How to translate "an event"?

Question

Hey,

What would be spanish translation of the word "event", in the meaning of public event, such as presentation, gala concert, wedding, etc?

I'm thinking of "acto publico", however this does not include commercial events, right?

And just "acto" will almost always require a clarification.

Would be grateful for your suggestions.

Saludos, Ivan

Answer 1

"Evento" used to mean "something unexpected" all the time, but the meaning in English has been gradually adopted by most people, and only some purists refuse to acknowledge it. It is useful to know what "evento" meant originally, just in case you read something formal or literary where that meaning is still being used (some people still use it like that naturally and even informally), but don't be surprised if most people use "evento" like in English, but don't discard encountering the original meaning in use every now and then. The older the book you read, the more likely that "evento" means "unexpected", and below a certain date, it will be the only possible meaning of the word.

Anyway, for options accepted by everybody, you have acontecimiento, acto, suceso, congreso, presentación, competición, reunión, campeonato, torneo, promoción,... depending on the type of event. Originally we didn't have a word for any event; only lots of words for lots of events.

Answer 2

And what about the word acontecimiento? Is there any difference between evento and acontecimiento?

Answer 3

I think it's simply evento, I know it from my facebook account, hehe the events are eventos.

Answer 4

Evento is now used for any kind of event although the grammarians will tell you that is refers to any chance happening and Suceso is the proper word.