#2 Trade Show & Convention
At more than a century old, the event has recently shown it can reinvent itself to grow attendance and meet the changing technology and networking needs of the industry. Press days have expanded to three, and the number of total attendees at the massive show hovers around one million. Next: November 17-29, 2015
#7 Trade Show & Convention
The Independent Film & Television Alliance produces the event, which gathers the global film industry in Santa Monica for eight days of deal-making as well as screenings, conferences, networking, and parties. The most recent event was the 35th installment, drawing 1,670 buyers from more than 70 different countries and a total of nearly 8,000 industry professionals. Next: November 4-11, 2015
#1 Entertainment Industry Event
It’s unlikely the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences’ Oscars will ever be knocked off its perch as the biggest, buzziest annual entertainment award show in the region. The show hits every winter, with its massive roster of related events including the academy’s own Governors Ball, plus huge parties for Vanity Fair and the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Next: February 2016
#2 Entertainment Industry Event
Each January, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association brings its glitzy dinner ceremony to the International Ballroom at the Beverly Hilton hotel. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s last go at hosting the show resulted in nearly 20 million viewers—a dip from the previous year, which had marked a 10-year high. Next year the 73rd annual show will air live on NBC. Next: January 10, 2016
#3 Entertainment Industry Event
The Recording Academy’s show, billed as “Music’s Biggest Night,” takes over Staples Center annually for a star-packed telecast. The academy’s Branden Chapman is among a team that oversees the massive Grammy Celebration after-party at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Other official and unofficial events like studio- and brand-hosted parties and suites take over town throughout the week. Next: February 2016
#4 Entertainment Industry Event
The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences award show honors TV’s stars and players with a ceremony at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live. After last year’s show moved to August to avoid conflict with Sunday Night Football, this year’s affair will move back to September. The academy’s own massive production, the Governors Ball, is billed as the largest formal dinner in the United States, hosting nearly 4,000 guests with fare from Patina. Next: September 20, 2015
#5 Entertainment Industry Event
The show, which marked its 21st iteration this year, draws A-list attendees to the Shrine Exposition Center each January. It includes a production- and decor-heavy official after-party, hosted by People and the Entertainment Industry Foundation, which also takes place at the Shrine, and this year had an opulent speakeasy theme. Next: January 30, 2016
#6 Entertainment Industry Event
Film Independent’s award show takes place each year on the Saturday before the Oscars, but the vibe is distinctly different from that black-tie affair: Instead, the Spirit Awards take place in an oceanfront tent in Santa Monica with a much more casual atmosphere. Sponsor tents take over the adjacent space. Next: February 2016
#9 Entertainment Industry Event
The Environmental Media Association’s annual eco-minded show honors individuals, organizations, movies, and TV programming for their work to raise public awareness of environmental issues. There’s also an after-party and auction with an environmentally conscious production. Warner Brothers’ Hillary Harris produces the event, which could move off the lot this year for its 25th anniversary. Next: Fall 2015
#10 Entertainment Industry Event
The music award show doesn’t command the industry importance nor the cachet of the Recording Academy’s Grammy awards, but each year around Thanksgiving—when corporate events recede as private social events ramp up—it does draw big stars and buzz at the Nokia Theatre. Next: November 2015
#14 Entertainment Industry Event
Fans and media devotees get exclusive behind-the-scenes details on shows during interactive panel sessions and premiere screenings at the event from the Paley Center for Media. The three-decade-old festival benefits the center’s preservation and archival digitization efforts and last year grew to about 30,000 participants—nearly double the figure from the previous year. Next: Spring 2016
#15 Entertainment Industry Event
Having debuted in 1975 and now more than 40 years old, the People’s Choice Awards summon about 700 million fan votes. In 2015, Ben Affleck scooped up the “Favorite Humanitarian” award for his work in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Procter & Gamble owns the show, which is produced by United Artist Media Group. Next: January 2016
#16 Entertainment Industry Event
The gay advocacy group celebrates outstanding images of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community in the media at the biggest such gala in the country, now in its 26th year. The evening includes a cocktail reception and silent auction, a sit-down dinner award ceremony, and a V.I.P. after-party following the show. A version of the event is also held in New York. Next: March 21, 2015
#18 Entertainment Industry Event
The Britannia Award is the highest honor presented by Bafta Los Angeles. It’s meant to celebrate achievements of individuals and companies from the United States, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere. Honorees over the years have included Michael Caine, Martin Scorsese, Elizabeth Taylor, Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Steven Spielberg, and George Clooney. Jaguar was the title sponsor for the event last year, presented by BBC America and United Airlines at the Beverly Hilton. Next: Fall 2015
#3 Art & Design Event
The 20-year-old show takes over 200,000 square feet at the Los Angeles Convention Center, with 20,000 works of art and 56,000 visitors. It’s billed as the longest-running venue for contemporary, modern, historic, and traditional art in the country. And it pulls in $30 million in sales, plus five billion media impressions. Next: January 27-31, 2016
#4 Art & Design Event
The art museum’s event last year honored Joni Mitchell and artist Mark Bradford with sponsorship from Bottega Veneta and a menu by Suzanne Goin and Lucques. It raised a record $2.5 million. The Westwood gala is a major date on the fall social calendar, selling out each year. Next: October 10, 2015
#1 Festival & Fair (up from #2)
Drawing 1.34 million people for 23 days of food, rides, exhibits, animals, music, and action sports, the annual fair edges out a slightly less-attended Los Angeles. fair. For a sense of scale, the massive event doled out nearly half a million carnival plush toys, and guests ate 1,650 pounds of watermelon during a nightly eating contest last year. Next: July 17-August 16, 2015
#2 Festival & Fair
The long-established end-of-summer fair drew more than 1.2 million attendees last year. The all-ages music and entertainment club Grinding Gears was a new nighttime addition to the lineup, and the Luminasia Chinese lantern festival also drew thousands of guests to the fair after dark. The program opens Labor Day weekend each year and runs for four weeks. Next: September 4-27, 2015
#4 Benefit
The Los Angeles Philharmonic and conductor Gustavo Dudamel will kick off the new season—the milestone 30th—at Walt Disney Concert Hall with an opening-night gala. The affair begins with a pre-performance reception and ends with a dinner catered by Patina, plus an after-party. Next: September 29, 2015
#5 Benefit
Held at a private Mandeville Canyon estate, the affair is the biggest event of the year for the nonprofit Chrysalis. The Butterfly Ball raises funds to support homeless and low-income people, pulling in a record $1.4 million last year with Al Gore as a presenter and performances by Gavin Rossdale and Karmin. Next: June 6, 2015
#8 Benefit
The large fund-raiser for the cancer nonprofit celebrated 40 years last summer with a “Fiesta Grande” theme and 4,000 people. It raised $1.8 million, marking a steady increase in fund-raising over the years. Next: July 11, 2015
#4 Fashion & Retail Event (up from #6)
Every year, the event draws about 10,000 people over the course of a three-day program that features designs from graduating students of the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising. The black-tie Debut Runway Show & Gala is the centerpiece event and raises money for the school’s scholarship foundation. Next: March 2016
#1 Sports Event
With a relatively new sightseeing-friendly course known as “stadium to the sea,” the Asics-sponsored race goes from Dodger Stadium to the Santa Monica Pier. This year, the marathon was expected to draw more than 25,000 runners from around the world as it becomes ever more of a destination race. And a dramatic nighttime light show illuminated the race route earlier in the big weekend. Next year, the event will move up a month to February to correspond with the Olympic team trials for men’s and women’s marathons, which will be hosted by the L.A. Marathon L.L.C. Next: February 13, 2016
#3 Sports Event
Toyota sponsors the race, which covers nearly two miles on a circuit on the streets of downtown Long Beach. It attracts more than 170,000 spectators over three days, making it one of the largest paid spectator events in Southern California. In 2014, the event celebrated its 40th anniversary. Next: April 17-19, 2015
#4 Sports Event
The buzzy holiday season college football game drew nearly 56,000 in 2014. The game is televised each year from its home in San Diego, which also hosts the smaller Pointsettia Bowl. Next: December 2015
#5 Sports Event
Amgen sponsors the annual Tour de France-style road race, created and presented by AEG. Billed as the largest cycling event in the country, the event traces a course through a broad stretch of California roadways, highways, and coastlines each year in the spring. Next: May 10-17, 2015
#6 Sports Event
The event dates back in various forms to 1959. IMG has owned it since 2000 and bills it as the largest surfing competition in the world. With title sponsorship from Vans, the open draws a crowd of about 500,000 people to Huntington Beach annually. Next: July 27-August 2, 2015
#8 Sports Event
Known as one of the more scenic races in the state, the marathon’s path starts in downtown Long Beach and runs past the Queen Mary and along the Pacific Ocean. There’s also a half marathon, a run/walk, a bike tour, a health and fitness expo, and a finish line festival. Next: October 11, 2015
#2 Parade, Walk & Holiday Event
The huge street party bills itself as the biggest event of its kind in the world—and the second-biggest event in town after the Tournament of Roses. It started in 1987 and now draws about 500,000. On event night, the petite City of West Hollywood becomes California’s seventh largest city. Next: October 31, 2015
#4 Parade, Walk & Holiday Event
The streets of downtown Los Angeles, including the new Grand Park, are the backdrop for the giant Cinco de Mayo fair, which draws more than 300,000. It’s billed as the largest celebration of the holiday in the world and is also the biggest Hispanic event in the city, which is the country’s largest Hispanic market. Next: April 26, 2015
#8 Parade, Walk & Holiday Event (up from #9)
The AIDS walkathon is more than three decades old, making it one of the largest and longest running in the United States. Last year, AIDS Walk Los Angeles drew 25,000 walkers and 2,500 volunteers and raised more than $2.3 million for H.I.V./AIDS prevention, treatment, and advocacy programs. Since its beginnings, the event has raised more than $79 million. Next: October 11, 2015
#10 Parade, Walk & Holiday Event
The event, which takes place the Sunday after Thanksgiving, began in 1928 and has appeared in various incarnations over the years. Last year’s grand marshal was Buzz Aldrin, and the event included live performances by Stevie Wonder, Bill Ray Cyrus, Kenny Loggins, and LeAnn Rimes. The 82nd annual event showed as a two-hour special on Hallmark Channel and was broadcast throughout the holiday season on more than 350 stations. Next: November 29, 2015
