Host an event with MED
Hospitals, universities, museums, healthcare organisations, venues, community groups and individuals can all help bring medicine to life for a curious public audience.
You don’t have to invent something completely new to take part.
If you already run an exhibition, talk, tour, open day, demonstration or public activity, it may be as simple as bringing it into the MED programme. Or you can create something especially for Festival Week — we’ll help you shape the idea.
What could you host?
- Exhibitions and open days
- Talks and guided tours
- Clinical demonstrations
- Health technology showcases
- Health education and screening
- Hands-on public experiences
We’ll work with you
Support from idea to audience
Host organisations bring the expertise; MED helps connect the pieces. Depending on what you need, our team can support you with content, contributors, promotion and the practicalities of welcoming an audience.
- 01
Developing and shaping event ideas
- 02
Finding speakers or contributors
- 03
Promoting your event as part of MED
- 04
Advice on registration and audience management
Practical questions
Host FAQs
The details of each event will be agreed with the host, but these principles should help you work out whether taking part is right for you.
Is there a cost to take part?
No. MED does not charge host organisations to take part. We’re grateful for the time, expertise, venues and resources that hosts contribute to the programme.
Can we charge for our event?
Yes. We want Festival Week to remain as accessible as possible, so where a charge is necessary we ask hosts to keep it reasonable and offer free access where they can.
How should we manage attendance?
Drop-in or no-registration formats can work well for large exhibitions, open days and activities with plenty of capacity. Pre-registration is usually better for timed or capacity-limited events. If you already have a booking system, we encourage you to use it and we can link to it from the MED programme.
Can MED provide volunteers?
We expect a limited number of MEDmakers to support Festival Week. Depending on availability, they may be able to help with welcoming visitors and basic event-day support, but host organisations should plan to provide the essential staffing needed to run their event safely.
How will events be promoted?
MED will showcase participating events through the MED website and social channels. We’ll also encourage hosts to promote their activity through their own audiences and networks so the wider Festival Week campaign has the greatest possible reach.
Who is Festival Week for?
MED is designed for a broad public audience as well as people working and studying in medicine, healthcare and science. Each event listing should make clear who the activity is for, including any age guidance, accessibility information, professional level or booking requirements.
Why host with MED?
Hosting is a chance to open your work to new audiences, support public understanding of medicine and become part of a wider programme that brings organisations together around a shared celebration of healthcare, science and medical culture.