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Tents for festivals and concerts: what a festival build asks for

5 days ago
5 min read

Updated: 1 day ago

A festival or concert has to cover several different functions within the same site, and each one puts different demands on the tent that covers it. The organiser has to think about the stage and its technical areas, the bars and sales points, the backstage and wardrobe, the VIP area and material storage, all within a limited assembly window and with the requirement to meet whatever regulation the venue or the local authority sets. This holds equally for a multi-day music festival, a single concert or a cultural or food event that takes over a fairground or a park for a weekend. This guide looks at what a festival build asks for and what a production company should have ready before requesting a quote, without giving prices or fixed timeframes, because every build depends on the size of the site and the event date. For each of those areas we make event tents to measure.

What a festival site needs

  • Stage and technical areas: cover for the stage, the sound desk and the audiovisual equipment, protected from rain and direct sun, sometimes including the monitor and front-of-house positions.

  • Bars and sales points: smaller tents spread across the site, with good visibility and easy access for the public, sized to the flow of people expected at each point.

  • Backstage, dressing rooms and wardrobe: enclosed spaces that need privacy and controlled access, kept separate from areas open to the public.

  • VIP area: a tent with a better finish and often more headroom, placed in a specific spot on the site and sometimes fitted out to a different standard than the rest.

  • Material storage and logistics: support tents to keep equipment, merchandise or technical material during the event days, placed close to where that material is needed each day.

Why the fabric matters

The venue or the competent authority usually asks for the fabric's fire certificate before authorising the build. Our fire-certified fabric carries the T2 class under UNE-EN 15619, with the certificate delivered together with the material; it is worth asking the venue or the authority what documentation it requires and sending it to us to confirm what we can provide before placing the order. If the production team is not familiar with the usual wording on these certificates, our glossary of technical terms explains in plain language what each item on the document means.

The weight of the fabric also matters for a build that repeats season after season: a stronger fabric copes better with frequent assembly and dismantling and with transport between events, and it is also easier to handle during the assembly days, when the crew has to lift and tension it several times in a short period. Colour and opacity affect light control inside the tent, which matters for stages with projection or for areas where full darkness is wanted during the show; our catalogue of PVC tent fabric includes opaque, translucent and transparent finishes in different weights.

Colours for the festival's look

Beyond light control, the colour of the fabric lets the tent match the festival's visual identity or a sponsor's colours, within the range of finishes available in the catalogue. This matters especially for bar tents, the VIP area or sponsorship points, where the outside appearance is part of the event's brand experience. It helps to tell us the intended use of each tent and, where relevant, the colour wanted, so we can confirm which PVC fabric finishes suit that particular tent.

Planning the build ahead of time

A festival works to fixed dates that cannot move, so it is worth planning delivery with margin. Before requesting a quote it helps to be clear about lorry access to the site, the delivery window available, the number of packages that will arrive and who will receive the goods on site. It also helps to agree in advance how many days of access the assembly crew has before doors open and how many days remain for strike-down after closing, because both windows affect the delivery date we plan for at the factory. Transport within Europe usually takes about a week once the goods leave the factory; manufacturing time depends on the order and is confirmed with the quote.

Reusing the structure, replacing only the cover

Many production companies and venues keep the same structure season after season and replace only the cover when it wears, stains or loses the required certificate. Checking the condition of the cover and the structure before each season makes it possible to decide early whether only a new cover is needed or structural parts as well, instead of finding out the week before the event. We prepare made-to-measure replacement covers for existing structures and also supply 100-metre rolls of fabric for anyone who builds or repairs their own tents season after season.

Buying instead of hiring

For a production company running several events a year, buying the tent instead of hiring it each time can make sense: the structure and the cover stay available for the next build without depending on a hire supplier's stock on any given date. Between events, a purchased tent is stored folded or rolled until the next build, which avoids depending on a hire supplier's calendar during the peak dates when demand for festival tents rises across Europe. Installation of tents bought from Plastold can be arranged on request; it depends on the destination and the specific job, so it is worth asking for it together with the quote.

What to send us for an accurate quote

  • Event dates and the exact location of the venue, including the name of the fairground or park when it is not a fixed venue.

  • Dimensions and number of tents needed, and any height restriction at the site.

  • Intended use of each tent: stage, bar, backstage, VIP or storage.

  • Fire certificate or other documentation required by the venue or the local authority, and the deadline for submitting it.

  • Site access for unloading, the assembly window available, and whether a forklift or tail lift is available at the delivery point.

Request a quote

Send us these details through contact and we will confirm which tent, fabric and documentation fit your build; you can also request the fabric sample book to see the weight, colour and finish up close before deciding.

Real project: PVC grandstand roofs and 288 tent side walls, made in Málaga for a major motorsport event in Madrid. See the project

 
 
 

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