Please note: This project was completed in 2014, has not been updated and is not live.
The IVES (International Venue and Event Standard) Project is an independent, non-profit partnership dedicated to the development and promotion of a standard suite of XML specifications and Venue identification tools, designed to ease the automation and exchange of event and venue data.
We have made available more detailed information and sample XML files for beta testers.
Version 1.0.0 of the IVES schema is now available.
The Venue ID is a unique, persistent, identifier for arts and entertainment venues. More information and documentation for the web API is available. You can also search existing Venue IDs.
Venue IDs will take the form of a URL. An example of how a Venue ID will look when resolved through a web browser can be viewed here: http://ives.info/gb/r34lt. Alternatively, you can view the same Venue ID as an xml document: http://ives.info/gb/r34lt?format=xml
Around 35,000 UK venues will have IDs initially. The service has been designed with international use in mind.