About Eventunity and Mark Norman

So a bit about me…I grew up in a small market town called Stamford in the United Kingdom. My earliest memory of entrepreneurship was buying boxes of push pops from the local sweet shop to sell for a profit at break time at school. Remember those…?!

In 1997, when the time came to choose a University course, for some reason, I thought that mechanical engineering would be my future, and that’s where I went. I quickly realized that it probably wasn’t for me, and I fell into events as most people do through helping promote local student events.

Since then, I’ve managed multiple event venue spaces, some with million-plus turnovers.

What is Eventunity?

“E-vent-tune-ity” – well, that’s how I say it!

Events with commUNITY or Events for opportUNITY (see what I did there…)

So my intention is for Eventunity to be an information resource and community for people seeking new opportunities in the events industry, those who are just starting, or those interested in starting an event business.

Yes, there are plenty of well-established event websites, but if teaching events management for over a decade has taught me one thing, this industry can be pretty daunting when you’re just getting going.

Events are a great way to bring people together, but few understand how to tap into the network or community around them to build an event or event business.

I created Eventunity as I saw an opportunity to support those people who aspire to work in events, who run events, and those who might benefit from a closer connection to their community and network.

I hope that Eventunity will be able to inspire the event managers of the future.

---

A bit more about me…

In 1997 I left home to study Mechanical Engineering at University. As part of that course, I spent a year working in the heavy steel industry. At that point, I decided that engineering wasn’t for me. While I completed the degree, I started to become involved in organizing events at my University.

In 2001 I graduated (with a Mechanical Engineering degree!) but then spent the next ten years running a variety of music venues across the UK. It was hard work, but I was in my 20s and enjoyed the social nature of the work.

I was devising and promoting up to three events weekly in a highly competitive industry, going head-to-head with numerous other music venues. I learned a lot during that time about why people attend events and how to design a great event experience.

As I didn’t have formal education qualifications in events, I undertook a Masters’s degree in 2008 at Sheffield Hallam University.

The connections I made with some of the tutors during this time led to me joining the teaching team at Sheffield Hallam University in 2011 as an associate (part-time) Lecturer.

I teach various modules across event marketing, event safety, and live event planning. I’m also the Course Leader for our Festival and Entertainment undergraduate course.

I am currently undertaking a Ph.D. in Events at The University of Tilburg in The Netherlands. This Ph.D. is investigating the role of communities and networks in the creation and management of events. Please see my publications below for more information.

You can see my profile on the Sheffield Hallam University website here.

Event Freelancer

Despite this new-found career, I didn’t want to lose my connection with events, so I continued to work as a freelancer on various events. My previous projects include:

• 2012 – Mansfield Christmas light switch-on.
• 2012 – Mansfield Olympic and Paralympic Homecoming Event
• 2014 – Tour de France Grand Depart
• 2015 – The Gruffalo Live Experience
• 2016 – BBC Learning “Awesome Authors”
• 2016 – Hull City of Culture PR Launch
• 2017 – Royal Welsh Show – Safety Report
• 2018 – Cheshire East Council – Crewe Market Hall (Event Feasibility Report)
• 2018 – XSEM Incentive Travel Agency Safety Training
• 2018 – Edinburgh Fringe (EDSU) – Safety Report
• 2022 – FIA Formula E Safety Officer (London E Prix)