Bigger than
you think.
On floor space almost everyone underestimates; on height they overestimate. The reason for both is the same: you picture the photograph, not the build. In the photograph four people stand side by side; in reality there is equipment between them, cables behind them and monitors in front of them. And a stage that looks impressive in a photograph forces the front row to crane their necks.
Floor space: people plus what stands between them
A four-piece band with a drum kit is well served by roughly six by four metres. Less works, but gets tight once monitors, amplifiers and stands join them — and they do. The drum kit is worth calculating separately: it needs more room than a person and usually stands on its own riser. For a speech with a lectern, far less is enough; there the question is more whether somebody needs to be able to exit to the side.
Height: work back from the last row
The stage is high enough when the back row can still see what happens at the front — not when it looks impressive. The deeper the audience, the higher it has to be; the closer the front row stands, the lower it should stay. Standing audiences need more height than seated ones, because one standing person blocks the next. And past a certain height the felt distance to the audience grows too — which is not wanted on every evening.
What else is going up there
The load rating of a modular stage is a limit, not a guideline. It is rarely exhausted by people, but regularly by everything else that goes up: grand pianos, drum risers, speaker stacks, floor fixtures for the lighting. So "how many people" is the wrong question. The right one is: list what is going up there.
The space people forget
Stairs and handrails need floor space, and outside the stage area at that. Anyone performing during the event should also not have to climb through the audience — that route wants planning too. Outdoors, the ground comes into it: not all grass is the same, and what carries after three dry days will not after a thunderstorm.
- ▸Four-piece band with drums: roughly 6 × 4 metres as a starting point
- ▸Calculate the drum kit separately — it needs more room than a person
- ▸Work the height back from the last row, not the first
- ▸Standing audiences need more height than seated ones
- ▸Not "how many people", but: what is going up there
- ▸Stairs, handrails and the way up need space beside the stage
- ▸Outdoors the ground decides, and the ground changes with the weather
Every setup is cut to the venue, the guest count and the running order — this list is a starting point, not a packing list.
What we get asked most often.
Often yes — then things shift: the drums move forward, the monitors get smaller, some of it stands beside the stage rather than on it. Give us the dimensions you have and we will tell you what fits and what does not.
If everyone is seated and nobody is more than a few metres away: often not. As soon as the audience gets deeper or stands up, half of them see nothing. A low riser of 20 to 40 centimetres does more than you would think.
That depends on size, location and the type of event, and it differs from one municipality to the next. We supply the documents for our build — assembly instructions, structural calculations, test certificates. The permit itself is obtained by the organiser.
Then the wind comes into it. Every system has wind speeds above which it must come down — that is in the manufacturer's assembly instructions and is not a matter for negotiation. We agree beforehand who decides if it comes to that.
Tell us about
your event.
Send us the basics — you get an honest assessment and a quote shortly afterwards. No obligation, and nobody chases you about it afterwards.
We usually reply within 24 hours.