Company Profile

Gameplan Events Ltd is a Manchester based company which combines thirty years of experience in events management with a vast knowledge of the regions acquired through nearly twenty years of tour guiding over forty different nationalities around the North West. Gameplan is managed by three directors; Sarah Rowland, Jonathan Schofield and Janine Hague.

The Directors

Sarah Rowland is an Event and Production Manager based in the North West who has worked on a wide variety of events, ranging from large, outdoor festivals to private corporate functions and social gatherings. She has experience in all areas of production and event management and has established and maintained good working relationships with clients and suppliers alike. Sarah is also familiar with Health and Safety legislation having attended a number of professional courses and regularly produces Risk Assessments and Health and Safety Plans as part of her remit when managing events.

Jonathan Schofield has been a Blue Badge tour guide in Manchester and the North West since 1986. During that period he’s taken over 40 different nationalities around the region from general visitors and conference and convention guests via journalists and broadcasters to eccentrics and specialists. Jonathan writes regularly for the Manchester listings magazine City Life and more sporadically for diverse others. He is the author and editor of several guidebooks about the North West of England.

Janine Hague's background is in project management and marketing, and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. Janine has worked on a broad range of projects, from organising a street parade through Manchester city centre involving hundreds of saxophonists and dancers, to developing professional development courses for small to medium sized businesses. Her interests lie particularly in the creative, cultural and regeneration sectors. She is also a Director of the Department Store, an imaginatively renovated building in the city centre which dates back to the late 1700's, now housing creative and cultural organisations, retail galleries and Manchester's first wind turbine.

The Clients

Gameplan’s directors have already worked with, amongst others:

The Times, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, Die Welt, El Pais, Le Figaro, The New York Times, The Chicago Herald, The Washington Post, Corriere della Sera and the Sydney Morning Herald. The BBC, Channel 4, CBC, Swedish TV, RTE and BBC Live Events. EuorPride Ltd, Manchester City Council, Manchester 2002 Ltd, Waterhouse Cooper, Ernst Young, Barclays, NatWest, HSBC, Rothschilds, Corbetts Solicitors, Weatheralls Surveyors and Disney. British Airways, SAS, Lufthansa, Scancoming UK and Manchester Airport. MENSA, the British Aerosol Society, the British Dental Association, the Association of Surgeons and Blackheath Historical Society. Manchester Grammar School, Manchester Metropolitan University, Salford University, Manchester & UMIST Careers Services, City College Manchester, MANCAT, Bridgwater Hall Education Trust and Creative Industries Development Services. Manchester International Arts, Queer Up North and Merseyside Dance Initiative. Adifolk, ABF Goteborg,
St Petersburg, International Leontief Centre for Social and Economic Research and the Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum.

The Testimonials

"The best tour I've ever taken anywhere in the world." Bonnie DeSimone, Chicago Tribune.

"Sarah Rowland and her team worked with BBC Live Events on BBC Music Live's 'Summer Screens' project and on the Festival Live events during the Commonwealth Games. In both cases, the team provided excellent, unobtrusively efficient service and overcame significant problems to deliver the required activity on schedule and to budget.As a real bonus, she and they are also really nice people (and it's not always you can say that)!" Mike Gibbons, BBC Live Events

“Occasionally one comes across a city tour that’s so innovative and such rollicking fun that you can’t forget it. Jonathan Schofield’s tours are a revelation.”
Susan Kurosawa. The Weekend Australian.

"Mindblowing! - One of those events that can change your life! - And should!" Delegate - Creative Open Day

"Came thinking I'd heard it all before and went away inspired." Delegate - 'What's in a Name?' Debate