Safe Event Planning
Event organizers at UBC Okanagan have a duty to provide a safe, secure and respectful event environment for UBC community members and event attendees.
A Campus Event Form submission is required for all events that take place on campus. This ensures:
- Visibility of all events and activities at any given time
- Review of important event details and logistics to support your event’s success
- Review of events that have the potential to interfere and pose a higher risk to the attendees and the university.
When to submit
Type of event | Timeline for submission | Approval required |
Standard events/activities with no potential to interfere | 14 days in advance | No |
Events/activities with the potential to interfere (fewer than 1,000 people) | 30 days in advance | Yes |
Large-scale events/activities with the potential to interfere (more than 1,000 people) | 90 days in advance | Yes |
These timelines allow time for sufficient review, follow-up and any additional planning to get needed measures in place. Submissions outside these timelines will still be considered but may affect the review and delivery of your event.
Note: UBCO Student Club and Course Union events must also obtain approval through the SUO’s event booking process.
Off-campus events
- Academic or administrative unit events—a Safe Event Plan submission is not required.
- UBCO Student Club and Course Union events—a Safe Event Plan submission is not needed but approval through the SUO’s event booking process is still required.
High-level review and potential to interfere
Campus Operations and Risk Management meets regularly to review submissions. The following guiding principles are used to assess an event’s potential to interfere:
- cause disruption to teaching, learning and research activities on campus
- put the university community and event attendees at risk
Event elements that trigger this high-level review include:
- Gathering 1,000 people or more
- Serving alcohol
- Having amplified sound (PA system, DJ, live music)
- Using a barbeque(s) or open flame
- Hosting extreme sports
- Location in a highly populated area or during a key or busy time (i.e. Convocation)
- Having an environmental impact (i.e. potential damage to turf, garbage/waste, chemical release)
- Including outside services, including food trucks
- Inviting guest speakers (external to UBC)
- Having temporary installations
- Requiring traffic control or road closures
- Requiring higher-level compliance and protocol, as required by university policy, City of Kelowna protocol, and/or BC Government protocol