Events · Participation · Experience

From planned experience to lived reality.

We help event organisers anticipate where participant experience may fall short before event day, and understand how the event was actually experienced once it's delivered.

Focused on real-world participant behaviour, not just operational delivery.

Book a review My story
Cycling events· Running & endurance· Community sport· Volunteer-led· Participation· Experience· Cycling events· Running & endurance· Community sport· Volunteer-led· Participation· Experience· Cycling events· Running & endurance· Community sport· Volunteer-led· Participation· Experience·

What I do

Experience & Participation Framework

Independent review of participant experience, before and after your event. Two focused services, one clear lens: how the experience is actually felt by the people taking part.

Who this is for

Organisations who care about the participant experience and want an independent view from someone who can see what's hard to see from the inside.

Annual events Cycling events Running events Established festivals Community programmes Business Improvement Districts Tourism initiatives Volunteer-led organisations Participation programmes
Before your event

Pre-Event Experience Scan

£750 Fixed fee

An independent review of your event before it goes live. I assess the full participant journey and identify where experience typically loses clarity, gaps, and what would strengthen the experience ahead of event day.

Best time: 4 to 8 weeks before the event, when core systems and communications are in place and there is still time to make meaningful improvements.

See what's included
What I review
  • Registration and booking journey
  • Event website and information clarity
  • Participant communications
  • Pre-event touchpoints
  • Event-day guidance and information flow
  • End-to-end participant journey
What you receive
  • Participant Journey Map
  • Readiness Findings Report
  • Prioritised recommendations: Now / Next / Later
  • 60-minute review session
  • 30-day action plan

Confidence that your participant experience has been reviewed independently, with clear, actionable insight to improve clarity, flow and engagement before event day.

For a full one-pager, email me.

Explore the process
During or after your event

Live Experience & Participation Review

From £1,500 + travel and accommodation if required

An independent review of your event from a participant perspective, captured during or immediately after delivery. I build a clear picture of how the experience actually landed, not just how it was intended.

Works best: During live delivery, within 1 to 2 weeks post-event, or for multi-day and high-footfall events where flow and engagement are key.

See what's included
What I review
  • Arrival and welcome experience
  • Registration and check-in flow
  • Signage, navigation and clarity
  • Participant movement and flow
  • Staff and volunteer interactions
  • Engagement peaks and drop-off points
  • Overall experience design and atmosphere
What you receive
  • Participant Journey Review (actual experience)
  • Event Observation Report
  • Experience Reality Check
  • Prioritised recommendations: Now / Next / Later
  • 90-minute review session
  • Experience Improvement Action Plan

A clear, independent understanding of how your event was actually experienced, and where focused improvements could significantly enhance future engagement, satisfaction and return rates.

For a full one-pager, email me.

Explore the process

How it works

1

Review Scope

We agree what you need: the event, the timing, and what you most want to understand about the participant experience. No prep required.

2

Participant Journey Analysis

I review materials, systems and communications, or observe on the ground, mapping the experience as a participant would encounter it.

3

Findings + Action Plan

A clear report covering what works, where experience typically loses clarity, and a prioritised set of improvements structured as Now / Next / Later.

Also available

Freelance Event Operations

Alongside the Experience & Participation Framework, I'm available as a freelance event operations specialist. Whether you need an extra pair of hands for a one-off event or ongoing operational support across a season, I work behind the scenes to make things run smoothly.

Let's Talk
  • Event planning
  • Operational delivery
  • Logistics coordination
  • Volunteer coordination
  • Stakeholder management
  • Event-day support
  • Risk and contingency planning

Track record

15+

years

Years spent making complicated things look easy.

From the Stonehenge Summer Solstice to national resilience exercises, I've spent over fifteen years bringing together people, logistics and operations when the pressure is on, and the stakes are real.

  • Managed Stonehenge Summer Solstice for 10,000+ attendees
  • Coordinated UK deployment to a NATO exercise in France
  • Delivered national resilience exercises for emergency services
  • At home in cycling, running and community sport

Out in the wild

Work in the real world

A few of the events, programmes and research projects I've been part of.

Crowds gathered with event staff at sunrise for the Stonehenge Summer Solstice

Stonehenge Summer Solstice

I delivered one of the UK's most iconic mass gatherings. Working together with multiple stakeholders from highways to local campsites and counter terrorist officers, to welcome over 10,000 people to celebrate sunrise safely and joyfully at the stones.

Multi-agency emergency responders and ambulances during Exercise Amber

National Ambulance Resilience Exercise

I organised Exercise Amber 2, a major national multi-agency interoperability exercise delivered with the National Ambulance Resilience Unit, bringing police, fire and ambulance commanders together to test their joint response. Read about Exercise Amber.

Riders with medals at a community trail cycling event

Volunteering at Cycling & Running Events

From the Clarendon Marathon to local cyclocross races, I volunteer across grassroots cycling and running events, seeing first hand what makes them work.

A group of runners lined up together before a social run in Salisbury

Silent Runs Salisbury

Building community through social running, creating the conditions for people to connect, take part and keep showing up.

Young riders racing cyclocross on a muddy course Research in progress

Cyclocross Participation Study

Independent research into participation drop-off in youth cyclocross, finding the small things that keep young riders coming back.

Riders racing across the sand at Battle on the Beach gravel race Took part 2026

Battle on the Beach

I lined up for this iconic gravel race on the sand in March 2026, getting stuck into the events I care about as a participant, not just behind the scenes.

Who I work with

For the people behind the events

I work with organisations who care about getting it right, not just ticking boxes.

Sporting Events

Cycling, gravel, running and endurance events, and community sport that want better operations, participation and experience.

Public Sector & Community

Local authorities, participation initiatives, community engagement and behaviour change programmes that bring people together.

Charities & Membership

Volunteer-led organisations, participation programmes and community-based projects looking to grow and keep their people.

Nicola Harrington
15+
Years
experience

About Nicola

From Stonehenge to start lines.

I help organisations create experiences people want to be part of. Over 15+ years I've worked across major public events, national resilience programmes, healthcare, technology and security, bringing together people, logistics and operations to make complex things happen.

These days I'm most interested in participation and experience: why people get involved, what keeps them coming back, and where organisations quietly lose participants, volunteers and communities along the way.

Through my son's national and international cycling journey, and my own love of running and community participation, I've found my home in sporting events, mass-participation programmes and community-led experiences.

Work with me

Let's create something people want to be part of.

Planning an event, trying to grow participation, or want to make the experience better? I'd love to hear about it.

Get in touch