Turning an idea scribbled on a piece of paper into a to-scale, event map on real terrain
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Why Every Supplier Having a Different Version of Your Site Plan Costs You Money
Here's a situation most event businesses recognise. The festival organiser sends over a site map — hand-drawn, emailed as a photo, rough proportions, written notes in the margins. It's a best-effort sketch of what they want. Toilets there, stage roughly here, bar somewhere in the middle.
You work from it to plan the job. Then the client changes their mind about the bar position. You update your version. But the generator company still has the original. The catering supplier has the version from three emails ago. The AV team hasn't seen any version because they were cc'd on the wrong thread.
On build day, nobody is working from the same plan. Questions that should have been answered in advance get answered in the field, by whoever is standing nearest. Mistakes happen. Equipment goes in the wrong place. Things need moving. Time and money disappear.
The problem is the format. A photo, a PDF, an emailed image — these are static. The moment anything changes, every copy in circulation is wrong. The fix is one live map that everyone accesses through the same link, that updates once and everyone sees it immediately.
One Link. Always Current. No Login Required.
GoodEvent Maps builds event site plans directly on Google Maps satellite imagery. When the plan is ready — or even at a working draft — you share it as a single URL. Any device, any person, anywhere: they open the link and see the current version of the map.
The link doesn't point to a file that was current when it was sent. It points to the live plan. Move the stage, add a toilet block, shift the generator — you make the change once in GoodEvent Maps. Every person who opens the link sees the update immediately, without you resending anything.
What This Actually Solves
Version confusion on build day
When your generator supplier, your catering company, your AV team, and your client's event coordinator all have different PDFs — some dated, some undated — build day starts with a negotiation about whose version is right. That negotiation costs time. With a single live link shared before the event, there is only one version. It's always right.
The client who keeps changing their mind
Clients change their minds. That's the job. In a paper or email-based workflow, every change creates a new version that then needs to reach every supplier. In GoodEvent Maps, the client changes their mind, you update the map, and everyone with the link sees it. The process for handling a change is the same whether you're one week out or one day out.
Suppliers arriving without context
A generator supplier who arrives at a festival site and doesn't know where they're supposed to set up will ask someone. That someone is usually you. With a GoodEvent Maps link shared in advance, the supplier opens it on their phone the morning of build day and sees their position on the real satellite map of the real venue. They don't need to ask.
The question you've already answered twelve times
Where should the power be? Where's the nearest toilet? Is there vehicle access from the east gate? Every one of these questions takes a phone call to answer. A live site map with annotated assets — generator labelled, toilet positions marked, access routes drawn — answers all of them before anyone picks up the phone.
Crucially, the people opening the link don't need a GoodEvent account. They don't need to create a login, download an app, or set up anything. You send the link via email, WhatsApp, or drop it into whatever communication channel you're already using. They tap it on their phone and the map is there.
On the day of the event, when your suppliers and customers are arriving, everyone is looking at the same map — the most recently up-to-date version. Nobody is asking where the power should go.
Building the Plan in GoodEvent Maps
You don't need design skills or specialist software to use GoodEvent Maps. If you can use Google Maps, you can build a site plan.
Start on real terrain
Type in the venue's postcode or address and switch to satellite view. You're planning on the actual site — the field, the treeline, the access road, the slope that affects where the stage can go. The context that a blank canvas can't give you is already there.
Drag and drop assets
The GoodEvent Maps library has over 100 pre-built event icons: stages, marquees, bars, toilet blocks, generators, first aid points, entrance gates, fencing lines, food vendor pitches, parking zones, ticket tents, and more. Drag them onto the satellite map and position them where they'll actually go on the day.
Add labels and notes
Label every asset. 'Main stage — 15m x 12m.' 'Generator — do not obstruct access.' 'Staff entrance only.' 'Bar 2 — opens 6pm.' These annotations are visible when anyone opens the link on their phone. The map speaks for itself.
Mark access routes and no-entry zones
Draw the delivery vehicle route from the road to the unloading area. Mark the emergency vehicle access lane. Shade the backstage no-entry zone in a different colour. These additions take two minutes and prevent the conversations that happen when they're absent.
Who Needs the Link
- The value of a live site map link compounds with each person who has it. Think through every person who needs to know where things go before build day:
- The client — so they can see the plan matches their vision and raise any issues before equipment is on site
- The venue coordinator — so they know what's going where in their space and can flag any restrictions
- Each supplier — so they know their position, their access route, and what's around them
- Your own crew leads — so they arrive with the plan on their phones rather than waiting for a briefing
- Any local authority or safety officer who needs to review the layout before licensing approval
One link covers all of them. Send it in the same message you'd send your confirmation details. When the plan changes, it updates everywhere. No resending, no chasing, no 'please make sure you're using the latest version.'
Free to Use, Works Anywhere
GoodEvent Maps is completely free on the Lite plan — one live map at a time, with all the core features: Google Maps satellite view, the full asset library, drag-and-drop placement, labelling, and shareable links. For businesses running multiple simultaneous events, the Pro plan at £10 per month adds unlimited live maps.
The tool works anywhere in the world. Type in a postcode in the UK, an address in Australia, coordinates for a field in New Zealand, or a location in the US — the satellite imagery covers it. If a venue exists on Google Maps, GoodEvent Maps can plan it.
'Logistically it has saved us so much time and money. Super easy to use, full support from the team, very good value for money and endless features to help with the running of our company.' — Ryan, UK Marquee Hire
How This Connects to the Rest of Your Operation
GoodEvent Maps works as a standalone tool — you can start using it today without any other GoodEvent products. It also connects naturally with the rest of the toolkit for businesses that want the full workflow.
The outdoor site map in GoodEvent Maps shows where the structure goes on the ground and how everything around it is arranged. GoodEvent Layout then handles the interior — where every table, chair, and bar goes inside the marquee or venue. Both links go to the crew in the same briefing pack, covering everything inside and out.
For crew time tracking and scheduling on build day, GoodEvent Time connects the site map context with who is where and when. For the site survey and pre-erection safety documentation that often precedes the plan, GoodEvent Docs handles the digital forms — including photo upload and crew sign-off.