User friendly import of events from web to Google Calendar?

Question

I would like to create a web page promoting local events. I would like the users to be able to easily import the events to their calendars (Google Calendar particularly).

Is there any option to import an event to Google Calendar from web directly?

Case scenario:
User just found a theatre event on my website, that he would like to go to. Instead of manually rewriting the event to its calendar, he would choose whether he wants to Import only selected day of the show or if he wants to import all days when the show is played. He would click the desired button to export this event into his Google calendar. Google login window would open and after logging in, the user will have a new event or series of events in his calendar.

I know I can achieve this somehow by creating iCal files, that the user would have to manually import to Google Calendar, but isn't there any other way to do the import more user friendly?

Answer 1

Google has an Event Publisher's Guide for just this purpose:

Let people save an individual event from your site

You can add a Google Calendar event reminder button to your site by inserting a special snippet of HTML into your page. Users who click on your button can quickly save your event on their Google Calendars, which will help remind them about your event and about your website. By adding a Google Calendar event reminder button to your site, you acknowledge that you understand and agree to the Program Policies.

Do it now

There is similar functionality for linking to a Microsoft Calendars:

Creating a single-event link

To create a single-event link, create a URL in this format.

http://calendar.live.com/calendar/calendar.aspx?rru=addevent&dtstart=START_DATE_AND_TIME&dtend=END_DATE_AND_TIME&summary=EVENT_TITLE&location=LOCATION_TEXT`