Book Your Festival Stage for 2021 & Save 5%

Even though COVID-19 put an end to the 2020 summer festival season before it had even started, demand is expected to remain just as feverish for the 2021 season. With at least five million festival goers deprived of their usual outlets this year, the scramble to secure tickets for next year's major events will be even more frantic than usual.

With festival organisers already setting dates and unveiling line ups for festivals scheduled in the Spring of 2021, now is the time to lock in your festival stage hire before other events beat you to the punch. There is also another reason for you to secure your booking in 2020, which we'll now explain in a little more detail.

Increase in Business Insurance Rates Set to Increase Festival Stage Hire

Given the turmoil caused by the pandemic, it may come as no surprise that business insurance rates are set to dramatically increase next year as insurance companies look to recoup some of the enormous losses they've sustained in 2020. We, as a business, are not immune from these increased insurance rates and therefore have no option to pass on at least a small proportion of those costs onto our customers.

Thus, from 2021 onwards we will have to increase our prices by 5% to reflect the increased costs as a result of increased business insurance rates. Therefore, if you're hosting a festival in the spring or summer of 2021, it makes sense to get your outdoor stage hire booked in at the lower 2020 prices.

But regardless of prices, it's always best to give stage hire providers such as ourselves as much notice as possible.

Why Booking Stage Hire Well in Advance Always Makes Sense

It's no secret that festivals are a truncated into the warmer months of the year, which are obviously finite. As soon as an outdoor stage is booked in with us, then that's one less of our admittedly broad selection of stages that's available for those dates. Thus, the longer you leave your festival stage hire booking, the options that are going to be available to you, regardless of whether you choose to go ahead with us or not.

As a general rule of thumb, we like our clients to reserve stages and extras they'd like with an absolute minimum of three months' notice. However, in an ideal world, we aim to work closer to double that timescale to schedule all of the necessary logistical and staffing arrangements.

That's not to say we aren't flexible. We can fulfil orders on much shorter timelines, but in those instances, many aspects have to fall just right to make it happen. In most cases, these are scenarios whereby a cheaper outdoor stage hire company has left their client in the lurch by dropping them for a higher-bidding alternative. During the midst of a summer season, this is even more challenging, although not impossible.

Broadly speaking, we'd always encourage you to get in contact with us as soon as you are aware of your need for festival stage hire. Even if that's all, you have, just a few dates and a likelihood of requiring one or multiple outdoor stages. At least we can then pencil the dates in and start talking in more detail about what you're likely to need as part of your outdoor stage hire package.

Speaking of which, what are some of the aspects that you need to consider when hiring a festival or outdoor stage?

Aspects to Consider When Planning Your Festival Stage Hire

Hiring an outdoor stage sounds simple, but in reality, there's a lot that goes into the process. First of all, you've got to consider the nature of the event and your performers. For instance, is your festival centred on classical music that requires a large stage to accommodate all of the musicians? Or are you organising a rock festival where most performers are in small ensemble groups?

Then you've got to think about what each act is going to require from a technical standpoint when designing your stage. Headline acts will likely make all kinds of requests with regards to lighting and sound setups, not to mention backstage requirements, all of which have to be factored in the stage build.

Next, think about any restrictions that the venue may place upon you. Building a stage is an impressive feat of logistics and engineering, and so every detail of the site has to be considered before constructing a stage. What are the ground conditions? Will you opt for grass or concrete? While concrete is usually smooth sailing, grass setups can be a little trickier with proposed stage areas often uneven, sloping, or made much more difficult by weather events taking place in the build-up to your festival.

By the same token have you, as the event organiser, considered the access requirements of a stage? Contrary to popular belief, they do not simply appear upon command! Stages are loaded up onto one or more articulated lorries which require carefully-thought-out routes to the proposed stage location.

Finally, don't discount factors outside of your control, such as the aforementioned weather! Building stages takes time in the best of conditions, and while we can build our smaller outdoor stages in a mere matter of hours, our most extensive arc-roof stages will comfortably take a few days.

These are all factors we account for in our costs, but we can't work miracles if festival organisers have overlooked something significant. Don't worry, though. We make sure to ask all of the right questions, ensuring we avoid any potential disasters at the outset. Speaking of costs, you may be wondering what you can expect to pay for our stages, so let's take a closer look at our stage hire packages.

How Much Does Festival Stage Hire Cost?

Answering this question isn't particularly easy given the number of factors that go into a stage hire package. However, to give you some ballpark figures, you should look to budget just under £1,000 for a small covered outdoor stage that can perfectly accommodate at least 200 people in attendance. If you book this stage with us, you've got the added benefit of having lighting and sound equipment included in the price (more on this below).

At the complete opposite end of the scale if you've got a popular music festival and you're looking to accommodate approaching 10,000 fans, then you're going to need to increase that budget ten-fold. Again, the critical difference between Outdoor Stages, and other similar companies providing festival stages within London and surrounding counties is that we offer an all-in cost.

For example, if you take a look at our highest-tier "off the shelf package" priced at £8,000, what you receive goes far beyond the stage itself. Instead, you also receive a full state-of-the-art d&b audiotechnik line array PA system, amps, stage monitors, and mixing desks. And that's just the sound! You also get over 70 lighting fixtures from 17R beams, moving heads washes, pixel batten to stage blinders, and a large scale production effects package included.

Also included within the price is crew members and technicians who are on hand to set up and run everything on the day. The only extras we will need to quote you for is the stage build crew and the transport side of things. Can't say fairer than that can you! Unfortunately, not every company shares the same viewpoint, so make sure to double-check the fine print on your stage hire agreement or quotation, since you might be comparing apples to oranges.

What Else Can You Offer Apart from Festival Stage Hire?

You may have picked up from the points made above that we provide far beyond a simple stage hire service. We are fortunate enough to form part of one of the biggest event production companies in the whole of the UK. That means we can offer all manner of event production aspects for your music concert or festival.

In case you're a little wet behind the ears when it comes to outdoor stage hire, it's important to point out the stage hire itself is only just the beginning. The structure is not going to achieve much for you without the help of professional lighting, sound equipment, and all other aspects of event production. That's where we come in!

Not only do you need to have items such as lighting and professional sound equipment hire taken care of, but we also believe that it's crucial to source all of these items from the same company. To not do so can create unnecessary hassle and stress. The last thing you want is several stage-based contractors to deal with on-site, all of which would turn up with lorries and several staff members.

By instructing one company to look after the stage, lighting, sound, and all other event production requirements, the whole process works like a well-oiled machine. The stage builders erect the trusses the way the lighting team are used to working with, and the sound production team are using PA speaker systems and mixing desks they know inside out.

Given that you could have dozens of suppliers to work with on a musical festival, including catering companies, ticketing websites, and merchandisers to name but a few, it makes sense to hire just one company to handle all aspects of event production. We can manage all elements, including lighting, sound equipment, LED video walls, and special effects. Don't worry about rider demands made by your performers, because we can almost certainly supply it.

Why Choose Outdoor Stages for Your Music Festival Stage Hire?

Here at Outdoor Stages, we are proud of the reputation we've managed to build from the ground up in the festival and events industry. Today, we're honoured to be known as one of the premier festival stage hire suppliers in the UK. With our stage hire options for London and the surrounding areas providing unbeatable value for what you receive in terms of additional equipment and services, we feel that we provide the most bang for your buck.

Secondly, we always put the client first. We walk you through every step of the process to ensure nothing is missing on the big occasion. We can also conduct site visits and make recommendations based on our decades of experience. We are the experts at uncovering those aspects that you may have accidentally glossed over, even if you're an experienced event organiser.

Finally, as already alluded to, our name may be Outdoor Stages, but our offering extends well beyond the mere realm of stage construction. We don't tack on sound and lighting as an afterthought either. We are part of an event production company that does this day in, day out, throughout the year. There's nothing we can't provide for you when it comes to music festivals, from dazzling lighting shows to incredible sound performances, we can blow the competition away when it comes to event production.

The best part? We own all of this equipment, we work with it every day, and we're blessed with highly-skilled and experienced staff members who are experts at delivering above your expectations under pressure.

So if you're planning a festival for the spring or summer of 2021, there's never been a better time to start the conversation with us. Even if you just want to chat about indicative costs and the nature of your venue, we'll be more than happy to listen to your festival ideas. So if you want to secure 5% off your festival stage hire, make sure to give us a call at any time. We're looking forward to hearing from you.