Swallow Events launches the world's first event trading operating system bringing tender procurement, auctions and automated booking infrastructure to the events industry

Built by live event professionals, the UK founded platform introduces a fixed-price, auction and tender system designed to end the administrative chaos of sourcing and managing vendors across festivals, concerts, conferences and live events - completely free for organisers to use and will be available to global audiences in the coming weeks.

The live events industry processes billions of pounds of vendor, catering and trade stand bookings every year, yet much of the procurement process is still managed through spreadsheets, email chains and manual contracts.

Swallow Events has announced the launch of a new event operations platform aimed at transforming how festivals, concerts, conferences and live events of all kinds source and manage their vendors, traders and trade stand operators. The system combines automated tender procurement, fixed-price live auctions and integrated booking workflows within a single operational infrastructure - designed from the ground up for the realities of live event delivery, the platform also processed its first transaction within hours of launch.

Developed after decades of hands-on experience in the live events industry, Swallow was originally built as an internal tool to replace the spreadsheets, email chains and manual processes that consume event teams’ time, long before the first act takes the stage or the first delegate walks through the door. The platform is now available to third-party organisers across the full spectrum of live events, from grassroots festivals and touring concerts to large-scale conferences and trade shows.

Unlike traditional event management software, which typically treats vendor and trader management as an afterthought - Swallow Events places procurement at the centre of its workflow. Event organisers can manage applications, automate contracts, distribute compliance documentation and handle payment scheduling through one central system, whether they are running a 50,000-capacity music festival, a multi-day conference or a touring live event series.

The platform currently connects organisers with more than 5,000 catering traders and 3,000 trade stand operators, with integrated ticketing functionality included as a supporting layer - one of the most affordable options in the UK, with organiser fees set at zero.

Zero Cost for Organisers

Swallow Events operates on a zero-cost model for organisers, with no setup fees, no paid-for subscriptions and a flat 4% buyer ticket fee - meaning platform revenue only grows when events succeed. Organisers retain 100% of ticket face value and can earn from processing fees.

• £0 setup fees

• £0 subscriptions

• £0 organiser fees

• Just 4% flat buyer ticket fee

• Organisers retain 100% of ticket face value

Fully Automated. Completely Hands-Off.

For event teams already stretched across production, artist liaison and audience experience, Swallow Events removes the procurement and administration burden entirely:

• Automated bookings and payment schedules

• Built-in automated contracts, handbooks and terms & conditions templates with one-click distribution

• Automated communication flow templates

• Automated trader, vendor and supplier applications

“We didn’t set out to build another ticketing tool,” says Oli Thomas, founder of Swallow Events, “We built a system to solve the operational chaos behind trader procurement — the emails, spreadsheets and manual processes that hinder every event team, whatever the format. Ticketing became a supporting layer within the system, not the reason it exists, and we chose to make it completely free for organisers.”

The platform is an operational infrastructure layer for the live events industry, combining automation and trader-centric workflows to reduce overheads and allow organisers to scale without increasing headcount. Organisers save an average of over four months of admin time per event by switching to Swallow.

Early adopters receive priority onboarding support, early visibility to an ever-growing audience of traders and buyers, and direct input into future platform development.