LS EVENTS It’s a celebration

from StandOut Magazine March 2023

Featured in our next issue...

To mark International Women’s Day on March 8, StandOut shines a spotlight on LS Events’ Mel Archer, Laura Armstrong, and Beth Smith, who talk about their first-hand experiences of working in events. In this exclusive article, they document their motivations, inspirations, and passions, as well as the importance of women’s safety, the value of networking, why it’s essential to champion female events professionals, and the benefits of diversifying your workplace

Laura Armstrong

Laura Armstrong is a senior project manager at LS Events and is leading the industry towards a more equitable future through her mentoring work with the Network of Women in Events (NOWIE). She is also embracing diversity and inclusion as key themes within her event planning strategy in 2023. A vocal advocate for women supporting women, Armstrong champions representation at all levels, believing that encouraging others to be the best version of themselves is the way forward when it comes to enabling equity.

I have a huge passion for… supporting women in events. I think it is important to celebrate and champion women rather than see other women as competition. Everyone has a different skill set and style of working and these should be celebrated. Some of my best friends are people within the industry and even though we do similar roles we celebrate each other’s success, which is really positive.

I am currently working on… the planning and advance for American Express presents BST Hyde Park.

As a woman working in events, I have experienced… sexism. Despite events being a very forward-thinking and inclusive industry, I have witnessed sexism and experienced it first hand.

I think mentoring is important because… I believe in encouraging people to be the best version of themselves and seek to thrive at what they feel their purpose is or what they’re passionate about. Mentoring is important to me as I would have loved to have had a mentor when I was starting out in the industry. I think it’s really powerful to be able to share learnings and experiences to help someone else.

I support NOWIE because… it’s an amazing space both online and when you attend the meetings. The networking is so valuable and it’s important to try and think of solutionbased ways to get better representation for women in the events industry.

Diversity and inclusion are important... because diversifying your workplace and events allows for better representation and ultimately a broader range of events. Broadening the voices we hear and the stories we listen to as part of a process of self-education will enable us to get much closer to the issues of inclusivity and diversity, and understand how they impact our events and talent streams. A diverse and inclusive environment establishes a sense of belonging which I believe is important.

TEAM MEETING

Mel Archer is event operations manager at LS Events and the production company’s nominated Night Safety Champion. Tasked with the activation and management of welfare initiatives across LS Events’ events, Archer’s involvement with the Women’s Night Safety Charter has been instrumental in helping LS Events to deliver innovation against the pledges it has made as part of London’s commitment to the UN Women Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces global initiative.

I love my role as LS Events’ Night Safety Champion because… I genuinely care about the wellbeing of others, and I am proud that LS Events is advocating such an important initiative. I’m proud to be representing us at the Women’s Night Summit Charter in March.

It’s my goal to… develop strategies to keep everyone safe at our events, which drives a permanent change in attitude and behaviour in the wider community.

This year, LS Events will… continue to collaborate with others in our industry to learn and share and utilise the wealth of knowledge and experience within the team.

I am inspired by… event welfare consultant Penny Mellor. She is one of the most incredible people I have had the pleasure to work with. Her dedication and compassion for others, combined with her contribution to our industry through her work with Festival Welfare Services, is truly inspiring.

The biggest career lesson I have learned is… don’t be afraid to put your hand up and say you don’t understand something. The more you know the more confident you will be!

In five years’ time, I hope… the work we are all doing on safeguarding within our industry will become standard practice everywhere.

Beth Smith is senior projects manager at LS Events and represents American Express presents BST Hyde Park and Luno presents All Points East in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) Silver Festivals crosscompany forum. A passionate advocate for collaboration and sharing best practice, Smith is a positive example of the new generation of event professionals who embrace equity across all aspects of their event organisation.

I was inspired to enter the events industry by… going to events and wanting to understand how they work. From how they build the stage to how they get everyone in and out so quickly, it’s such a multifaceted operation.

I believe there is a huge opportunity for events professionals to… come together to share experiences and create a collaborative approach for industry developments, a mindset that has galvanised me since becoming involved with the MPS Silver Festivals cross-company forum and seeing first-hand how positive this approach can be.

I am motivated by… the work we do that gives people an outlet from their daily lives and allows them to have fun. Counting the number of people you’ve made happy during a year is extremely satisfying.

It’s important to share best practices because… we are always learning. From responses to the current threat level to the constant evolution in technologies, there are always ways to improve. MPS invite the event lead for each of our London events – which fall under the MPS Central Planning Team –to update on event trends. MPS also update us on the latest intel and planning for the upcoming year. It’s intrinsic to the successful and safe delivery of our landmark events.

I would like to see more… organisations embracing equity in the workplace. I am very lucky to work for a company that celebrates and champions its female employees, proving that gender is no barrier for delivering event excellence.

Working in the events industry gives me… great memories that I will enjoy looking back on.