Event schema, explained

By Joel Maldonado, Neural Command, LLC · Last reviewed 21 October 2026

Event describes something that happens at a set time and place, such as a concert, class or workshop. Google requires name, startDate and location (a Place with an address), and only shows events held at a physical location that the general public can book or attend. Business hours, coupons and online-only events are not eligible.

What it's for

Schema.org defines Event as "an event happening at a certain time and location, such as a concert, lecture, or festival." Google uses it for an interactive list of events in search (Google: Event). Subtypes include MusicEvent, EducationEvent, BusinessEvent, Festival and SportsEvent.

Who is eligible

From Google's guidelines:

Events must be bookable by the general public. Events that need a membership or an invitation before buying a ticket or attending are ineligible.
Events must take place at a physical location. Virtual experiences with no real-world component aren't supported, and Google removed the online event properties from its documentation.
Don't mark up business hours, coupons or vouchers, or short-term sales ("50% off until Saturday") as events.

Key properties

Property	What it holds	Google
`name`	The event's full title, not the venue or a sales message.	Required
`startDate`	ISO 8601 date and start time, e.g. `2026-11-14T19:00-05:00`.	Required
`location`	A `Place` with `name` and `address` (a full `PostalAddress`).	Required (address required)
`endDate`	End date and time.	Recommended
`eventStatus`	`EventScheduled`, `EventCancelled`, `EventPostponed`, `EventRescheduled`.	Recommended
`description`, `image`	Details; images ideally 1920 px wide (minimum 720 px).	Recommended
`offers`	One `Offer` per ticket type: `price` (0 if free), `priceCurrency`, `availability`, `url`, `validFrom`.	Recommended
`organizer`, `performer`	Who hosts it and who performs.	Recommended
`previousStartDate`	Original date of a rescheduled event (needs `eventStatus` `EventRescheduled`).	Recommended

Minimal example

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "EducationEvent",
  "name": "Hurricane shutter installation workshop",
  "startDate": "2026-11-14T10:00-05:00",
  "endDate": "2026-11-14T12:00-05:00",
  "location": {
    "@type": "Place",
    "name": "Example Hardware, Fort Myers",
    "address": {
      "@type": "PostalAddress",
      "streetAddress": "100 Main St",
      "addressLocality": "Fort Myers",
      "addressRegion": "FL",
      "postalCode": "33901",
      "addressCountry": "US"
    }
  },
  "offers": { "@type": "Offer", "price": 0, "priceCurrency": "USD", "url": "https://example.com/events/shutter-workshop" },
  "organizer": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Example Hardware", "url": "https://example.com/" }
}

Common mistakes

Date with no time, or a midnight time that wasn't meant (T00:00:00).
Times in UTC that shift the event to the wrong day for local visitors. Use the local offset.
Not updating eventStatus when an event is cancelled or moved.
A city name instead of an address in location.

Sources

schema.org: Event
Google Search Central: Event structured data (last updated 8 September 2026)

About the author. Joel Maldonado (Joel David Maldonado) founded Neural Command, LLC and works on schema markup, ontology design and AI visibility. His profile on NRLC.ai.