Corporate Event Budget Breakdown
Budgets fail when they are built as a list of quotes rather than a set of ratios. These are the ratios we build to, and the per-head benchmarks by European city tier.
Standard budget split
For a one-day corporate event with production, 150–500 attendees.
- Venue hire: 12–20%
- Food and beverage: 20–30%
- AV and production: 25–40%
- Content, speakers and creative: 8–15%
- Staffing and crew: 6–10%
- Delegate travel and accommodation (if hosted): variable, often the largest single line
- Contingency: 12% single-country, 15% multi-country
Per-head benchmarks by city tier
- Tier 1 (London, Paris, Zurich, Geneva, Copenhagen): £400–£750 per head
- Tier 2 (Amsterdam, Berlin, Munich, Barcelona, Milan, Dublin, Stockholm): £280–£480
- Tier 3 (Lisbon, Madrid, Prague, Warsaw, Budapest, Krakow): £180–£320
Where budgets overrun
In order of frequency: scope creep on production after the creative is approved, F&B minimum spend clauses discovered late, overtime because the get-in window was underestimated, and last-minute delegate travel booked at walk-up rates.
Frequently asked questions
What percentage of an event budget should be contingency?
Twelve per cent for a single-country event and fifteen per cent where multiple countries, currencies or international freight are involved.
What is the biggest line in a corporate event budget?
Where travel is hosted, delegate travel and accommodation usually dominates. Where it is not, AV and production is typically the largest single line at 25–40%.
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