Understanding the Pros and Cons of hosting your event outdoors.

With 141.5 million visits to outdoor events with a £39.5bn spend off site, it’s easy to understand why outdoor events are very popular in the UK. Whether it’s a music festival, theatre, fairs, shows, recreational or corporate, outdoor events are a great way to bring value to the local community as well as to the organiser. But when organising an outdoor event, there are several considerations that will need to be factored into your planning.

In this post we will be looking at the pros and cons of outdoor event spaces. This will help to understand the implications of hosting the event outdoors and any additional contingencies you will need to put in place to ensure its success.

Space

The biggest positive about outside venues is the space. You will have far more space to accommodate additional attendees, activities, stall holders, you name it. Indoor venues are often limited on numbers but with outdoor spaces that number is much higher. If you had a music festival in mind, you could have over tens of thousands of attendees whereas finding a venue that large indoors would be difficult. 

Versatility

Speaking of the space, versatility is another pro to having an event outdoor. The options are endless when it comes to event layout, theme, decorations, atmosphere and feel. Whatever you imagine, as long as your budget stretches, you can probably create outdoors. A huge stage with PA wings, no problem. A funfair, no worries. Let your imagination run wild with the possibilities.

Cost



Outdoor venues tend to be more cost effective and are more budget friendly than indoor spaces. Parks, fields, and town centres are all options to consider for your outdoor event, as well as country houses parkland and designated show grounds. They are more cost effectives as generally they come without any facilities and have low running costs.