Number of attendees

Additions, clarifications, extended definition

This metric indicates how many people actually attended the event – whether in person or online.

Interpretation

High attendance generally signals interest in the topic, effective promotion or the relevance of the event. Conversely, a low number of attendees may point to poor timing, weak communication or an unattractive format.

Watch out: limits and risks of distortion

• The number of attendees alone says nothing about their satisfaction, engagement or the actual value of the event.
• For online events, it is advisable to distinguish between connected and active participants.
• It is necessary to distinguish between registered/signed-up participants and actual attendees.

Where and how to measure

• Registration lists.
• Ticketing systems (e.g. Eventbrite, GoOut).
• Data from online event platforms (e.g. Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, etc.).
• For large events with no registration required, attendee numbers are sometimes only estimated, which can be very imprecise.

Context

It makes it possible to assess the reach and appeal of the event as well as the effectiveness of the invitation or communication support. For comparisons with competitors this metric can be useful, but also misleading. For comparing your own events (of the same type), it makes sense to combine this metric with the attendance rate.