What an event host needs on the day: a rider and checklist for organisers

In short

• What an event host needs on the day is a named contact, a sound check before doors, a tested microphone with a back-up, the running order and script in hand, and somewhere private to prepare.
• A rider is the host’s own list of requirements. Every host’s differs, so ask for theirs rather than assuming.
• Most day-of failures are a missing person or a missing document, not a missing skill.
• Settle payment, invoice and travel in writing before the day, not at the venue.

What an event host needs on the day is a short list of practical things, and most of them cost an organiser almost nothing. Nobody holds a room with a dead microphone, last week’s running order and no one to ask. I’m Kevin Durham, a professional event host and MC, and this guide sets out a checklist and an example rider you can adapt. It describes general practice, not any one host’s terms, mine included. Hosts differ, and the way to know is to ask.

What an event host needs on the day: seven essentials

An event host needs seven things on the day: a named contact, an arrival and sound-check time, a tested microphone with a back-up, a position on stage or floor, the running order and script, water and a private space, and a clear payment process. Each is cheap to provide and expensive to forget.

The order matters. Contact, timings and sound come first because they decide whether the room is ready when doors open. Welfare and payment come next because they decide whether the host is in good shape to work. The earlier steps (the brief, the speaker details) sit in my guide to briefing a host, so I will not repeat them here.

What does an event host rider look like?

A host rider is a one-page list of what the host asks the organiser to provide, sent before the booking is confirmed. Wikipedia’s entry on the theatre rider, read November 2026, defines a rider as requests a performer sets as criteria for performing, usually met by the hosting venue. Think of it as the host’s version of a speaker’s AV form. The Professional Speaking Association’s speaker confirmation form, read November 2026, says a flip chart and projector are provided at its meetings and asks speakers to say what else they need. A rider works the same way: defaults plus requests.

Here is an example, labelled as such. It is a template for you to compare against whatever your host sends, not anyone’s actual requirements.

Item	What to confirm	Why it matters
Named contact	One person, with a mobile, on site all day	Someone with authority to say yes
Arrival	Time before doors, set backwards from the schedule	Room to rehearse without guests
Sound check	Slot with the AV lead, host and any speakers	Finds problems while they are cheap
Microphone	Type, plus a working back-up	One dead battery should not stop the night
Position	Stage, floor or lectern, and where they enter	Stops guessing mid-event
Content source	Screen, clicker or cue method, if slides run	Avoids a host talking to a blank screen
Paperwork	Running order and a names-and-pronunciation page	Names are where hosts get caught
Welfare	Water, a private room, something to eat	Keeps energy up through a long evening
Parking and access	Space, pass, load-in route	Late arrival starts with the car park
Payment	Invoice date, terms, who pays	Avoids a chase after the event

What an event host needs on the day for sound and stage

An event host needs a microphone that has been tested in the room, a back-up that has also been tested, and a fixed place to stand. Microphone type is the host’s call, so ask which they prefer. Shure’s guide for presenters, read November 2026, says a handheld gives more control but needs more discipline, and that in a large room a headset with a thin boom copes better with feedback than a clip-on.

The AV supplier DOREMi, in a September 2026 article on sound checks, argues that a sound check should verify the whole audio chain, including wireless frequencies, batteries, levels and feedback, and that “a spare microphone that has not been configured or tested may not be a practical backup”. A separate wireless checklist from another supplier lists scanning frequencies, testing transmitters and checking batteries.

A worked example, for illustration only. Doors open at 6.30pm and dinner is served at 7.15pm. Work back: a 30-minute sound check should finish 45 minutes before doors, at 5.45pm, so it starts at 5.15pm, so the host arrives by 4.45pm to meet the contact and walk the room. Change the times, keep the sequence.

What should the host have in hand before the event starts?

The host needs the final running order and a script page in hand before arrival, with every name spelt out and how to say it. A host who reads a name cold is working without a net, and the room can tell.

Before an awards night my own preparation includes checking the pronunciation of every name and running through the script with the organising team, and that goes far better when the page arrives early. For more on the script itself, see my corporate MC script. The paperwork list is short:

• the final running order, with start times and hard stops
• every name, title and how to say it, including sponsors
• who is in the room and anything off limits
• the cue for each video or music item, and who triggers it
• the contact’s mobile, and the AV lead’s

Last-minute changes are normal. I have worked with a finalist list that changed late, and it was manageable because I knew who to call and had the current page.

Water, a private room, food and parking

A host needs water, a quiet private space to prepare, something to eat and a place to park. HSE’s event safety guidance, updated October 2024, says employers must provide welfare facilities “so far as is reasonably practicable”: washing, toilet, rest and changing facilities, and somewhere clean to eat and drink. HSE’s welfare summary, updated March 2024, adds drinking water and somewhere to rest and eat.

That duty concerns employees, and a freelance host is not necessarily one, so it will not decide your arrangement. It does make a sensible floor to copy.

In practice, ask what the host wants and say what you can provide. A private room matters more than people expect, because it is where a host goes through the names once more and switches off the small talk. If there is no room, say so early.

What about payment, invoice and travel?

Agree payment, invoice timing and travel in writing before the day. The government’s guidance on late payment, read November 2026, says an agreed payment date must usually fall within 60 days for business transactions. If none is agreed, payment is late 30 days after the invoice or the service, whichever is later.

So state the invoice date, the payment terms and who is paying, and ask whether the host expects travel or overnight costs to be covered. I do not quote fees here, because they are agreed per event. What matters is that nothing surprising happens at the venue.

What are the red flags that sink a host’s night?

The red flags are all about a missing person or a missing document. Watch for these:

• No contact on site. The host arrives and nobody has authority to decide anything.
• No sound check. The first test is in front of guests.
• A single microphone. One dead battery and the evening stops.
• A script that arrives that morning. There is no time to check names.
• Doors before the room is ready. The host rehearses in front of the audience.
• An unclear handover to the AV lead. Nobody knows who presses play.

If a quote arrives with none of these questions asked on either side, that is worth noticing. For the questions to put to a host, see what to ask when hiring an MC.

When is it worth bringing in a professional host?

It is worth bringing in a professional host when the room is large, the programme is tight, or the evening matters to the people paying. In general, a seasoned host will already ask for most of this list: a contact, a sound check, a back-up, the names. If a host asks for none of it, that is the signal.

One Google reviewer, Matt Gilby, wrote of me that I was “incredibly well prepared including double checking pronunciations of names, turning up early to complete a dress rehearsal”. I was glad to read it, and the rehearsal only happened because the organiser had the room ready for it. The reviews page shows a 5.0 average on Google. For what to look for in a booking, my guide to hiring a host covers it.

DIY is a fair choice for a small, informal gathering. A colleague with a microphone and a clear running order can do well. Once there are speakers, awards or a hard schedule, the day-of list above is a job in itself.

If you have a corporate event coming up, have the date, venue, running order and your contact’s name ready, and tell me what went wrong last time. If you want an event host to run it, call 07596 851647 or email hello@eventhost.info, and we can go through the list together.