Marquee & Tent Size.

As a rule of thumb, allow about 1.2 m² per guest for a seated banquet on round tables, around 1.0 m² for long trestle tables, and roughly 0.9 m² for rows of ceremony chairs. A standing cocktail event packs in tighter at about 0.65 m² per person. Add extra floor area on top of those figures for a dance floor, stage, bar or buffet, which is exactly what this calculator does.

Round banquet tables carry a large footprint plus the chairs around them and the circulation gaps between tables so guests and waiting staff can move, which is why they need the most room per head. Theatre-style rows and standing cocktail layouts have no tables to walk around, so people sit or stand closer together and use far less floor area. That is why the per-person allowance drops from roughly 1.2 m² for a banquet down to around 0.6 m² for theatre seating.

A common starting point is around 0.25 m² of dance floor per guest, since not everyone dances at once, with a sensible minimum so even a small party gets a usable floor. A band or DJ stage typically wants its own dedicated zone of roughly 10 to 15 m² on top of the guest seating area. Always add catering space too, because a buffet line or bar needs clear room for queueing as well as the table itself.

Hire marquees usually come in standard frame sizes built up from 3 m wide modules, so common footprints are 6 x 6, 6 x 9, 9 x 12, 9 x 18, 12 x 24 and so on up to large 20 x 40 structures. Bigger spans are made simply by clipping extra bays onto the frame, so the length grows in fixed steps. This calculator rounds your required floor area up to the next standard size so you are not left short.

The base per-person figures already build in normal walkways and gaps between tables, so guests and staff can move comfortably. The dance floor, stage and buffet/bar options then add further dedicated area on top. It is still a planning guide only, so confirm the exact dimensions, access and ground conditions with your marquee hire company, as a grassed or sloping site can change what will actually fit.