A run of show is a minute-by-minute schedule of everything that happens at an event, who's responsible for each step, and where it happens. Our free run of show template gives your venue team one sheet for event day, with kitchen fire times, bar cues, and AV handoffs built in.
A missed cue can really impact event day. For example, if the kitchen doesn't hear that toasts moved to 7:40 p.m., 60 main courses sit under the heat lamp and reach the tables dry and lukewarm. The client notices, and so do the 60 guests eating it. A shared run of show keeps your event team on the same page, which means fewer mistakes in front of guests and more clients who book their future events with you.
Most run of show templates online are made for conferences, video production, and virtual events. This one is built for restaurants, bars, hotels, and other venues hosting private events. You'll also find an example for a 60-guest dinner and a quick comparison of a run of show, a BEO, and an event timeline.
What Is a Run of Show?
A run of show (ROS) is the event-day schedule that lists every segment in time order, with an owner and a location for each line. Guests see a short event agenda, while your staff works from this detailed timeline. It tells your whole team what happens next and who's handling it.
Event managers, chefs, bar leads, floor captains, AV techs, and outside event planners all use them to help keep events running on time.
What to Include in a Run of Show
A run of show should include every timed moment from load-in to load-out, with one owner for each. Here's what to list:
- Event basics: Date, event name, host, headcount, and space
- Key contacts: Event manager, chef, bar lead, AV tech, and the client's day-of contact, with phone numbers
- Load-in and setup: Vendor arrival times, room flip, and table setup
- Guest arrival: Doors open, welcome drinks, and coat check
- Food service: Passed appetizers, seating, and fire times for each course
- Bar service: When the bar opens, last call, and when it closes
- Program: Speeches, toasts, presentations, entertainment, and audience moments like a Q&A or raffle draw
- AV and lighting cues: Sound check times, slideshow start, lighting changes, and other technical details
- Post-event wrap-up: Final payment, guest exit, vendor load-out, and a five-minute team debrief
Free Run of Show Template
Our free run of show template has three parts: event details, key contacts, and the event-day schedule. Copy each table into a Google Sheet or Excel file and fill it in for each event. Using a template saves planning time and cuts down on errors, since every booking follows the same layout.
Event Details
Fill in the event details at the top of the sheet so anyone who picks it up knows which event they're looking at. Add the version date every time you send an update.
Key Contacts
List one team member for each role, with a phone number that works on event day. That way the floor captain can reach the chef without hunting for a number in the middle of service.
Event-Day Schedule
The schedule has nine columns and one row per segment. Here's what goes in each column:
- Time: The exact clock time the segment starts, like 6:30 p.m. Don't use vague times like "after dinner," since nobody quite agrees on when that is.
- Duration: How long it runs, like 15 minutes.
- Segment: What's happening in that event segment, like "Guests seated" or "Toasts."
- Details and cue: What kicks it off, like "When the host taps the glass."
- Space: Where it happens, like the patio or a private room.
- Owner: The one responsible person, by name or role.
- Kitchen and bar cue: Fire times, pickups, and when the bar opens or closes.
- AV and lighting: Technical cues like mic on, slideshow start, or lights dim.
- Notes: Dietary needs, VIPs, or the backup plan.
We've filled in common segments for a seated dinner to get you started. Add, cut, or reorder rows to match your event.
How to Create a Run of Show in 6 Steps
You create a run of show by starting from the BEO, setting your fixed times, and working backward to fill in every step. Then assign owners and share the final version with every team. It's one of the last jobs in the event planning process, once the BEO is confirmed. Treat it as one part of your wider event management plan.
1. Start From the BEO
Pull the menu, headcount, space, and timing from the banquet event order. The BEO tells you what's being served and set up, so the run of show can focus on when.
2. Set the Fixed Times
Mark the times that can't move, like doors open, dinner service, toasts, and the end of the event. Everything else fits around them. Ask the client which moments matter most for their event objectives, like a CEO's welcome speech, and protect those times.
3. Work Backward
Fill in the steps before each fixed time. If dinner is at 7:00 p.m., the kitchen fires the first course at 6:50 p.m. and the floor team seats guests at 6:45 p.m. Read the event flow top to bottom as you go, so guests aren't sitting for 30 minutes between courses.
4. Assign One Owner per Line
Give every line one name and role, like "Maria, floor captain," so the team knows who to ask. Clear owners stop two people from doing the same job.
5. Share It With Every Team
Send the final run of show to the kitchen, bar, floor, AV, and the client contact. Keep one version and date it, so nobody works from an old copy. That one file is your single source of truth for the entire event.
A clear process for event project management keeps every update in one place.
6. Review It at Pre-Shift
Walk through the run of show at the pre-shift meeting (some teams call it the pre-event briefing). Confirm owners, flag dietary needs, and answer questions before guests arrive.
Run of Show Example: 60-Guest Corporate Dinner
Here's a filled-in run of show for a 60-guest corporate dinner in a private room. The event runs from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., with load-in at 5:00 p.m.
Run of Show vs BEO vs Event Timeline
A run of show shows when things happen and who does them. A BEO shows what's served and set up, and an event timeline covers the planning steps in the weeks before. Most venues use all three for the same event.
The banquet event order supplies most of the details in the run of show, since it holds the menu and setup. If you don't have one yet, start with our free BEO template.
How Venues Use a Run of Show on Event Day
Venues use a run of show to keep the kitchen, bar, floor, and AV teams on the same event schedule. Each team reads its own column and knows its next cue, which keeps the event running smoothly when the toasts start late.
- Pre-shift: The event manager walks through the run of show and confirms owners.
- Kitchen: The chef uses fire times to pace each course.
- Bar: The bar lead knows when to open, pour toasts, and call last call.
- Floor: The captain times seating, clearing, and coffee service.
- AV: The tech knows when to turn on mics and start slides.
- Client contact: The host knows when remarks happen and when the event ends.
Good venue staff management starts with a shared schedule like this. In Perfect Venue, each event has its BEO, event notes, tasks, and messages in one place. Your team pulls the run of show details from that same record.
Run of Show for Complex and Multi-Room Events
Complex events need a run of show for each space, plus one master copy that shows how the spaces connect. Corporate events with breakout rooms and weddings with a patio ceremony and indoor dinner both fit here.
For multi-room events, give every line a space and an owner, then add transition lines like "Move guests from patio to Garden Room, 6:40 p.m." The event manager keeps the master copy, which makes event execution across three rooms a lot less chaotic.
Bigger productions bring in outside help. A stage manager usually calls cues during the program, while the production team (sound, lighting, and video) works from its own production schedule. Ask the event organizers for their version early and match the times to yours. Nobody wants servers carrying out main courses in the middle of the keynote.
The same format works for in-person events and virtual events. If some guests join online, add lines for the livestream start, camera switches, and online Q&A. That way, guests attending in person and online hear the speech at the same moment.
Give audience moments like a Q&A, a live poll, or a raffle draw their own lines. Set a time limit for each one and pick one person to wrap it up.
Run of Show Tips
The best runs of show leave some buffer time, give each line one owner, and stay on one up-to-date version. Here are seven tips for event day:
- Add buffer time: Leave five to 10 minutes between segments, since speeches often run long.
- Use one owner per line: Lines with two owners tend to get skipped, so pick one name.
- Date every version: Put the version date at the top and send updates to everyone.
- Print copies: Keep a printed copy on a clipboard in case a phone dies.
- Plan a backup: Note contingency plans like the rain plan or AV backup in the Notes column.
- Expect changes: Speeches run long and guests show up late. Mark which segments can shrink, like coffee service, so the team knows where to find time.
- Log sound checks: Write the sound check time and who signed off in the AV column, so nobody's tapping a mic in front of 60 guests.
For the weeks before the event, an event planning checklist covers the steps that lead up to your run of show.
Event planners need to take event-day risk seriously. In the American Express Global Business Travel 2027 forecast, 79% of meetings professionals said they apply risk management practices to all or most of their meetings. A clear run of show with backup plans shows clients that your venue cares about event success as much as they do.
Conclusion
A run of show keeps every team on the same schedule on event day. Build it from the BEO, set the fixed times, work backward, and give every line one owner. Then share one dated version with the kitchen, bar, floor, AV, and client contact.
Perfect Venue keeps the details your run of show depends on in one place. Each event has its BEO, event notes, tasks, and guest messages in the same record. If the headcount drops from 60 to 52, you update it once, so a successful event doesn't hinge on someone spotting a change buried in an email thread.
Set up your next event in one shared record when you sign up for Perfect Venue.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a run of show template?
A run of show template is a pre-built spreadsheet or document for planning an event-day schedule. It has columns for time, duration, segment, location, owner, and cues for the kitchen, bar, and AV teams. You fill it in for each event instead of starting a new schedule from scratch.
What should a run of show include?
A run of show should include start times, durations, segments, locations, and one owner for each line. Add kitchen and bar cues, AV and lighting cues, key contacts with phone numbers, and notes on dietary needs or backup plans. Cover everything from load-in to load-out.
How do I create a run of show for an event?
Create a run of show by pulling details from the BEO, then setting the fixed times like doors open and dinner service. Work backward to fill in each step, assign one owner per line, and share one dated version with every team. Review it at the pre-shift meeting.
What's the difference between a run of show and a BEO?
A BEO lists what's served and set up, including the menu, headcount, rentals, and pricing. A run of show lists when each part of the event happens and who handles it. Venues build the run of show from the BEO, so the two documents work together on event day.
Who should get a copy of the run of show?
Give a copy of the run of show to the event manager, chef, bar lead, floor captain, AV tech, and the client's day-of contact. Outside vendors like florists, photographers, and entertainers need the lines that affect them. Send everyone the same dated version so nobody works from an old copy.
What's the difference between a run of show and an event agenda?
An event agenda is the short schedule guests see, like "Dinner at 7:00 p.m., toasts at 8:45 p.m." A run of show is the internal version for event staff. It adds setup times, fire times, technical cues, and one responsible person for each line.
Can you use a run of show for virtual events?
Yes. A run of show for virtual events swaps load-in and fire times for tech checks, the livestream start, speaker handoffs, and chat moderation. Hybrid events need both sets of cues on one sheet, with the AV lead owning the online lines.
