How to Plan a Summer Party Your Team Will Actually Look Forward To
The summer party is one of those events that sounds straightforward until you're the one planning it.
Suddenly you're fielding dietary requirements, juggling budgets, trying to find a venue that isn't already booked, and quietly wondering whether anyone will actually enjoy it or just show up out of obligation.
Here's how to plan one that people genuinely look forward to — and a few things worth avoiding along the way.
Start With the Experience, Not the Venue
Most people plan a summer party in the wrong order. They find a venue first, then figure out what's happening inside it.
The problem is that the venue becomes the event. "We're going to a rooftop bar" is not an event. It's a location. And once the novelty of the view wears off — usually around the second drink — you're left with a group of colleagues standing around making small talk they could be making at their desks.
Start with the experience. What do you want people to be doing? How do you want them to feel? What's the story they'll tell on Monday morning? Answer those questions first, then find the venue that fits.
Give It Some Structure
The summer parties that fall flat are almost always the ones with no structure. Open bar, nice venue, hope for the best.
The ones people remember have a shape to them. Something happens. There's a moment. A game, a performance, a competition — something that gives the evening a spine and stops it from dissolving into a collection of separate conversations.
You don't need a packed itinerary. You need one or two things that anchor the event and give people something to do together rather than just near each other.
The Formats That Work Best for Summer Parties
Corporate Game Show Experience
This has become the most-requested format for London summer parties — and it's easy to see why.
A professional host runs your team through a live, fully produced game show: five games, buzzers, music, sound effects, real competition and genuine laughs. It runs for 90 minutes, works indoors or in a suitable outdoor space, and requires almost nothing from you on the day.
Show Time has delivered this format to summer parties for Coca-Cola, L'Oreal, Amazon, Lego and hundreds of other London companies. It works for groups of 20 to 200+, fits neatly into a longer evening, and consistently produces the moments people talk about for weeks afterwards.
Book a game show experience for your summer party
Outdoor Sports Day
A competitive sports day — relay races, tug of war, rounders, team challenges — works well in summer if you have access to outdoor space and the weather cooperates. Operators like Chillisauce and Venueseeker can help source and run these.
The risk is obvious. A rained-off sports day is a miserable experience. If you're going outdoors, have a contingency.
Garden Party With a Hosted Activity
Hiring a venue with outdoor space and layering a hosted activity on top — a quiz, a game show, a comedy act — gives you the summer aesthetic without relying on the event to carry itself. This is the format most likely to satisfy both the people who want to socialise and the people who want something to actually do.
Boat Party
Popular, and for good reason. Thames boat parties are a reliable summer option for London offices — the venue moves, the atmosphere is built in, and there's enough novelty to sustain an evening. Operators like Cheshire Cat and Thames Rockets do this well.
Downsides: fixed capacity, limited flexibility if something isn't working, and some people genuinely don't enjoy being on boats.
Things to Avoid
Leaving it too late. Summer party season in London runs from late May through July. Good venues and operators start filling up in March. If you're reading this in May, some dates are already gone.
Underestimating dietary requirements. If food is involved, collect requirements early and confirm with the caterer. Nothing derails an evening faster than someone with a serious allergy being handed a bread roll and an apology.
Assuming the bar is enough. A free bar is a perk, not a plan. It keeps people there; it doesn't give them anything to bond over.
Overcomplicating the itinerary. One or two structured moments is enough. A packed schedule that runs to a minute-by-minute agenda makes people feel managed rather than entertained.
Ignoring the Monday morning test. The question to ask when planning any summer party is simple: what will people say about it on Monday morning? If the honest answer is "not much" — the plan needs work.
Budget Guidance for London Summer Parties
Rough benchmarks for planning purposes:
Venue hire: £500 to £5,000+ depending on size and location
Catering: £30 to £80 per head for a decent spread
Drinks: £25 to £50 per head for a managed bar
Entertainment (e.g. game show experience): from £3,000 for a fully hosted 90-minute show
Total per head: £80 to £150 is realistic for a quality event in London
The entertainment budget is the one most commonly cut first. It's also the one that determines whether people remember the event or forget it by the following week.
The Bottom Line
A good summer party doesn't need to be complicated. It needs a clear experience, one or two anchoring moments, and someone who knows how to run it properly.
Get those three things right and you'll have an event people actually look forward to — not one they attend out of obligation and forget by August.
Want to make your summer party one people actually remember?
Talk to Show Time about bringing a fully hosted game show experience to your event. Most summer dates book up fast — it's worth checking availability early.
