:
- Fun runs, colour runs & mud runs
- County fairs (in the US) and county shows (in the UK)
- Agricultural shows
- Village fetes
- Collectors’ fairs
- Car boot sales
For the most part, these examples are outdoor types of events. This is simply due to the need for a lot of space, and also because county fairs and agricultural shows include a lot of animal-related events and shows which by their very nature need to take place outside. There is often an entry fee for these events. With fun runs and village fetes particularly, there is a large fundraising aim involved. You can sponsor people to complete their run, or donate money in other ways.
Entertainment
Entertainment events are some of the biggest types of events – and they, like sporting events, bring in a huge amount of revenue. Generally they are ticketed (unless it is a specific free event) and merchandise is sold alongside food and drink. Examples include:
- Concerts
- Music festivals
- Theatre shows such as plays and musicals
- Theatre festivals
- Carnivals and Mardi Gras celebrations, such as the Rio Carnival and the Notting Hill Carnival
- LGBT+ Pride events
- Fan conventions e.g Comic Con
Depending on the nature of the event, venues will differ. Music festivals tend to be outdoor events stretching over a few days – as such, they will cover a large amount of space to account for stages, audience viewing areas, food stalls, toilets and accommodation/campsite areas. However, concerts are more of a ‘one night in each location’ event. Depending on how many tickets the band or artist puts on sale, they will take place in an arena, stadium or smaller local venue.
Pride events also differ from each other, but many reflect the fact that the first Pride marches were protests. Modern Pride events may include music and entertainment, but most still include a parade or march.
Celebrations
There is always something to celebrate. As personal celebrations tend to be organised by individuals, there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to venues, sizes, the order in which things go and so on. They may be held at home or in a hired venue, depending on their size. Some examples are:
- Wedding receptions
- Christening parties
- Funerals
- Birthday parties
- Graduation parties
- Baby showers
- Prom nights
- Royal events
- Religious festivals
These types of events are very different from each other. They are all celebratory by nature, but often that is where the similarity ends. A wedding reception may be held at a hotel, whereas royal events, such as coronations and jubilees, are often marked by street parties and large public gatherings. Destination weddings are also an important niche within the tourism industry.
Social enterprise events
These types of events are usually aimed at fundraising for a specific cause, no matter how big or small that cause is. They might include:
- Charity dinners, galas or balls
- Auctions
- Charity football matches
- Race nights
- Bake sales
- Charity fashion shows
There are many other examples to be found, but these are some of the most common. Again they vary when it comes to the venue, as this is dependent on the type of event. Bake sales are likely to be held at church halls or schools, whereas charity galas are often held in upmarket hotels and race nights generally occur in pubs.
These events are usually ticketed with the cost of your ticket going to the charity. There will also be other chances to donate on the night, usually in exchange for an experience or item.
Conferences
Conferences are a type of business event, but they are a major type of event in their own right and a key part of business tourism. They are so diverse in nature, ranging from small local conferences to global conferences. There are internal company conferences, industry-wide conferences and also public conferences. Some are a one-day event while others are overnight or even lasting up to a week; many are now also streamed online which is great in terms of accessibility and also reducing the need to travel, thus having a positive impact on the environment.
Conferences also include a lot of different elements. Some of these are:
- Staff training sessions
- Keynote sessions
- Breakout sessions
- Lectures
- Seminars
- Team bonding exercises
- Promotional talks
From political conferences to technology conferences, these are a major type of event.
Promotional events
When a brand or company wants to launch a new product of some sort, there are a lot of promotional events which will occur. These vary entirely by nature, but are linked by the fact they are all used to promote the new product. They include:
- Trade shows
- Product launches
- Press conferences
- Publicity stunts e.g flash mobs
- Touring campaigns e.g handing out freebies in city centres
There are many examples you will be able to think of when it comes to promotional events!
Exhibitions
Last but not least, there are exhibitions. These types of events usually take place in exhibition centres, which are large venues with good transport links, parking and visitor facilities, and plenty of hotels nearby for exhibitors and visitors. Exhibitions tend to run over a few days. Examples include:
- World Travel Market (WTM) in London, one of the travel industry’s biggest trade shows
- ITB Berlin, the world’s leading travel trade show
- The Ideal Home Show in London
- WasteExpo
There are exhibitions for every niche, topic, interest and area. They are used to promote innovations, sell products, educate people and so much more.
Classifying events by size
As well as their type, events are often classified by their size and impact. A common classification includes:
- Mega-events: global events that attract millions of visitors and worldwide media coverage, such as the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup
- Hallmark events: events that are closely associated with a particular place and help to define its image, such as Wimbledon, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe or the Rio Carnival
- Major events: events that attract significant numbers of visitors and media interest, such as major concerts, international conferences and large sporting fixtures
- Local or community events: smaller events aimed mainly at local people, such as village fetes and fun runs
Large events can bring significant economic benefits to host destinations through visitor spending, jobs and media exposure, but they can also bring challenges such as overcrowding, rising prices and expensive infrastructure that may be underused afterwards. Read more about the economic impacts and social impacts of tourism.
Types of events: FAQs
Below are answers to some of the most common questions about types of events.
What are the main types of events?
The main types of events include business events, sporting events, large-scale recreation events, local interest events, entertainment events, celebrations, social enterprise (charity) events, conferences, promotional events and exhibitions.
What is the difference between a mega-event and a hallmark event?
A mega-event is a global event, such as the Olympic Games or FIFA World Cup, that attracts huge numbers of visitors and worldwide media coverage. A hallmark event is closely linked to a particular destination and helps to define its image, such as Wimbledon or the Rio Carnival.
What is event tourism?
Event tourism is travel to attend or take part in an event, such as a festival, sporting event, concert, conference or exhibition.
What are MICE events?
MICE stands for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions. MICE tourism is an important part of business tourism.
Why are events important to tourism?
Events attract visitors, generate spending on accommodation, food and transport, create jobs, raise the profile of destinations and can help to spread tourism outside the peak season.
Types of events- further reading
If you found this article on the different types of events useful, you may also be interested in these:
- 150 types of tourism! The ultimate tourism glossary
- Types of rail transport | Understanding tourism
- Types of tourist destinations | Understanding tourism
- Types of air transport
- Types of hotels | Understanding tourism
- Event tourism explained
- MICE tourism
- Business tourism
