How to organize an event in Brazil
Events, workshops and lectures are efficient alternatives to promote a business, so it is important to know how to organize an event in Brazil and the possible hurdles you may find on your way. In this article, we will give you some tips on how to organize your event in Brazil.
Organizing an event has several steps that must be carefully planned to avoid future complications. The kind of event approached in this article is a lecture for an audience of 100 people. This planning does not apply to major events such as fairs, for example.
A tip that is valid to major fairs and events is to plan them in advance. Major venues in Brazil must be booked with at least one year in advance, especially in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. As there are many fairs that use these venues annually, they can very disputed and sometimes the waiting time can be of two and even three years.
Venue
The choice of the venue is the most important step as it is going to determine if you will have extra costs and what kind of service you will be allowed to offer. Many universities and educational institutions in Brazil offer their space such as auditoriums for events that may be relevant for its students or members, so before looking for a paid venue, try to contact universities and get the space for free.
Here are some options (some paid and some free of charge) of types of venues that can host your event:
- Universities’ auditoriums;
- Organizations related to business;
- Unions;
- Hotels.
Before making the reservation, check if the venue allows access to catering companies or if you are required to hire their catering services (what tends to be more expensive). Also check if your reservation includes any equipment such as projector, microphones, speakers and a projection screen.
Costs
Renting a venue for 100 people with no catering or additional services costs from BRL 800,00 to BRL 100,00 depending on the location.
A special note on internet connection
Most venues will claim they have internet connection. What they may not tell you is that the internet connection is shared with hundreds of people, what can make your event completely impracticable. Few places will be able to provide more than 500kb per user, so depending on what your event is about, you will need to contract a dedicated internet connection service.
Equipment
If the venue you have chosen does not provide equipment, you will have to rent it. Different events require different equipment, but the following items are very likely to be necessary:
- Projector and projection screen;
- Wireless microphone;
- Sound equipment.
Costs
In most cases, you will also be required to hire an operator to assist you with the equipment. The rental of the previously mentioned items plus the hiring of a sound operator costs from BRL 665,00 to BRL 980,00 per day.
Food
If you are going to serve food in your event, the best option is to hire a catering company. In Brazil, many catering companies work mostly with weddings and family celebrations, so make sure you contract one that is used to work with corporate events.
Depending on the venue, you may have a room where your guests can sit down and eat properly or they may have to stand up during lunch or coffee-break. Before deciding the kind of meal you are going to order, ask the venue if:
- Is there a room where guests can sit down and eat?
- Is there a kitchen in the building?
- The catering company will have to bring appliances (microwave and refrigerator, for example)?
- Is there a table that can be used to serve the food or it will have to be arranged by the catering company?
- In case there’s no kitchen, is there any space where the catering company could set one?
If the venue does not offer a proper area for food consumption, a good option is to offer sandwiches and finger-food. Have in mind that the Brazilian cuisine is very diversified, so it is important to have three options of main course, with red meat, white meat and pasta, in case there are vegetarians in your audience.
As for beverages, offer both juices and soda (both regular and diet), at least two flavor options for each. Most conferences held in Brazil have lunch and coffee break (mostly two: one in the morning and one in the afternoon). If your event takes the whole day, it may be necessary to have a coffee break to prevent your audience from leaving the room all the time. With the coffee break it is easier to concentrate and keep your audience in the room during the lecture. For the coffee break, coffee, tea and crackers are enough. You can also add some fruits or juice.
Costs
Catering with lunch and coffee break costs, in average, BRL 60,00 per person. This price includes all the material used to serve the food and the workforce required to serve and prepare it.
Translation Services
If your lecturer does not speak Portuguese (which is the reality in most cases), you will need simultaneous translation. Each translator can only work two hours without a break and six hours a day, in total. So you will probably need, at least, two translators.
Costs
The average price per translator is of BRL 1.500,00 plus costs related to transportation and meal. The rent of the required material is charged separately and the daily price for a 100 people audience ranges between BRL 1.900,00 and BRL 2.100,00, depending on the location.