Hiring Entertainment for an Event: A Complete Guide for Event Planners
- Feb 5
- 7 min read
Updated: Jun 15
When organising an event, you want entertainment that does more than simply fill space in the programme. The best entertainment engages visitors, creates atmosphere, and gives guests something memorable to experience.
That is why many event planners look for entertainment that encourages participation, creates photo opportunities, and helps bring the event to life.
But what should you consider before hiring entertainment for an event?
Important factors include the type of entertainment, hourly capacity, artist experience, and how well the activity fits your audience and event goals. The right entertainment can have a significant impact on the overall guest experience.
In this guide, you'll discover what to look for when booking entertainment for an event, which types of entertainment work particularly well for festivals and corporate events, and how to create an experience that visitors will remember long after the event has ended.
What You Should Know Before Hiring Event Entertainment
When booking entertainment for an event, there are three key factors to consider:
The type of entertainment that suits your audience
How many guests can participate per hour
How many artists or activity stations are needed to avoid long queues
Understanding these factors helps ensure that the entertainment contributes positively to the overall event experience.
This guide will help you choose the right entertainment for your event.
Why Entertainment Improves an Event
Entertainment plays an important role in the success of any event.
It does more than create atmosphere—it helps make the event more interactive, engaging, and memorable for visitors.
When guests can actively participate in an activity, such as face painting, a glitter bar, festival makeup, or a creative workshop, they tend to spend more time at the event and become more engaged with the experience.
For event organisers and event agencies, entertainment is one of the most effective ways to increase visitor engagement.
Interactive entertainment can:
Capture attention
Encourage participation
Create photo opportunities
Generate social media content
Encourage conversations between guests
Enhance the overall event atmosphere
These experiences help transform an event from something people attend into something they actively experience.
Another important benefit is that entertainment can strengthen the theme and atmosphere of the event itself.
For example:
Festival face painting works perfectly at music festivals
A glitter bar complements summer events and corporate festivals
Creative workshops work well at open days, exhibitions, and team-building events
Interactive beauty activations help create memorable brand experiences
When entertainment is carefully matched to the event theme and target audience, it becomes an integral part of the visitor experience rather than simply an added attraction.
The result is a stronger event, happier guests, and more memorable experiences.
What Type of Entertainment Is Right for Your Event?
Choosing the right entertainment depends largely on the type of event, your target audience, and the atmosphere you want to create. Some entertainment acts work best at large festivals, while others are better suited to corporate events, shopping centres, open days, or promotional activations.
By matching the entertainment to your audience, you create more engagement, encourage participation, and improve the overall visitor experience.
Festivals and Large Public Events
At festivals and large-scale public events, interactive entertainment often delivers the best results.
Activities that visitors can join quickly and easily tend to attract the most attention and create the highest levels of engagement.
Popular options include:
Professional face painting
Glitter bars
Face gems
Festival makeup
Roaming entertainment
These experiences create eye-catching looks, encourage social interaction, and generate memorable photo opportunities throughout the event.
Corporate Events and Staff Parties
At company parties and corporate events, entertainment is often focused on creating a relaxed atmosphere and encouraging interaction between colleagues.
Creative entertainment experiences such as face painting, festival makeup, glitter designs, and interactive workshops provide guests with a fun activity they can enjoy together.
These activities work particularly well because they encourage participation without putting guests under pressure.
Shopping Centres and Open Days
For shopping centres and open days, entertainment that attracts and retains visitors is particularly valuable.
Activities such as face painting and glitter designs are popular because children enjoy participating while other visitors stop to watch, naturally creating more activity and foot traffic around the area.
This helps increase visitor dwell time and contributes to a more lively event atmosphere.
Trade Shows and Promotional Events
At exhibitions, trade shows, and promotional events, interactive entertainment can be a powerful tool for attracting attention to a stand or activation.
A visually engaging entertainment activity helps draw visitors in and creates a natural opportunity to start conversations.
Interactive experiences can:
Increase stand visibility
Encourage visitor engagement
Create memorable brand experiences
Generate social media content
Help brands stand out from competitors
By choosing entertainment that aligns with your audience and event goals, you create a more enjoyable experience for visitors while supporting the objectives of the event.
How Much Entertainment Do You Need for an Event?
One of the most important questions when hiring entertainment for an event is how many artists or activity stations you need.
The answer depends on:
The number of expected visitors
The duration of the event
The hourly capacity of the entertainment
Whether participation is optional or expected
If too little entertainment is available, long queues can develop and fewer guests will have the opportunity to participate.
Typical Entertainment Capacity
Interactive entertainment activities can usually serve a specific number of guests per hour.
As a general guideline:
Face Painting: approximately 10–15 guests per hour per artist
Glitter Bar: approximately 15–20 guests per hour per artist
Actual capacity depends on the complexity of the designs and the level of customisation offered.
Planning for Larger Events
For larger festivals, corporate events, and public celebrations, multiple artists are often required to maintain a smooth guest experience.
Having enough artists helps to:
Reduce waiting times
Increase participation
Improve visitor satisfaction
Create better guest flow throughout the event
When planning entertainment, it is useful to estimate how many guests are likely to participate and compare that number with the hourly capacity of the activity.
This allows you to determine how many artists or activity stations are needed to comfortably accommodate visitors.
Not Sure How Much Entertainment You Need?
If you're unsure how many artists or entertainment stations are required, start by estimating:
The total number of guests
The percentage likely to participate
The event duration
The hourly capacity of the activity
This simple calculation can help ensure visitors spend more time enjoying the experience and less time waiting in line.
Which Types of Entertainment Work Well at Events?
When planning an event, it's important to choose entertainment that is interactive, visually engaging, and capable of serving a large number of visitors throughout the day.
The most successful event entertainment attracts attention, encourages participation, and creates memorable photo opportunities. Whether you're organising a festival, corporate event, exhibition, shopping centre activation, or public event, choosing the right entertainment can significantly improve the visitor experience.
When hiring entertainment for an event, it is important to select activities that can engage large numbers of guests efficiently while contributing to the overall atmosphere.
Here are some entertainment options that consistently perform well at events.
Professional Face Painting
Professional face painting is a popular form of event entertainment because it appeals to both children and adults.
From colourful festival-inspired designs to elegant glitter accents and creative face art, visitors can receive a unique look in just a few minutes that perfectly matches the atmosphere of the event.
Face painting offers several benefits:
High visual impact
Strong visitor engagement
Great photo opportunities
Suitable for a wide range of audiences
Adaptable to different event themes
Because face painting is highly visible, it naturally attracts attention and encourages participation from other visitors.
Guests often share photos of their designs on social media, helping to extend the reach and visibility of the event.
Glitter Bar
A glitter bar is an interactive beauty experience where visitors can receive festival-inspired glitter designs, face gems, and makeup accents.
Guests choose their favourite look and leave with a unique festival-style appearance within minutes.
One of the reasons glitter bars work so well at events is their high capacity. Because applications are quick, a glitter bar can serve a large number of guests throughout the day.
At Mia's Magic, we use biodegradable glitter, making our glitter bar an excellent fit for sustainable festivals and environmentally conscious events.
A glitter bar is particularly popular at:
Festivals
Corporate events
Summer parties
Brand activations
Outdoor events
Shopping centre promotions
The combination of visual impact, participation, and photo opportunities makes it one of the most effective forms of interactive event entertainment.
Creative Workshops
Creative workshops are ideal when you want visitors to actively participate rather than simply observe.
During a workshop, participants learn a new skill, create something themselves, or customise their own festival-inspired look using glitter, accessories, or creative materials.
Creative workshops help create:
Visitor engagement
Longer dwell times
Meaningful interactions
Memorable experiences
Because participants are actively involved, workshops often leave a lasting impression and create a stronger connection with the event.
They work particularly well at festivals, exhibitions, open days, team-building events, and community events.
Roaming Entertainment
Roaming entertainment brings the experience directly to visitors.
Instead of waiting at a fixed activity station, performers move throughout the venue and interact with guests wherever they are.
Examples include:
Roaming glitter bars
Mobile face art artists
Interactive performers
Festival beauty activations
This type of entertainment works especially well at larger events where visitors are spread across a wide area.
Roaming entertainment creates spontaneous interactions, increases visibility throughout the venue, and allows guests to participate without leaving their current activity.
Why Interactive Entertainment Works So Well
Interactive entertainment consistently performs well because it combines participation, visibility, and engagement.
Activities such as face painting, glitter bars, roaming entertainment, and creative workshops encourage visitors to become part of the experience rather than simply watching it.
This often results in:
Longer visitor engagement
More social interaction
Better event atmosphere
More user-generated content
Increased event visibility on social media
That is exactly why interactive entertainment remains one of the most popular choices for festivals, corporate events, public celebrations, and promotional activations.
Booking Entertainment for Your Event
Looking to book entertainment for a festival, corporate event, exhibition, shopping centre activation, or public event?
Choosing entertainment that matches your audience, event size, and desired atmosphere is one of the most important decisions you'll make.
The best entertainment attracts visitors, encourages interaction, and helps transform an event into an experience that people genuinely remember.
Interactive entertainment such as professional face painting, glitter bars, festival makeup, and creative workshops works particularly well because visitors can participate immediately and leave with a unique experience they can share with others.
These activities create:
Memorable visitor experiences
Strong visual impact
Natural photo opportunities
Increased engagement
A lively event atmosphere
For larger events, entertainment capacity can easily be increased by working with multiple artists or activity stations. This helps maintain a smooth visitor flow while minimising waiting times.
Not Sure Which Entertainment Is Right for Your Event?
Every event is different.
If you're unsure which entertainment option best suits your audience, venue, or event goals, we'd be happy to help.
Get in touch to discuss the best entertainment options and the ideal number of artists for your event.
Comments