BOOK CORPORATE ENTERTAINMENT IN LONDON

When planning a corporate event in London, keep in mind that people want something different.  They want to be entertained in unique spaces with unique acts, this means planning your venue and entertainment that goes with it are crucial for the success of the night.  Whether it is a conference or convention, a holiday party, a retreat or a golf event, trade show or business dinner, you will need to think out-of-the-box to come up with some unconventional event venues and entertainment ideas.  We have all been to events where the entertainment could have done with a little spicing up.  Nearly everyone plans events in a hotel conference room and entertainment package to follow.  Pleasing a crowd and making the event a memorable, unconventional one is harder than it seems, but not so hard that you cannot accomplish with a little help.

A Note On London’s Unconventional Venues

When selecting a venue, think of the audience experience – whether there is a structure as in a conference or an open-flowing networking opportunity or trade show.  Will there be food and drinks?  Are there presenters and media?  Now think of spaces that fit in, and make sure that the audience understands where they are.  The Tate, Kew Palace, the Museum of London, the London Transport Museum, Syon Park, the Royal Geographical society are some unique venues that can offer unconventional experiences as compared to the usual hotel conference room or event hall.  The Tower Bridge Glass Floor can host a panoramic dinner evening or launch.  The Hippodrome Casino with space for up to 1000 people and the option of a private poker plus drinks reception for 80 is another great place to wrap up training.  You can also think a little creatively and find out if spaces like art schools, parking lots, airplane tarmacs, and garage spaces can work with the event.  If you do choose an unconventional venue, make sure that the audience knows where they are and choose entertainment that fits in with the location and objectives.

Choosing Entertainment

When selecting the entertainment for the night, you need to consider a few things.  Will your guests be moving locations, e.g. drinks in the foyer and dinner in the dining room?  Is the entertainment for the background or for a specific feature?  Do you need to have just one style of music such as background music for reception drinks and another act for the evening, such as a dance troupe or circus performers?  Will the guests be networking or is there a plan and structure to the event?  What is the age range of the guests?  With these in mind, let’s take a look at the entertainment options available.

Ideas for Stand-Out Corporate Event Entertainment

Dance acts

Dance acts are crowd-pleasers and excellent ice-breakers.  Your corporate event in London probably brings together people from different cultural backgrounds.  By inviting dance performers to entertain your guests, you can help your guests cross cultural barriers and enjoy a memorable performance that has its own universal language.  From exotic belly dancers to sizzling Latino duos, ballroom dancers, Bollywood dancers and every other kind of dance in between, there are many types of troupes you can have for the performance.  Pick one that will go with the theme or age group of your audience.  Graceful ballet dancers, for instance, are ideal for the opening of an art gallery or a clothing store.  A flash mob with a hundred hip-hop dancers could wow your younger guests at a parking lot.  Burlesque can add a touch of the risqué to the night after a conference.  At team-building events, you could have your employees participate in professional dance lessons or stage performances with professionals.  Besides classic dances and culture-specific acts, many unusual acts today can offer unique experiences.  Break dancers, acts like the very popular LED dance teams from around the world, period acts like the 1940s Twins, Bhangra dancers, and a variety of other themed dance troupes today perform at corporate events with great success.

Bands

Everybody enjoys music and loosens up over it.  Hiring a great band to suit the tone of the event is probably the easiest way to keep your guests entertained.  Finding a band that suits the occasion and venue is important however.  A jazz soloist is more suitable for the cocktail hour than a hip-hop band.  Background music choices can include jazz trios, string quartets, a solo pianist, mandolin and accordion duo etc.  For the main big event of the night, you could have a well-known band that would bring people to the dance floor.  A function band or a tribute band are equally great choices.  Really big acts to close the night could have an element of a spectacle, such as laser shows, pyrotechnic displays, axle grinding and so on.

Circus Acts

Circus acts can be the big act of the night as well.  Spectacular aerials and acrobats, graceful silk shows, solo aerialists, troupes, stilt shows, bubble artists, mimes and a wide range of circus acts can keep your guests entertained.  You might also want circulating entertainers, who will move between groups of guests (such as at corporate networking events) and become ice-breakers and points of conversation.

Digital Magicians

A new and unique category of entertainer is the digital or iPad magician.  Illusionists and magicians who use technology to trick the eye can impress the audience and break the ice.  Such illusionists perform all over the world and their acts can finish your event with a bang.

Bespoke Entertainment

Many groups of entertainers can tailor their acts to your event.  While traditional dancers and bands will typically have their own set repertoires, bespoke dancers, circus acts and other performers can mould their acts to fit the location and objectives of the event. Whether you are hosting an award ceremony, a team-building exercise or a Christmas Party, bespoke entertainers can tailor their performances to suit.  Bespoke musicians may be able to rearrange an iconic piece of music, for instance, to fit the themes of the night. They may also be able to commemorate special occasions with a whole new composition.  Unusual bespoke entertainment that can be customised for corporate events include laser shows, light artists, origami artists, LED dancers, sand artists, speed painters, magicians, video shows etc.

There are plenty of ideas out there to tailor acts and suit your corporate image, you just need to find the right one for you.  With a little help from professionals who know and bring together the best corporate entertainers out there, you can easily hire corporate entertainment in London for a fantastic, memorable event that your guests will remember for a long time.  No matter the size, scale or objective of your event, the perfect event for the night is just a click of your mouse and a call away.