The complete village show kit list
A village show runs two events at once: a century-old produce competition judged in near silence by 11am, and a public show day for hundreds of visitors by 1pm. Here is the hire list for both, worked at 800 visitors.
An 800-visitor village or country show typically needs: a lined show tent for the produce, craft and floral classes with a judging aisle, 30 to 40 trestle tables for the entries, a PA system for ring commentary and results, 16 toilets plus 2 accessible with a licensed beer tent open, rope or hurdle fencing around the main ring plus Heras perimeter and car park fencing, a 100kVA silenced generator, trackway for the show tent and exhibitor vehicle route, a licensed bar or beer tent with roughly 23m of frontage, 16 bin pairs plus 3 skips, stewarding for the car park and gates with SIA cover specifically on the bar, and a PIPA-tested bouncy castle for the family field. Typical hire budget: £5,000 to £11,000, excluding prize money and judges' expenses.
The kit list, line by line
Worked at 800 visitors. Every line links to the full category guide with prices.
| Item | Quantity logic | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Show tent (produce, craft & floral classes) | Sized to entries and judging aisles, not visitor count | A lined 24m-class frame tent with a centre aisle does most shows this size |
| Trestle tables (show classes) | One table run per class, judging aisle either side | 30 to 40 trestles covers produce, cookery, handicrafts, floral and children's classes |
| PA & ring commentary | Judging results + ring events: powered system and a handheld or lapel mic | Test it before the dog show, not during the first class |
| Toilets | 1 per 50 with a bar open → 16 + 2 accessible at 800 | Split between the show tent field and the ring, not one bank at the gate |
| Ring rope & fencing | Perimeter metres ÷ 3.5 = Heras panels for the boundary and car park; the main ring needs rope or hurdles, not steel | Dog show, tug of war and vintage vehicle displays all run off the same roped ring |
| Stewarding & security | 1 per 100 visitors baseline, risk-assessed → 8 at 800; SIA badges specifically where the bar is licensed | Car park, gates and the ring take stewards; the bar needs the badge |
| Generator | From the load list: PA, show tent lighting, catering vans → typically 100kVA at 800 | Pen it well back from the livestock and dog show rings |
| Trackway | Gate-to-show-tent distance + exhibitor vehicle route, typically 40 to 80m on a showground | Early-morning produce drop-off and a wet August are a bad combination without it |
| Bar / beer tent | 1m of frontage per 35 guests → 23m at 800 | Over 499 people, this needs a premises licence, not a Temporary Event Notice |
| Bins | 1 pair per 50 visitors → 16 pairs at 800 | Cluster at the beer tent, food stalls and the ring exits |
| Skips | 1 × 8-yard per 300 visitors per day → 3 at 800 | Positioned for a lorry, clear of the exhibitor and car park routes |
| Bouncy castle (family field) | PIPA-tested, attended, with a wind plan | Sited well clear of the ring and the show tent guy ropes |
Two events on one field
The show tent runs on its own quiet schedule: exhibitors deliver produce, jars, cakes, flowers and handicrafts from 8am, judges work the trestle tables class by class from around 11am, and a steward follows each judge to keep track of winners and pin the right rosette card before anyone else sees the result. None of that needs a crowd, a PA or a ring: it is finished, in large part, before most visitors arrive.
The public show day starts once judging closes, typically early afternoon, and that is where the rest of the kit list earns its place: the ring for the dog show, tug of war or vintage vehicle parade, the beer tent, the stalls and the family field. Book the show tent and trestle tables first because the judging timetable is fixed and does not move for anything else on the list.
Licensing: when a show outgrows a Temporary Event Notice
A Temporary Event Notice covers alcohol sales and amplified entertainment for up to 499 people at any one time, lasts up to seven days, and needs submitting at least 10 working days ahead. A village show that genuinely expects to stay under that number, most small produce shows and fetes, can run its licensed bar on a TEN each year without much paperwork.
The moment a show plans for 500 or more people at once, which most established village and country shows do, it needs a full premises licence rather than a TEN, applied for through the local authority months in advance rather than days. Many long-running shows hold a standing premises licence for the showground itself and simply notify the council of the date each year, which is worth checking before assuming a TEN will do.
What it costs, honestly
For 800 visitors, the site hire list, show tent, trestle tables, PA, welfare, fencing, stewarding, generator, trackway, bar, bins and skips, typically runs £5,000 to £11,000, before the produce show's own prize money, rosettes and judges' expenses, which committees almost always budget separately from the hire bill.
The single biggest lever is the welfare and site services order: a local firm covering toilets, generator, fencing and trackway from one visit, the same consolidation that applies to any outdoor event on a field, usually beats three or four separate quotes by a meaningful margin.
Village show: the questions that follow
How many toilets does a village show need?
With a licensed bar open, the standard ratio is 1 per 50 visitors, so 16 units plus 2 accessible for 800 people, split across the showground rather than banked at one gate. Without a bar, the ratio relaxes to 1 per 75.
Do we need a premises licence for a village show, or does a Temporary Event Notice cover it?
A Temporary Event Notice covers up to 499 people at any one time and needs submitting at least 10 working days ahead. Most established village and country shows expect more than that and need a full premises licence from the local authority, applied for months in advance, or a standing licence on the showground that is simply notified each year.
How much security or stewarding does a village show need?
A risk-assessed baseline of 1 per 100 visitors, so 8 for an 800-person show, split between stewards for the car park, gates and the ring and SIA-licensed officers specifically wherever the bar is selling alcohol. Judging and the show tent itself rarely need either.
What does it cost to put on a village show?
Site hire, show tent, trestle tables, welfare, fencing, stewarding, power, trackway, bar, bins and skips typically runs £5,000 to £11,000 for an 800-visitor show. Prize money, rosettes and judges' expenses for the produce classes are a separate budget most committees keep apart from the hire bill.
Planning a different kind of event?
These kit lists share most of the same line items as village show.
Not sure what you need yet?
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