Corporate Event Entertainment Ideas That Actually Work

Most corporate entertainment fails the 9pm test. The magician has finished, the photo booth queue has died, and half the room is checking trains home. The entertainment that works is the kind people are still queuing for at the end of the night.

We’ve been running entertainment at corporate events since 2018, from conference floors to award nights, and the same handful of ideas come up trumps every time. Here’s what works, and how to judge anything else you’re considering.

What good corporate entertainment has in common

Strip away the novelty and the entertainment that holds a room shares four traits.

First, it needs no explanation, because if guests have to be talked through the rules, most of them drift away before their turn. The best activities are understood at a glance.

It’s also as good to watch as it is to play. One person on a stage entertains nobody in the queue, whereas a crowd forming behind a player is the sign you’ve picked well.

It gives people a reason to talk, too. Colleagues who have just raced each other have a conversation ready made, and that matters more at a corporate event than anywhere else, because networking is usually the point.

Finally, it scales, because twenty guests and two hundred guests are different problems. Ask any supplier how their activity copes when the whole room wants a go at once.

Racing simulators: the centrepiece that runs itself

Racing simulator hire passes all four tests, which is why it’s become the go-to centrepiece for conferences, team building days and client hospitality.

Everyone knows what a steering wheel does, so the briefing takes seconds, and full-size cockpits look serious enough that people stop to watch. And when every simulator races on the same circuit with live timing on a big screen, a queue becomes a championship. Guests come back for a second lap to beat a rival’s time, which is exactly the behaviour you want at an event built around conversation.

Scale is the practical advantage. A line-up can start at a single simulator and grow to sixteen F1-style sims racing head to head on one leaderboard, which comfortably absorbs a conference-sized crowd. For a smaller room, two or three sims with a leaderboard still produces the same competitive pull.

Batak: small footprint, big crowd

A Batak reaction board is the other reliable performer. It’s the reflex trainer F1 drivers use, where lights flash around the board and you hit as many as you can before the time runs out. Each go lasts 30 seconds, so a board gets through a lot of guests and nobody queues for long.

Batak works because scores are brutally public and instantly comparable. It suits venues where a simulator set-up won’t fit, and it pairs well alongside sims as a second competition for guests waiting to race. At £450 a day plus VAT it’s also one of the most cost-effective ways to add genuine competition to an event.

Turn activity into a championship

Whatever you book, the difference between entertainment and an event lies in the format. A leaderboard on a screen changes behaviour: people practise, trash talk and return.

Simple structures work best, like running fastest lap all day and crowning a champion before the closing remarks, or splitting the room into teams by department and totalling their times, which gets the non-drivers invested. Prizes don’t need to be expensive, because bragging rights do most of the work.

Questions to ask any entertainment supplier

Before you book anything, these answers will save you a difficult conversation with your venue.

• How much space does it need? A racing simulator takes roughly 1.61m by 0.6m of floor, and a venue plan should account for spectators too.
• What power does it draw? One standard 13A socket runs up to two of our sims, each drawing no more than 1kW. Anything demanding more may need venue sign-off.
• How long is setup? Two hours is typical for a simulator set-up. Confirm access times with your venue before you confirm the supplier.
• Is it staffed? Kit that’s dropped off and left means your team runs the entertainment. Ours always comes with a team who run the racing, the leaderboard and the guests, all day.
• Can everyone take part? Our seats adjust for drivers from 125cm tall, ages 8 to 88, so nobody at a mixed corporate crowd is left watching.

What it costs

F1-style simulator hire starts at £790 a day plus VAT for a single sim, with delivery included within 100 miles of Silverstone and our team always included, and Batak starts at £450 a day. Subsequent days of a multi-day event are discounted 25%. The full breakdown is on our prices page, so you can build a budget early, before you ever speak to us.

Book the thing people remember

If your event needs a centrepiece that draws a crowd and holds it, start with our racing simulator event hire page, or get in touch with your date and venue. Quotes come back within 24 hours, Monday to Friday.