Awards Ceremony Entertainment Ideas

 

If you’re organising an awards ceremony, you’ll want it to be a successful and memorable occasion. There’s more to an awards ceremony than the awards themselves – you’ll need to plan an entire event to make the awards ceremony really worth attending. Awards create a buzz, and are a lovely way to acknowledge the success of individuals or a team within your organisation. Rewarding those who work hard has been an important part of business and social organisation life since the beginning of time, and with good reason. Recognition motivates people, and makes them feel like their work is valued. It’s also a way to get the entire company or group together to showcase the best they have to offer – and encourage others to become part of that group in the following year.

 

Visuals

When we think about awards ceremonies, all the big, infamous ceremonies tend to come to mind – we’ve all stayed up a little bit too late watching the Academy Awards or BAFTAs. It’s unlikely that you’ll be holding an awards ceremony at this kind of scale, but it does make sense to set a good chunk of your budget away for your audio and visual requirements. You’ll need something visually interesting to keep your crowd entertained, as well as to announce who is taking the stage, but don’t go too far with the flash and forget about the actual reason you’re having the event.

 

Music

You can’t have an awards show without music, and whilst it may be tempting to hook up Alan from accounting’s laptop and be done with it, it makes much more sense to hire in a professional. You need someone who knows how to host professional events, how to react to the unexpected, and who knows how to take a cue. Hiring a live band is an excellent way to add a bit of life to an awards ceremony – nothing can create an atmosphere quite like a live band, and having them playing your intro/outro music is a great way to energise your award ceremony attendees. The most dangerous part of any awards ceremony is the actual award giving segment – this is where boredom is most likely to creep in amongst your guests, so having a live band here could really pay off.

 

Speakers

Most awards ceremonies are held after a formal sit down meal, so the night can drag along a bit if you put everything you’re planning into the space after the desserts are served. Before dinner is served, consider having a motivational speaker take to the stage to get your crowd engaged and excited about the company and the upcoming event. If you don’t feel charismatic enough to host the entire awards ceremony yourself, consider passing the responsibility on to a compère or emcee. They’re industry professionals, and they’ll know how to keep your event running smoothly and on time.

 

The After Party

Few awards ceremonies end after the closing speeches, so if you’re putting a ceremony together you’ll need to remember to organise entertainment for afterwards as well. An awards ceremony after party is a great chance for the attendees to network in a relaxed environment. When you’re setting the table for the sit down dinner, make your placeholders double up as lanyards than can be worn during this networking party portion of the evening. If you’ve hired a live band or DJ to play at the awards ceremony, utilise them now, to keep your guests entertained and encourage them to mingle. At this stage of the evening you could even bring in a mixologist who can serve themed cocktails with flourish bartending.

 

When the big day of your awards ceremony rolls around, you should be ready and rearing to go – make sure you have all your preparatory work done before hand, so your event can run as smoothly as possible. Your attendees should feel entertained, and your award winners should feel honoured, which leaves no room for anyone to feel stressed!

 

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