Running events during load-shedding: a practical guide

Check the load-shedding schedule for the venue's area when you book it, and again the week before. Then plan the door, the power and the people as if the lights will go off at the worst possible moment.

The door

• Open the Ticksit check-in page on each scanning phone before doors open, while there is signal. It saves a copy of the event's attendee list on the device.
• If the connection drops, keep scanning: tickets are checked against the saved list and each admission is queued. They sync automatically when the connection comes back.
• Charge every scanning phone fully and bring a power bank per phone. Screen brightness drains batteries faster than scanning does.
• Group bookings share one QR code — scan it once for each person in the group.

The power

• Ask the venue what is on backup power (inverter or generator) and what is not. Sound and lighting often are not.
• Keep the essentials on backup: the door, the bar's card machines, emergency lighting.
• If you hire a generator, test it with the real load before the day, not on the day.

The people

Tell attendees in the reminder email that the event goes ahead through load-shedding and what to expect. And brief your team on who makes the call if something goes wrong — confusion at the door costs more time than the outage.