diff --git a/Gemfile b/Gemfile
index bfdd3d06..17258886 100644
--- a/Gemfile
+++ b/Gemfile
@@ -84,6 +84,9 @@ gem 'geocoder'
 gem 'tinymce-rails'
 gem 'tinymce-rails-langs'
 
+# Remove leading and trailing white spaces
+gem 'strip_attributes'
+
 # SEO optimisations
 gem 'meta-tags'
 
diff --git a/Gemfile.lock b/Gemfile.lock
index df19c725..08a85b55 100644
--- a/Gemfile.lock
+++ b/Gemfile.lock
@@ -341,6 +341,8 @@ GEM
       activesupport (>= 3.0)
       sprockets (>= 2.8, < 4.0)
     sqlite3 (1.3.10)
+    strip_attributes (1.5.1)
+      activemodel (>= 3.0, < 5.0)
     sysexits (1.2.0)
     temple (0.6.10)
     terminal-table (1.4.5)
@@ -429,6 +431,7 @@ DEPENDENCIES
   simplecov
   spring
   sqlite3
+  strip_attributes
   therubyracer
   tinymce-rails
   tinymce-rails-langs
diff --git a/app/models/event.rb b/app/models/event.rb
index bc198d21..2c349bcd 100644
--- a/app/models/event.rb
+++ b/app/models/event.rb
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 # This is the central ADL class, where are managed all events
 class Event < ActiveRecord::Base
   extend SimpleCalendar
+  strip_attributes
 
   belongs_to :related_region, foreign_key: 'region', class_name: Region
   has_many :notes, dependent: :destroy
@@ -55,7 +56,8 @@ class Event < ActiveRecord::Base
     self.submission_time = DateTime.now
     self.decision_time = DateTime.now
 
-    self.submitter = contact if submitter.empty?
+    # Populate submitter using contact info if absent
+    self.submitter ||= contact
   end
 
   before_validation on: :update do
diff --git a/test/controllers/events_controller_test.rb b/test/controllers/events_controller_test.rb
index 62f27cb7..ef22452b 100644
--- a/test/controllers/events_controller_test.rb
+++ b/test/controllers/events_controller_test.rb
@@ -46,7 +46,8 @@ class EventsControllerTest < ActionController::TestCase
         city: @event.city,
         region: @event.related_region,
         url: @event.url,
-        contact: @event.contact
+        contact: @event.contact,
+        tags: @event.tags
       }
 
       assert_empty assigns(:event).errors.messages
diff --git a/test/models/event_test.rb b/test/models/event_test.rb
index f6a083f8..f81c7ed0 100644
--- a/test/models/event_test.rb
+++ b/test/models/event_test.rb
@@ -16,7 +16,8 @@ class EventTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
       related_region: Region.first,
       url: 'http://example.com',
       contact: 'contact@example.com',
-      submitter: 'submitter@example.com'
+      submitter: 'submitter@example.com',
+      tags: 'hello world'
     )
     assert @event.save, @event.errors.messages
 
@@ -34,7 +35,8 @@ class EventTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
       city: City.first,
       related_region: Region.first,
       url: 'http://example.com',
-      contact: 'contact@example.com'
+      contact: 'contact@example.com',
+      tags: 'hello world'
     )
 
     assert @event.valid?, @event.errors.messages
@@ -63,7 +65,8 @@ class EventTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
       city: City.first,
       related_region: Region.first,
       url: 'http://example.com',
-      contact: 'contact@example.com'
+      contact: 'contact@example.com',
+      tags: 'hello world'
     )
 
     assert @event.save, @event.errors.messages