Run of Show Pre-Send Checklist
A line-by-line review to run before the final event timeline goes out to vendors, so the version they receive is complete, current, and executable.
Reviewed for 2026, updated September 8, 2026.
Most run-of-show problems are baked in before the day starts. A row with no owner, a buffer that quietly got scheduled over, a load-in time that never matched what the venue confirmed, a florist still working from the PDF you sent two weeks ago. None of those are hard to catch, but they are easy to miss when you are reading a document you wrote yourself. This checklist is the pass we recommend running on the final draft, ideally with the venue contact or your lead coordinator reading alongside you, before the link goes to anyone else.
Work through it top to bottom on the actual document, not from memory. The first block covers the structure of the timeline itself, the second covers the details each row needs to carry, and the last block covers distribution, which is where a good timeline most often stops being the timeline. If you want a quick sanity check on whether the program fits inside your hard stop once realistic overruns are added, the Run of Show Buffer Calculator on this site does that arithmetic for you.
- Every hard anchor is marked as fixed, with the reason it cannot move written beside it: venue access, printed start time, sunset, meal service window, venue hard out.
- Every stretch between two anchors adds up: planned durations plus transitions fit inside the fixed points with slack left over.
- Every buffer is labeled as a buffer in its own row so nobody schedules a new item into it.
- Every row has exactly one named owner with a cell phone number, not a company or department name.
- Every handoff from one team to another has its own row with the trigger that starts it.
- Every row lists a location precise enough to find: the room, tent, terrace, or side of the building.
- Rows are tagged for flexibility (fixed, compress, hold, or cut) so the coordinator can decide quickly when the day slips.
- Technical cues sit on the rows that need them: mic type and who holds it, video file name and version, lighting look and trigger.
- Names and pronunciations for anyone being announced are written out for the MC, DJ, or emcee.
- Songs attached to specific moments, and any do-not-play list, are on the rows where they apply.
- Vendor arrival, setup, and strike times match what each vendor confirmed in writing, not what you assumed.
- Meal service rows match the caterer's timing, including when the kitchen needs to fire each course and how long plates can hold.
- Weather or backup plan rows exist with a decision time and the name of the person who makes the call.
- Guest-facing agenda or program times match the run-of-show version they were printed from.
- Vendor and venue contacts (name, role, phone) are in the document header where anyone can find them in seconds.
- A change log at the top lists what moved since the previous version, with the date of each change.
- The version number and date appear in the header and, if you export a file, in the file name.
- Each vendor receives the sections relevant to them, with the full timeline available on request.
- The distribution list covers every vendor and every on-site lead, including second shooters, assistants, and backups.
- One live link is the only version in circulation; earlier PDFs and email attachments have been retired or clearly marked outdated.
- Every recipient is asked to confirm they opened the current version, and those confirmations are tracked somewhere you can see at a glance.
- Anyone who joined or changed within a day or two of the event has been reached by phone or text, not only by a link notification.
- A printed copy of the final version is in the coordinator's binder, with a second copy for the venue contact.
https://gigtimelinr.com/templates/run-of-show-pre-send-checklist/Use it in your business, share it with your team, or link to it from your own site.
Also from GigTimelinr
- Run of Show Row Builder Worksheet: A fill-in grid for drafting each moment of the event day with its time, location, named owner, trigger, flexibility rating, and notes.
- Free calculators