diff --git a/common/Kconfig b/common/Kconfig
index 82cd864baf93..d411e5bf7a50 100644
--- a/common/Kconfig
+++ b/common/Kconfig
@@ -492,6 +492,17 @@ config DISPLAY_BOARDINFO_LATE
 
 menu "Start-up hooks"
 
+config EVENT
+	bool "General-purpose event-handling mechanism"
+	default y if SANDBOX
+	help
+	  This enables sending and processing of events, to allow interested
+	  parties to be alerted when something happens. This is an attempt to
+	  step the flow of weak functions, hooks, functions in board_f.c
+	  and board_r.c and the Kconfig options below.
+
+	  See doc/develop/event.rst for more information.
+
 config ARCH_EARLY_INIT_R
 	bool "Call arch-specific init soon after relocation"
 	help
diff --git a/common/Makefile b/common/Makefile
index 3eff71960160..cc2ba30c631f 100644
--- a/common/Makefile
+++ b/common/Makefile
@@ -89,6 +89,8 @@ obj-y += malloc_simple.o
 endif
 endif
 
+obj-$(CONFIG_$(SPL_TPL_)EVENT) += event.o
+
 obj-$(CONFIG_$(SPL_TPL_)HASH) += hash.o
 obj-$(CONFIG_IO_TRACE) += iotrace.o
 obj-y += memsize.o
diff --git a/common/board_f.c b/common/board_f.c
index a68760092ac1..e36bdbc988fa 100644
--- a/common/board_f.c
+++ b/common/board_f.c
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 #include <dm.h>
 #include <env.h>
 #include <env_internal.h>
+#include <event.h>
 #include <fdtdec.h>
 #include <fs.h>
 #include <hang.h>
@@ -828,6 +829,7 @@ static const init_fnc_t init_sequence_f[] = {
 	initf_malloc,
 	log_init,
 	initf_bootstage,	/* uses its own timer, so does not need DM */
+	event_init,
 #ifdef CONFIG_BLOBLIST
 	bloblist_init,
 #endif
diff --git a/common/event.c b/common/event.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..428628da44d6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/common/event.c
@@ -0,0 +1,103 @@
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0+
+/*
+ * Events provide a general-purpose way to react to / subscribe to changes
+ * within U-Boot
+ *
+ * Copyright 2021 Google LLC
+ * Written by Simon Glass <sjg@chromium.org>
+ */
+
+#define LOG_CATEGORY	LOGC_EVENT
+
+#include <common.h>
+#include <event.h>
+#include <event_internal.h>
+#include <log.h>
+#include <malloc.h>
+#include <asm/global_data.h>
+#include <linux/list.h>
+
+DECLARE_GLOBAL_DATA_PTR;
+
+static void spy_free(struct event_spy *spy)
+{
+	list_del(&spy->sibling_node);
+}
+
+int event_register(const char *id, enum event_t type, event_handler_t func, void *ctx)
+{
+	struct event_state *state = gd->event_state;
+	struct event_spy *spy;
+
+	spy = malloc(sizeof(*spy));
+	if (!spy)
+		return log_msg_ret("alloc", -ENOMEM);
+
+	spy->id = id;
+	spy->type = type;
+	spy->func = func;
+	spy->ctx = ctx;
+	list_add_tail(&spy->sibling_node, &state->spy_head);
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+int event_notify(enum event_t type, void *data, int size)
+{
+	struct event_state *state = gd->event_state;
+	struct event_spy *spy, *next;
+	struct event event;
+
+	event.type = type;
+	if (size > sizeof(event.data))
+		return log_msg_ret("size", -E2BIG);
+	memcpy(&event.data, data, size);
+	list_for_each_entry_safe(spy, next, &state->spy_head, sibling_node) {
+		if (spy->type == type) {
+			int ret;
+
+			log_debug("Sending event %x to spy '%s'\n", type,
+				  spy->id);
+			ret = spy->func(spy->ctx, &event);
+
+			/*
+			 * TODO: Handle various return codes to
+			 *
+			 * - claim an event (no others will see it)
+			 * - return an error from the event
+			 */
+			if (ret)
+				return log_msg_ret("spy", ret);
+		}
+	}
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+int event_uninit(void)
+{
+	struct event_state *state = gd->event_state;
+	struct event_spy *spy, *next;
+
+	if (!state)
+		return 0;
+	list_for_each_entry_safe(spy, next, &state->spy_head, sibling_node)
+		spy_free(spy);
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+int event_init(void)
+{
+	struct event_state *state;
+
+	state = malloc(sizeof(struct event_state));
+	if (!state)
+		return log_msg_ret("alloc", -ENOMEM);
+
+	INIT_LIST_HEAD(&state->spy_head);
+
+	gd->event_state = state;
+
+	return 0;
+}
diff --git a/common/log.c b/common/log.c
index f7e0c0fbf556..7254aa70bfdf 100644
--- a/common/log.c
+++ b/common/log.c
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ static const char *const log_cat_name[] = {
 	"devres",
 	"acpi",
 	"boot",
+	"event",
 };
 
 _Static_assert(ARRAY_SIZE(log_cat_name) == LOGC_COUNT - LOGC_NONE,
diff --git a/drivers/core/device-remove.c b/drivers/core/device-remove.c
index e6ec6ff42121..c3f8ed3e5721 100644
--- a/drivers/core/device-remove.c
+++ b/drivers/core/device-remove.c
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 
 #include <common.h>
 #include <errno.h>
+#include <event.h>
 #include <log.h>
 #include <malloc.h>
 #include <dm/device.h>
@@ -207,6 +208,10 @@ int device_remove(struct udevice *dev, uint flags)
 	if (!(dev_get_flags(dev) & DM_FLAG_ACTIVATED))
 		return 0;
 
+	ret = device_notify(dev, EVT_DM_PRE_REMOVE);
+	if (ret)
+		return ret;
+
 	/*
 	 * If the child returns EKEYREJECTED, continue. It just means that it
 	 * didn't match the flags.
@@ -256,6 +261,10 @@ int device_remove(struct udevice *dev, uint flags)
 
 	dev_bic_flags(dev, DM_FLAG_ACTIVATED);
 
+	ret = device_notify(dev, EVT_DM_POST_REMOVE);
+	if (ret)
+		goto err_remove;
+
 	return 0;
 
 err_remove:
diff --git a/drivers/core/device.c b/drivers/core/device.c
index 901c1e2f7db3..6f69b234a182 100644
--- a/drivers/core/device.c
+++ b/drivers/core/device.c
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 
 #include <common.h>
 #include <cpu_func.h>
+#include <event.h>
 #include <log.h>
 #include <asm/global_data.h>
 #include <asm/io.h>
@@ -493,6 +494,10 @@ int device_probe(struct udevice *dev)
 	if (dev_get_flags(dev) & DM_FLAG_ACTIVATED)
 		return 0;
 
+	ret = device_notify(dev, EVT_DM_PRE_PROBE);
+	if (ret)
+		return ret;
+
 	drv = dev->driver;
 	assert(drv);
 
@@ -597,6 +602,10 @@ int device_probe(struct udevice *dev)
 				  dev->name, ret, errno_str(ret));
 	}
 
+	ret = device_notify(dev, EVT_DM_POST_PROBE);
+	if (ret)
+		goto fail;
+
 	return 0;
 fail_uclass:
 	if (device_remove(dev, DM_REMOVE_NORMAL)) {
diff --git a/include/asm-generic/global_data.h b/include/asm-generic/global_data.h
index c2f8fad1cb92..a65a85de3ea5 100644
--- a/include/asm-generic/global_data.h
+++ b/include/asm-generic/global_data.h
@@ -467,6 +467,12 @@ struct global_data {
 	 */
 	char *smbios_version;
 #endif
+#if CONFIG_IS_ENABLED(EVENT)
+	/**
+	 * @event_state: List of event notifications
+	 */
+	struct event_state *event_state;
+#endif
 };
 #ifndef DO_DEPS_ONLY
 static_assert(sizeof(struct global_data) == GD_SIZE);
diff --git a/include/dm/device-internal.h b/include/dm/device-internal.h
index 02002acb787c..c33bbf3b29b9 100644
--- a/include/dm/device-internal.h
+++ b/include/dm/device-internal.h
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 #ifndef _DM_DEVICE_INTERNAL_H
 #define _DM_DEVICE_INTERNAL_H
 
+#include <event.h>
 #include <linker_lists.h>
 #include <dm/ofnode.h>
 
@@ -426,4 +427,13 @@ static inline void devres_release_all(struct udevice *dev)
 }
 
 #endif /* ! CONFIG_DEVRES */
+
+static inline int device_notify(const struct udevice *dev, enum event_t type)
+{
+#if CONFIG_IS_ENABLED(EVENT)
+	return event_notify(type, &dev, sizeof(dev));
+#else
+	return 0;
+#endif
+}
 #endif
diff --git a/include/event.h b/include/event.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..e2b74e6e62f0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/event.h
@@ -0,0 +1,105 @@
+/* SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0+ */
+/*
+ * Events provide a general-purpose way to react to / subscribe to changes
+ * within U-Boot
+ *
+ * Copyright 2021 Google LLC
+ * Written by Simon Glass <sjg@chromium.org>
+ */
+
+#ifndef __event_h
+#define __event_h
+
+/**
+ * enum event_t - Types of events supported by U-Boot
+ *
+ * @EVT_DM_PRE_PROBE: Device is about to be probed
+ */
+enum event_t {
+	EVT_NONE,
+	EVT_TEST,
+
+	/* Events related to driver model */
+	EVT_DM_PRE_PROBE,
+	EVT_DM_POST_PROBE,
+	EVT_DM_PRE_REMOVE,
+	EVT_DM_POST_REMOVE,
+
+	EVT_COUNT
+};
+
+union event_data {
+	/**
+	 * struct event_data_test  - test data
+	 *
+	 * @signal: A value to update the state with
+	 */
+	struct event_data_test {
+		int signal;
+	} test;
+
+	/**
+	 * struct event_dm - driver model event
+	 *
+	 * @dev: Device this event relates to
+	 */
+	struct event_dm {
+		struct udevice *dev;
+	} dm;
+};
+
+/**
+ * struct event - an event that can be sent and received
+ *
+ * @type: Event type
+ * @data: Data for this particular event
+ */
+struct event {
+	enum event_t type;
+	union event_data data;
+};
+
+/** Function type for event handlers */
+typedef int (*event_handler_t)(void *ctx, struct event *event);
+
+/**
+ * event_register - register a new spy
+ *
+ * @id: Spy ID
+ * @type: Event type to subscribe to
+ * @func: Function to call when the event is sent
+ * @ctx: Context to pass to the function
+ * @return 0 if OK, -ve on erropr
+ */
+int event_register(const char *id, enum event_t type, event_handler_t func,
+		   void *ctx);
+
+/**
+ * event_notify() - notify spies about an event
+ *
+ * It is possible to pass in union event_data here but that may not be
+ * convenient if the data is elsewhere, or is one of the members of the union.
+ * So this uses a void * for @data, with a separate @size.
+ *
+ * @type: Event type
+ * @data: Event data to be sent (e.g. union_event_data)
+ * @size: Size of data in bytes
+ */
+int event_notify(enum event_t type, void *data, int size);
+
+#if CONFIG_IS_ENABLED(EVENT)
+int event_uninit(void);
+int event_init(void);
+#else
+static inline int event_uninit(void)
+{
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static inline int event_init(void)
+{
+	return 0;
+}
+#endif
+
+#endif
diff --git a/include/event_internal.h b/include/event_internal.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..19308453f7b2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/event_internal.h
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+/* SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0+ */
+/*
+ * Internal definitions for events
+ *
+ * Copyright 2021 Google LLC
+ * Written by Simon Glass <sjg@chromium.org>
+ */
+
+#ifndef __event_internal_h
+#define __event_internal_h
+
+#include <linux/list.h>
+
+/**
+ * struct event_spy - a spy that watches for an event of a particular type
+ *
+ * @id: Spy ID
+ * @type: Event type to subscribe to
+ * @func: Function to call when the event is sent
+ * @ctx: Context to pass to the function
+ */
+struct event_spy {
+	struct list_head sibling_node;
+	const char *id;
+	enum event_t type;
+	event_handler_t func;
+	void *ctx;
+};
+
+struct event_state {
+	struct list_head spy_head;
+};
+
+#endif
diff --git a/include/log.h b/include/log.h
index ce48d51446f5..8f35c10abb5e 100644
--- a/include/log.h
+++ b/include/log.h
@@ -98,6 +98,8 @@ enum log_category_t {
 	LOGC_ACPI,
 	/** @LOGC_BOOT: Related to boot process / boot image processing */
 	LOGC_BOOT,
+	/** @LOGC_EVENT: Related to event and event handling */
+	LOGC_EVENT,
 	/** @LOGC_COUNT: Number of log categories */
 	LOGC_COUNT,
 	/** @LOGC_END: Sentinel value for lists of log categories */
diff --git a/test/common/Makefile b/test/common/Makefile
index 24c9145dccc8..9087788ba6a8 100644
--- a/test/common/Makefile
+++ b/test/common/Makefile
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0+
 obj-y += cmd_ut_common.o
 obj-$(CONFIG_AUTOBOOT) += test_autoboot.o
+obj-$(CONFIG_EVENT) += event.o
diff --git a/test/common/event.c b/test/common/event.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..ddce7400f269
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/common/event.c
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0+
+/*
+ * Unit tests for event handling
+ *
+ * Copyright 2021 Google LLC
+ * Written by Simon Glass <sjg@chromium.org>
+ */
+
+#include <common.h>
+#include <dm.h>
+#include <event.h>
+#include <test/common.h>
+#include <test/test.h>
+#include <test/ut.h>
+
+struct test_state {
+	struct udevice *dev;
+	int val;
+};
+
+static int h_adder(void *ctx, struct event *event)
+{
+	struct event_data_test *data = &event->data.test;
+	struct test_state *test_state = ctx;
+
+	test_state->val += data->signal;
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static int test_event_base(struct unit_test_state *uts)
+{
+	struct test_state state;
+	int signal;
+
+	state.val = 12;
+	ut_assertok(event_register("wibble", EVT_TEST, h_adder, &state));
+
+	signal = 17;
+
+	/* Check that the handler is called */
+	ut_assertok(event_notify(EVT_TEST, &signal, sizeof(signal)));
+	ut_asserteq(12 + 17, state.val);
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+COMMON_TEST(test_event_base, 0);
+
+static int h_probe(void *ctx, struct event *event)
+{
+	struct test_state *test_state = ctx;
+
+	test_state->dev = event->data.dm.dev;
+	switch (event->type) {
+	case EVT_DM_PRE_PROBE:
+		test_state->val |= 1;
+		break;
+	case EVT_DM_POST_PROBE:
+		test_state->val |= 2;
+		break;
+	default:
+		break;
+	}
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static int test_event_probe(struct unit_test_state *uts)
+{
+	struct test_state state;
+	struct udevice *dev;
+
+	state.val = 0;
+	ut_assertok(event_register("pre", EVT_DM_PRE_PROBE, h_probe, &state));
+	ut_assertok(event_register("post", EVT_DM_POST_PROBE, h_probe, &state));
+
+	/* Probe a device */
+	ut_assertok(uclass_first_device_err(UCLASS_TEST_FDT, &dev));
+
+	/* Check that the handler is called */
+	ut_asserteq(3, state.val);
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+COMMON_TEST(test_event_probe, UT_TESTF_DM | UT_TESTF_SCAN_FDT);
diff --git a/test/test-main.c b/test/test-main.c
index 8fcb02ecea5c..dedfd0f81dae 100644
--- a/test/test-main.c
+++ b/test/test-main.c
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 #include <common.h>
 #include <console.h>
 #include <dm.h>
+#include <event.h>
 #include <dm/root.h>
 #include <dm/test.h>
 #include <dm/uclass-internal.h>
@@ -218,6 +219,11 @@ static int dm_test_restore(struct device_node *of_root)
  */
 static int test_pre_run(struct unit_test_state *uts, struct unit_test *test)
 {
+#if CONFIG_IS_ENABLED(EVENT)
+	gd->event_state = NULL;
+#endif
+	ut_assertok(event_init());
+
 	if (test->flags & UT_TESTF_DM)
 		ut_assertok(dm_test_pre_run(uts));
 
@@ -260,6 +266,7 @@ static int test_post_run(struct unit_test_state *uts, struct unit_test *test)
 	ut_unsilence_console(uts);
 	if (test->flags & UT_TESTF_DM)
 		ut_assertok(dm_test_post_run(uts));
+	ut_assertok(event_uninit());
 
 	return 0;
 }
