diff --git a/axum/CHANGELOG.md b/axum/CHANGELOG.md
index 4fa14a1e..917a39b4 100644
--- a/axum/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/axum/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -8,6 +8,9 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 # Unreleased
 
 - **fixed:** Fix `Allow` missing from routers with middleware
+- **added:** Add `KeepAlive::event` for customizing the event sent for SSE keep alive ([#1729])
+
+[#1729]: https://github.com/tokio-rs/axum/pull/1729
 
 # 0.6.7 (17. February, 2023)
 
diff --git a/axum/src/response/sse.rs b/axum/src/response/sse.rs
index e66411ab..3ae691f8 100644
--- a/axum/src/response/sse.rs
+++ b/axum/src/response/sse.rs
@@ -409,16 +409,27 @@ impl KeepAlive {
     ///
     /// Default is an empty comment.
     ///
-    ///
     /// # Panics
     ///
     /// Panics if `text` contains any newline or carriage returns, as they are not allowed in SSE
     /// comments.
-    pub fn text<I>(mut self, text: I) -> Self
+    pub fn text<I>(self, text: I) -> Self
     where
         I: AsRef<str>,
     {
-        self.event = Event::default().comment(text).finalize();
+        self.event(Event::default().comment(text))
+    }
+
+    /// Customize the event of the keep-alive message.
+    ///
+    /// Default is an empty comment.
+    ///
+    /// # Panics
+    ///
+    /// Panics if `event` contains any newline or carriage returns, as they are not allowed in SSE
+    /// comments.
+    pub fn event(mut self, event: Event) -> Self {
+        self.event = event.finalize();
         self
     }
 }