Admission 2018: Hugh Forrest


I was wondering recently about how long people stick it out on the events circuit.

That is, organisers specifically. Don’t get me wrong, the thrill you get when things go well and people are amazed by your events is second to few. However, it’s also a high-stress, multi-faceted set of responsibilities to take on.

I reckoned it would be a few years or so. Maybe a couple extra in exceptional circumstances.

There are, of course, many dedicated individuals who break that curve. One example of these conference veterans is Hugh Forrest, chief programming officer for SXSW.

Above you’ll see the recording of when we had the pleasure of hearing some stories from Hugh’s 30 year career (yes, three-zero) in events during Admission.

Leaning on his experience he wanted to share his predictions for the five biggest upcoming challenges for events of the future.

In the new year, we’ll be uploading the remaining talks on topics that range from keeping developers happy to what to do when there’s a citywide power outage, and beyond.

To know when they’re live, or when we host another conference, you can subscribe here: