Festival Entertainment for a Site in Motion

Mix focal-point performances with roaming moments

A programmed stage or arena show can bring a crowd together at a known time. Walkabout performers, street theatre and visual acts can add discovery between scheduled sets, particularly where the festival has several zones or a long route between attractions.

Interactive activities and workshops offer a different pace from spectating. Consider how they fit with your audience, age range, noise levels and the space available rather than treating every act as a stage booking.

• Use a published running order for scheduled arena or stage moments.
• Map roaming routes around entrances, queues, food areas and accessible paths.
• Leave breathing space between large audience draws to avoid unnecessary congestion.

Make the site plan part of the brief

Tell suppliers whether they will work on a stage, in an arena, on a street or along a roaming route. Include set times, changeover windows, access arrangements and the surface or facilities available. For outdoor events, agree how weather decisions will be made and communicated.

If acts share an area, check sound overlap, audience capacity and sightlines. A well-spaced programme is easier to follow than a dense schedule competing for the same crowd.

Help visitors choose what to see next

A festival timetable is also a wayfinding tool. Give each performance a clear location and start time, then check the gaps between adjacent slots against the time it takes to walk between areas. If two popular moments overlap, visitors may have to choose between them and one space may become busier than planned. The event team can review the programme on a site map before publishing it.

Think about what happens before and after a headline set. Nearby walkabout performers or a drop-in activity can give people something to discover without drawing another large audience to the same point. Conversely, avoid scheduling a quiet workshop beside a high-volume performance unless the suppliers confirm that the arrangement is workable. Keep the public-facing timetable consistent across signs, printed material and any online event information, and have a named person update it if timings change. If an act performs more than once, make the repeated slots easy to distinguish and avoid implying that visitors can join a workshop at any time unless the supplier has confirmed its format and capacity.

Use one brief to start supplier conversations

Browse entertainer and activity profiles or send a festival brief through SmoothTour's concierge. Include your date, location, site format and the sort of audience experience you want. Relevant suppliers may respond directly with availability or quotes, though responses are not guaranteed. The service is free for organisers and listed suppliers; there is no booking commission, and bookings are agreed directly with suppliers.