As we begin 2026, one trend is already becoming very clear at Nipperbout HQ.
More organisers want to make their events accessible to working parents.
Welcome news! However, in recent conversations with possible future events (including one for as far ahead as 2030!) we’re discovering a common thread and misconception…
Large delegate numbers do not automatically mean you need a huge crèche.
In reality, childcare requirements depend far more on the type of event and how people move through the day than on the expected attendance figure.
The client we spoke to for 2030 is bidding for a conference with 8,000 delegates and assumed she’d need childcare for at least 100 children.
We regularly run conferences of this size, and much larger, with three or four staff.
This year, for example, we supported ESMO, a medical congress with 37,000 delegates in Berlin, Germany. The number of children there at any one time was around 20–25.
Why so few? Especially when delegates were travelling from across Europe to attend?
The key words there are ‘at any one time’.
Delegates at medical and academic conferences often dip in and out of sessions based on their interests and other plans during their trip, so their children tend to attend intermittently rather than for the full day.
And that means we can tailor our service accordingly and cost-effectively.
Some events naturally require larger, full-day crèches. Others need only light-touch support such as a Stay & Play or even Nipperbout Lite.
The following event types can often determine the level of crèche.
Union conferences tend to generate higher childcare demand even with fewer delegates.
Because attendees attend the full programme, remain on-site all day, bring family because the event is predictable and structured and the events are often held over weekends of school holidays due to their very nature.
For these events, we often staff larger crèches with extended age ranges (0–17) and full-day programming.
Medical, scientific, academic, marketing and tech conferences draw huge numbers. Some as many as tens of thousands, like Cannes Lion and ESMO but childcare use generally stays relatively low.
Delegates select a keynote here, a panel there. Children join us for short periods rather than full days as their parents have other plans for their visit!
This can significantly reduce the staffing and service needed.
For organisers offering childcare for the first time, we usually recommend beginning with 3 - 4 staff, a short-stay set-up and pre-booking with the option to book for full days.
Because parents are often tentative in year one. They want to see how the crèche works, meet the team, understand the security and feel confident.
But once they do? Demand almost always doubles in year two. Sometimes triples. Because parents talk… and children want to return.
If you are considering offering childcare and making your event inclusive to parents, think about the following;
Visitor surveys or registration tick-boxes give you a reliable idea of expected numbers for the next event
Is your event full-day attendance? Multi-track? Public-facing? Scientific? Political?
Each behaves differently.
Three or four staff is often more than enough for most first-year conferences. You can manage expectation by communicating that childcare spaces are limited and filled on a first-come forst-served basis.
Choose a provider who can scale up on-site if more children are due to attend than expected.
Once a crèche is visible, trusted and talked about, take-up will increase so always plan for more in future years!
If you’re planning your 2026 conference (or even your 2030 one!) and wondering how much childcare you really need, get in touch. We’ll help you plan a service that’s safe, compliant, inclusive and exactly the right size for your event.
