Before you book anything

Have you confirmed the handover date from the contractor in writing, and do you have a fallback date?
Do you know whether the building's own electrical system will be commissioned by then, or whether all power must be brought in?
Is there vehicle access to the entrance for unloading, and will the access route still be a building site?
Have you identified who holds the keys the day before, and do they know the crew arrives early?
Do you have a wet-weather plan if the ribbon-cutting was meant to happen outside?

The venue

Is there a finished room where guests can gather if the main space is delayed?
Do you know the load-bearing limits of any temporary structures — stages, platforms — if the floor slab is new?
Have you walked the guest route from arrival to exit and confirmed it is clear of materials, tools and scaffolding?
Is there working climate control, or will you need fans or heaters brought in?
Who is the single point of contact on site if something structural needs resolving during the event?

The programme

Have you written a running order with specific minute marks, and does it include crew setup and breakdown time?
Does everyone speaking know their slot length, and have you rehearsed the handovers?
If there is a tour of the building, have you timed it with the expected group size and identified where it bottlenecks?
Is there a Plan B for the ribbon moment if the façade, door or sign is not finished?
Have you confirmed who introduces whom, and in what order officials are acknowledged?

Technical

Do you know where power is coming from — the building, a generator, a temporary supply — and is it sized for sound, light and catering?
If you are bringing in a generator, have you confirmed it can be positioned where noise will not compete with speeches?
Have you specified where the speakers stand and whether they need fill light, given that new buildings are often backlit by site floods?
Is there a microphone for every speaker, a backup, and someone assigned to hand them over?
Does someone have the running order on paper, not just on a phone that will run flat?

Food and drink

Have you confirmed the catering setup can happen in a space that may still have dust sheets down?
Is there access to water for coffee and cleaning, or does it all come in bottles?
Do you know where the crew eats, and is that space separate from the guest area?
If you are serving alcohol, have you checked what the building's licence covers, or whether you need a temporary one?
Is there somewhere to store coats, bags and anything guests should not carry on a building tour?

Guests and transport

Have you sent arrival instructions that account for the address not yet being in mapping software?
Is there clear wayfinding from the road, or will someone need to stand at the turn?
If parking is on gravel or mud, have you warned guests and arranged shuttle transport from a paved area?
Do you have a list of confirmed press and officials, and does security know who they are?
Have you confirmed accessibility — ramps, lifts, accessible toilets — in a building where not all of that may be finished?

The last week

Have you done a final site visit and taken photographs of anything that might be blamed on the event afterward?
Does the venue know who is authorised to speak to them about noise, timing or access on the night?
Have you shared the full running order, including load-in and load-out, with the venue and the contractor?
Is there a contact sheet with phone numbers for the venue keyholder, the contractor's site lead, your own team, and the crew chief?
Have you confirmed the weather forecast and decided the threshold at which the outdoor elements move inside or are cut?

The day

Is the crew able to access the site at the agreed time, and is the space genuinely clear?
Have you done a walk-through thirty minutes before doors and confirmed sightlines, audio and the guest flow?
Does someone on your team know where the first-aid kit is and who is trained to use it?
Is there a person assigned to thank and release the crew, and do they know when that happens?
Have you planned what is said if the building is not quite finished — acknowledged directly or left unspoken?

After

Have you scheduled a walk-through with the venue the morning after to confirm the space is as it was found?
Is there a debrief with your own team while the day is still recent?
Do you have a plan for thanking speakers, officials and anyone who solved a problem on the day?

The difference between an event that holds together and one that does not is usually a question answered three weeks earlier. Most of what can go wrong at a grand opening goes wrong because the building was treated as fixed when it was still the variable.

This guide was written by the After 5 Events crew — the people who arrive when the paint is still wet and leave when the last case is back on the truck. The decision now is whether to carry the technical and logistical side yourself or to hand it to people who have done it in unfinished buildings before. Before you call anyone, settle the handover date, the power source, and who speaks for the contractor on the day. Everything else follows from those three.

Grand Opening — the checklist