Stand before social event - it requires a diamond (8)
I believe the answer is:
baseball
'diamond' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'stand before social event' is the wordplay.
'stand' becomes 'base' (synonyms).
'before' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'social event' becomes 'ball' (a ball is a formal dance).
'base'+'ball'='BASEBALL'
'it requires a' acts as a link.
I am not very happy about this link. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for baseball that I've seen before include "Popular American sport" , "some Americans enjoy it" , "American game like rounders" , "American team gave" , "American team game" .)