Guides & FAQs
Isle of Culture is a free, community-run guide to everything happening across Thanet. Venues and events are managed by the people who actually run them — this page shows you how to get set up, step by step.
Most Thanet venues are already listed on Isle of Culture. If yours is one of them, claiming it takes a couple of minutes — and once you're verified you can edit your page, add a photo, and approve events other people want to hold at your venue. It's completely free.
On the registration page, choose "I manage a venue", then fill in your name, organisation, email and a password and press "Create Account".
Good to know: Use your work email if you have one (e.g. you@yourvenue.co.uk). If its domain matches your venue's website, you'll be verified instantly in step 4.
We'll send you a verification link. Click it and you'll be signed in and taken straight to the "Add Your Venue" page.
What happens next: Check your inbox (and spam folder) for an email from Isle of Culture. You won't be able to sign in until you've clicked the link.
Start typing your venue's name into the search box. When it appears, press "Claim", add a short note about who you are if you like, and press "Submit claim".
Good to know: A quick note like "I'm the events manager here" helps us approve your claim faster.
If the email domain you signed up with matches your venue's website or contact email, you're verified on the spot and taken straight to your venue dashboard.
What happens next: Signed up with Gmail, Hotmail or another personal address? No problem — your claim just goes for a quick human review instead, usually within a day or two. You'll see a "Claim pending review" badge in the meantime and get an email as soon as it's decided.
Once you're approved, your venue appears on your dashboard. Open "Venue Settings" to update your description, address, contact details and photo — changes go live straight away, no re-approval needed.
When someone else wants to list an event at your venue, it lands in your "Pending Approvals" queue — you decide whether it goes live. Events you create at your own venue are published instantly.
If the search comes up empty, choose "Can't find your venue?" then "Add a new venue" and fill in the short form. You can manage it from day one.
What happens next: New venues are checked by our team before they appear in the public directory. You'll get an email when yours is live.
Nothing. Isle of Culture is a free community asset run on a not-for-profit basis by Isle of Culture CIC.
Yes. Once your venue has an approved owner, colleagues can claim it the same way — their requests appear under "Owner Requests" in your venue menu for you to approve, and approved co-owners get full access.
Instant verification only happens when the email domain someone signs up with matches your venue's website or contact email. Personal addresses like Gmail or Hotmail can't be matched, so those claims get a quick human review instead.
They stay live. Once you own the venue you can see every event listed at it under "Venue Events", and any new events other people submit need your approval before they're published.
No — once your venue is verified, edits you make in Venue Settings go live immediately.
Anyone running an event in Thanet can list it here for free — gigs, exhibitions, workshops, markets, festivals, anything cultural. Here's how to get your first event live.
On the registration page, keep "I'm an event organiser" selected, fill in your name, organisation (use your own name if you're independent), email and a password, and press "Create Account".
We'll send you a verification link. Click it and you'll be signed in and taken to "My Events" — your dashboard.
What happens next: Check your inbox (and spam folder) for an email from Isle of Culture. You won't be able to sign in until you've clicked the link.
Press "Create an Event" and work through the form: pick the area and venue, add your title, description and event type(s), set the dates, times and prices, and upload an image.
Good to know: Not ready to publish? "Save Draft" keeps it private so you can come back and finish it later.
When you're happy, press "Submit for Review".
What happens next: What happens next depends on the venue. At a venue you own, your event goes live instantly. At a venue someone else manages, that venue owner approves it. Anywhere else, our team reviews it — usually within a day or two. You'll get an email when it's live (or if it needs changes).
Everything you've created lives in "My Events", each with a status badge so you always know where it is. Open the menu on any row to edit it or view its public page.
Good to know: Changing the date, time, venue or event type of an already-live event sends it back for a quick re-review. Fixing a typo in the description doesn't.
Nothing. Listing events is free — Isle of Culture is a community asset run on a not-for-profit basis.
Events at venues you don't own need a quick approval first — by the venue's owner if the venue is claimed, or by our team otherwise. It usually takes a day or two. You'll get an email the moment it's decided.
The email includes the reason. You can edit the event in "My Events" and resubmit it — rejections are almost always about missing details, not the event itself.
Add it first: any signed-in user can register a venue via "Add Your Venue". Once it's submitted you can pick it when creating your event.
Yes — they can create an account and request to manage the event via "Manage an existing event". See the "My event's already listed" guide above for how that works.
To launch with a full what's-on guide, we listed hundreds of Thanet events from public sources. If one of them is yours, you can take it over for free — then edit the details, image and ticket links yourself.
Register with either option — "I'm an event organiser" is the natural fit. We'll email you a verification link; click it and you're in.
Search or browse to your event's page. While signed in, you'll see a "Manage this event" button at the top of the page — press it.
Good to know: You can also start from your dashboard: "My Events" has a "Manage an existing event" button that takes you to the same place.
Your event will be pre-filled in the search. Press "Request", tell us briefly who you are and how you're connected to the event, and press "Submit request".
Good to know: A line like "I'm the promoter — it's our gig, here's our website" makes approval much quicker.
Every request is checked by a real person — there's no instant approval for events, which keeps listings in the right hands.
What happens next: Reviews usually take a day or two. You'll get an email as soon as it's decided, and you can see the request under "Requests awaiting review" in My Events in the meantime.
Once approved, the event appears in "My Events" with a "Managing" badge. You can edit everything — dates, description, image, ticket links — and your changes go live without re-review.
Good to know: Managing an event covers just that event. If you also run the venue it's at, claim the venue too — see "I run a venue" above.
We built the guide by listing publicly advertised Thanet events so residents could see everything in one place from day one. Claiming yours puts it back in your hands — and we'd love you to.
Not yourself, but we can. Email hello@isleofculture.org with the correction and we'll sort it while your request is reviewed.
No — one account does everything. Once you're approved for an existing event, you can also create brand-new events from the same dashboard.
Yes. Each person creates their own account and sends their own request for the event — festivals and collectives often have several approved managers.
Not by itself. The listing stays exactly as it is until you edit it — claiming just gives you the keys.
It's free, and it takes a couple of minutes. Pick the option that fits and we'll walk you through the rest.
Stuck, or not sure which applies to you? hello@isleofculture.org