So your annual flagship event is all set up and ready to roll. You’ve booked a venue big enough for hundreds of attendees and exhibitors. You’ve lined up speakers that include the most senior people in your business, your partners and your clients. You’ve signed up over 30 sponsors. The invitation process is well underway and (all being well) the delegates are signing up in droves.

And then, two weeks before the big day, the union announces a strike on the day of your event that will close the London Underground.

That seems (from an entirely uninformed perspective) to be exactly what has happened to Salesforce.com’s London Cloudforce 2010 event, scheduled for 7th September. I get cold shivers just thinking about it.

It must have felt like a suitable subject for Michael Buerk’s ‘The Choice‘ – carry on with the event as planned (and frustrate or lose delegates in travel chaos), or find another day when the tube is up and running (hoping that delegates can clear their diaries with 2 week’s notice)?

Salesforce.com seem to have decided to push the event back a day (what were the chances of the venue being available on both days?), with all the re-scheduling and re-confirmation that involves. It would be interesting to find out how that affects their numbers on the day – certainly it will make the post-event follow-up to no-shows more important than ever. Or maybe some kind of ’spirit of the blitz’ will emerge and actually boost attendance or create a shared experience that makes the event more enjoyable for all…