Who Else Wants Corporate Festival Ideas This Summer?

Wracking your brain for corporate festivals ideas for your summer soiree? You’re not alone, because corporate summer events have come on in leaps and bounds since the days of a buffet in a function room, awkward small talk with the powers that be, and a DJ who peaked at Thriller.

Now, corporate festivals are mainstream. And they’re bigger, bolder and more intentional than ever.

We're talking multi-experience days with live music, street food, wellness workshops, and team games.

So, why are company festivals popular? And what are the most inspiring corporate festival ideas around?

Why Swap the Ballroom for the Festival Field?

Polished conferences with a speaker line-up and breakout groups aren’t dead, far from it. But they’re no longer quite cutting it on their own.

People remember how events made them feel. Savvy corporate event organisers have been cottoning on to this.

So, Googling "corporate festival ideas for large teams" or "how to plan a corporate festival" shows you’re aligned with both the latest event trends and your stakeholder preferences.

Employees want to feel valued, connected and share a sense of belonging. A corporate festival done well delivers with flying colours. You just need to nail the best corporate festivals ideas for your audience, venue and budget.

Accordingly, let’s look at corporate festival venue hire first.

Where to Hold a Corporate Festival

Event organisers looking for corporate outdoor event venues are increasingly choosing characterful escapes, such as:

·       Rooftop venues

·       Country estates with space for tipis and stages

·       Converted industrial spaces like Sea Containers and Boxpark in London, or Diecast and Freight Island in Manchester

·       Coastal retreats

In addition, exclusive hire of competitive socialising venues has soared, unsurprisingly, given the unpredictability of the Great British Weather. (More on competitive socialising below.)

Corporate Festival Ideas to Seriously Consider

Corporate festival venue hire, activities, catering and entertainment are all vital ingredients to make your event extraordinary.

Some of the key trends worth jumping on include (but aren’t limited to):

·       Competitive socialising - Think interactive entertainment for team challenges, with crazy golf, shuffleboard, digidarts, bowling and immersive games. The competitive element gets people mixing with no need for headaches over painstakingly arranged seating plans.

·       Immersive corporate festival entertainment - Live performers, surprise music sets, and immersive storytelling festivalise standard corporate events without compromising on brand context.

·       Sustainability as standard - Digital ticketing, responsible vendor sourcing and zero waste planning are expected by both internal and external stakeholders. This means single use plastics are out out, whereas local, ethical catering is very much in.

·       Wellness zones - Most successful corporate festivals now include spaces to decompress alongside the fun and frolics. Burnout is a real concern for businesses, after all. And teams appreciate it being acknowledged at events, courtesy of guided meditation sessions, yoga, sound baths, and lifestyle workshops.

At the end of the day, there’s real return on your event budget when employees feel celebrated and connected. You can see and feel it in terms of:

·       Culture

·       Productivity

·       Retention

·       Employee branding

These elements are all integral to continued business success. But it starts with awesome corporate festivals ideas and a place to bring them to life.

Life's Too Short to Brief Twenty Venues

Planning a corporate festival involves hard graft just to get things off the ground:

·       Briefing multiple venues

·       Comparing options

·       Negotiating rates

·       Figuring out which is the best space for your budget

·       Going through a similar process with corporate festival entertainment, activities and catering

It demands time, resources and expertise many businesses don't have going spare in-house.

Enter the Venue Hunters. Our FREE venue finding service takes your brief and does the grunt work for you.

We’re full of corporate festival ideas across the UK and Ireland, from heritage sites to hidden gems.

Plus, we bring bulk buying power to every search, meaning potentially better rates than you'd get by going direct.

Get in touch if you're looking for a team festival event venue for 50 or full company revelry for 500.