As event organizers, you can spend months (or even years) intricately planning every last detail of an amazing experience — only to have it come crashing down thanks to variables you can’t control.
And when tornadoes strike, your keynote speaker gets sick, or the visiting team’s bus breaks down, sometimes event cancellation is the only option.
Though canceling an event can disappoint creators and ticket buyers, a well-executed cancellation can show your brand’s integrity.
What should you do when faced with the difficult decision to cancel an event? This guide includes an email template and tips for event cancellation into an opportunity to delight with above-and-beyond customer service.
Need to cancel your event?
How to cancel an event (gracefully)
How to create the best event or party cancellation message
Reasons why you might need to cancel an event
Sometimes event cancellation is the best option if you’re unable to solve the issue yourself. There are some alternatives to canceling your event, though. For example, you could shift the format of your in-person event to make it an online event, turn it into a hybrid event, or simply postpone your event to a later date.
But there are times when there’s simply nothing you can do but cancel. To give you an idea of when it might be time to cancel your event, let’s break down some of the top reasons organizers ultimately decide to cancel.
Weather complications
Event cancellation notices due to weather may be necessary if extreme weather occurs or if your event primarily takes place outside and specific conditions are necessary. Large storms, such as hurricanes or blizzards, may make it dangerous or impossible for attendees to travel to the event.
If you’ve organized an outdoor event at a venue that lacks coverage in the case of bad weather, it might not make sense for the event to go forward as you may risk seeing low attendance.
How to avoid it: Make sure you get event cancellation insurance.
High-cost concert cancellations can cost venues hundreds of thousands — and concerts aren’t the only cancellations that impose high costs.
When organizers were forced to cancel the Festival International de Louisiane in 2020, they lost around $500,000 worth of investment. Similarly, organizers at the Twin Cities Marathon had to cancel just hours before their 2023 race began because of extreme temperatures and had to refund more than 20,000 runners the $195 entry fee.
But even if you’re not planning an event that large, you should protect yourself financially.
There are a range of event cancellation policies and coverage for events you can take out that offer protection from bad weather. That way, you’ll recover any financial losses from your event insurance if you’re forced to cancel.
Low attendance
If you’re not seeing the number of ticket sales you need to cover the costs of your event and turn a profit, and you’ve tried offering your cheapest tickets, choosing the cheapest venue, etc., event cancellation might be the best option.
This will depend on whether or not you’re able to get refunds from the vendors you’ve already paid for or if the lack of revenue is so great that it’s better to lose your deposits than see the event through.
How to avoid it: Rethink your ticket pricing or try simplifying your checkout process.
Contact existing ticket holders to let them know that numbers are low. You can then encourage them to share your event page with friends and community groups to boost your sales and ensure your upcoming event goes as scheduled.
Unforeseen complications
We all know unforeseen circumstances can get in the way of an event. This was especially obvious after the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to unprecedented event cancellations.
For example, transportation issues, such as airline delays, might cause you to cancel. The famous E3 Expo was cancelled in 2023 because the companies couldn’t attend the trade show due to COVID. If you have no other option, sometimes cancellation is all you have.
However, any issues can crop up and get in the way of your successful event. For example, there might be a national mourning event that you couldn’t have planned for.
How to avoid it: Unforeseen circumstances are unpredictable. While you may not be able to prevent them, you can prepare for cancellation by having a professional email template ready to send out.
Venue complications
If your venue pulls out at the last minute and you don’t have a backup site, event cancellation might be the only option.
Hosting a smaller type of event? You might be able to secure a second venue within a short timeframe, but this can be more challenging for larger events.
Last-minute bookings can also come with higher price tags. This might not work for your event budget — although event cancellation coverage might help you with the costs associated with hiring out a new event space.
How to avoid it: Have a backup venue primed and ready to go. Some venue managers will accept a retainer fee to keep your event booked. So you can move your event to a new space if your top choice falls through.
Internal complications
As an event organizer, you know that events have many moving parts and third parties involved — and sometimes those third parties can cause complications.
For example, a key vendor could back out at the last minute, or you may deal with delays in obtaining key permits or licenses. Some inconveniences can be overcome — but others (like lacking a necessary legal permit) could mean you need to cancel.
How to avoid it: Make sure you vet your event staff and vendors to ensure they’re reliable. That way, you’ll be in the best possible position to avoid internal complications or react quickly.
How to cancel an event (gracefully)
If you decide to cancel your event, the next step is to inform your customers.
You must be professional, open, and honest with your customers to keep their trust and willingness to attend future events. Here are four pro tips to help you.
1. Stop taking sales
Once you’ve decided to cancel your event, cease selling tickets immediately. This will help mitigate disappointment from your ticket buyers and prevent the need to refund more people.
Selling tickets using Eventbrite? Pausing ticket sales is fast and straightforward using your Eventbrite dashboard. Simply:
- Log into Eventbrite
- Select “Manage my Events”
- Go to your Event Dashboard
- Click “On Sale”
- Select “Change Event Status”
- Click “Take Off Sale”
You can also update your event status to “Cancelled” or “Postponed” to avoid confusion when prospective customers land on your event page.
2. Communicate with your attendees
Ideally, you want to give attendees as much notice as possible, but the earlier you can communicate the cancellation to them, the better. This is especially true if many attendees travel long distances and need time to rearrange travel plans, hotels, and transport.
Email your attendees as soon as you can. Start with a thank you message for purchasing tickets and a brief but clear explanation.
If you created your event page with Eventbrite, you can use the platform to email your attendees. We even have an email template below for you to reference.
Some folks don’t always check their inbox, and emails often go into spam folders, so take all possible routes (even social media) to communicate this critical information. Your website, event marketing emails, and other promotional materials are good channels to announce the cancellation.
3. Issue full refunds
If you charged for tickets, you should issue a full refund to attendees — and start the process quickly. If your event runs for multiple days and only one day is cancelled, it’s fine to offer a partial or prorated refund to multi-day ticket holders.
A partial refund may also make sense if you move your event online to provide a discounted event alternative.
When contacting attendees, be clear about refund amounts, when you’ll start processing refunds, and when attendees should expect to see refunds credited to their accounts.
You may want to tell attendees to talk to their bank or credit card provider to check on the status of refunds. Make sure attendees know not to send you their personal account or card information to check on refund statuses.
4. Reflect and assess
No matter the reason for canceling your event, it’s important to evaluate what went wrong and determine if there’s a mitigation event strategy you can implement for future event ideas.
You won’t be able to prevent natural disasters or major weather events, but you may want to take the time to work out cancellation clauses in your vendor contracts or come up with backup options.
Consider sending a follow-up survey to your ticket buyers to find out how satisfied they were with your cancellation communications and refund process.
Start planning your next event.
How to create the best event or party cancellation message
Finding out that your event is cancelled can be disappointing for ticket buyers — so it’s important to be transparent in your communications.
Providing clear and comprehensive information can help ensure that your attendees aren’t confused and can help you maintain a good relationship with them.
In your cancellation email, just remember to:
- Cover the key points like why the event is being cancelled, when, and how ticket buyers can expect a refund.
- Try to anticipate the main questions attendees will have to save yourself from an influx of messages after the communication goes out.
- Be clear and concise. You don’t want there to be any confusion around what’s happening.
- Set up a frequently asked questions (FAQs) page on your website and direct ticket holders there for more information about your event cancellation.
Cover questions such as when ticket holders will receive their refund, who to contact if they don’t receive it in that timeframe, the reason for the cancellation, and where to locate your future events.
Here’s an email template you can use to cancel your event:
Subject line: An update on [Event Name]
Body copy:
[Greeting],
We hope this message finds you well. We regret to inform you that we have made the difficult decision to cancel [event name] due to [cancellation reason].
We are working to refund all ticket buyers via your original method of payment. Due to the high volume of refunds, we appreciate your patience with us as we work to get everyone their money back. If you do not receive your refund by [date], please contact [contact info] so we can look into this for you.
For more information, please refer to the FAQ section on the event page [insert link to event page].
For information on our future events, follow us on [social media platform] at [social media handle]. We hope to see you at [event name] soon!
[Sign off],
[Company name]
Use your party cancellation message to promote future events
Your party cancellation message doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom. In fact, it’s a great opportunity to promote future events to show customers there are still plenty of events going ahead.
After explaining the key points of your event cancellation message, give the second half of your email a positive spin by name-checking upcoming events and why they’re worth attending. If you need inspiration, try using an event invitation email template to get you started.
You can even offer special discount codes to your customers as an apology for the party cancellation. Not only is this great customer service, but it’ll boost your sales for future events.
Using Eventbrite to manage your events? Issuing discount codes is fast and simple. Here’s how to get it done:
Try this free event cancellation message template
If you’ve got to cancel your event last minute, the last thing you want to do is sit at a keyboard for hours trying to figure out the best way to word your event cancellation message.
Don’t worry because we’re here to help. Save yourself some time and try out this free event cancellation message template. All you’ve got to do is fill in the blanks!
Subject line: An update on [Event Name]
Body copy:
[Greeting],
We hope this message finds you well. We regret to inform you that we have made the difficult decision to cancel [event name] due to [cancellation reason].
We are working to refund all ticket buyers via your original method of payment. Due to the high volume of refunds, we appreciate your patience with us as we work to get everyone their money back. If you do not receive your refund by [date], please contact [contact info] so we can look into this for you.
For information on our future events, follow us on [social media platform] at [social media handle]. We hope to see you at [event name] soon!
[Sign off],
[Company name]
Canceling can be difficult
When it comes to organizing an event, there are a lot of variables you can’t manage or predict. If something unexpected arises, consider event cancellation so you’re not holding ticket holders’ money.
Just focus on what’s in your control, which is the power to communicate your party cancellation message openly and honestly to your customers.
If you’re using Eventbrite and have to cancel, we’re here to support you every step of the way — from pausing ticket sales and sending an event cancellation email to attendees to rescheduling events and setting up discount promo codes for future events.
