I still wouldn't attend an event lol. Just remove event items all together in place for something even more exclusive. The event items currently aren't very desirable in my opinion as is. Wow, a hat with my country on it! Oh cool, I get a floating crown over top of my head to prevent me from hiding behind lower walls. Color combo dashes....YAY!
The only items that even seem interesting to get would be the melee items that have that sort of highlight/outline to them. Other than that, no one;s going to even notice that you're using event items unless they're spectating you and see on the HUD that you're using "EVENT Rocket/Rifle/MG" So the idea of showing them off is already very miniscule.
I do like the idea of adding participation points, but then that starts to feel like we're catering to everyone. And with the whole negative stigma on "participation trophies" this suggestion starts to come off like such.