Eventyear

Eventyear is a term used to describe the calendar year in which a particular event takes place or is recorded as having occurred. It is commonly used in historical records, metadata schemas, and event planning to provide a concise temporal reference that situates an event within the broader timeline.

In historical and cultural contexts, the event year helps establish chronology and compare events across eras. When events span more than one year, conventions vary by domain: some sources assign the start year, others the end year, and some use a season or edition label (for example, “the 2020 edition”) to indicate the relevant period.

In data management and metadata, eventyear is often represented as a discrete field in databases, catalogs, and knowledge graphs. It is typically stored as a four-digit year and may be paired with additional fields such as start date, end date, or duration to capture the full temporal footprint of an event. Consistency in formatting and labeling is important to enable reliable searching, sorting, and aggregation.

Examples include the eventyear 1969 for the Apollo 11 moon landing, and the eventyear 2020 for the calendar year in which the Summer Olympics were originally scheduled, though the event occurred in 2021. The concept also applies to sports seasons, conferences, and editions of cultural or academic events.

See also: calendar year, fiscal year, season, edition, event date.