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Case study · Square Enix, October 2023

Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival

200+ event staff worked 450 shifts, looking after 6,000 fans and 30 experiences in one weekend at ExCeL London.

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Client
Square Enix
Event
Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival 2023
Where
ExCeL London
When
19 - 22 October 2023, live Sat 21 and Sun 22
Team
200+ event staff, 450 shifts

Services delivered

  • Event staff
  • Registration
  • Queue management
  • Merchandising
  • Gaming stations
  • Main stage
  • Event managers
  • Goody bag packing
  • Build and de-rig

01The brief

Square Enix brought the Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival to ExCeL London as one of three stops on its tour, alongside Las Vegas and Tokyo. Its production company came to us about eight weeks out.

We ran the whole floor, from the build and goody bags to check-in for 6,000 fans, the merch stand, all 30 experiences and the de-rig. That took 200+ staff across 450 shifts, in eight teams.

On the Saturday morning we scanned every fan and gave them a wristband, a goody bag and a booklet between 8am and 10am, and most of them wanted to head straight for the merch.

02What we did

We ran eight teams and 21 managers across the weekend.

Each team had an event manager or team leader.

  1. Thu 19 October · ExCeL

    Build

    20 of our staff helped the client build the merchandise stand.

  2. Fri 20 October · ExCeL

    Goody bags

    30 staff packed three extra items into each of 6,000 goody bags, then walked the whole show with the client.

  3. Sat 21 October · 8am

    Doors

    We had 13 on ticket scanners and 4 on a desk for media, cosplayers and access needs, and 32 moved straight onto the Battle Challenge once the rush cleared.

  4. Sat 21 - Sun 22 October

    Thirty experiences

    Each in-game city had its own team, the merch team was 29 strong, and every queue had a host and a marshal.

  5. Sun 22 October · night

    De-rig

    Between 20 and 30 of the team stayed on to take the show down.

  • 200+event staff
  • 450shifts
  • 6,000fans checked in
  • 105%staffing compliance

03The result

Every position was filled across both show days, with 6,000 fans checked in between 8am and 10am on the Saturday. We booked more people than the brief asked for at our own cost, which is the 105% staffing compliance.

In general the staff was so wholesome.

A fan on X after the festival
The main stage at the Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival, ExCeL London

6,000 fans came through check-in between 8am and 10am.

The merch team at the tills at the Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival, ExCeL London
MerchThe merch team at the tills
An event staff member in red running the archery experience at the Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival, ExCeL London
The experiences30 across the show floor
An event staff member in costume at the Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival, ExCeL London
Gaming stationsPart of the show floor

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On this job: event staff hire, exhibition staff agency and merchandise staff.

Let’s talk.

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