15 Stage Design Ideas We've Loved Lately

For the 10th anniversary of Samsung’s Unpacked event, the electronics brand enhanced the experience with a striking main stage, which featured two arches that measured 43.2 by 25.6 meters and were connected to create a cathedral-like structure. Branded content was projected on the two arches, as well as a separate LED screen that measured 19.2 by 19.2 meters and served as the stage backdrop. The content changed throughout the event to reflect the product unveilings and announcements.

The structure’s entire display surface consisted of 54,414,920 pixels. Samsung and its in-house marketing agency, Cheil Worldwide, partnered with brand experience agency INVNT to produce the 2019 event, which was held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. See more: 8 Experiential Highlights From Samsung's 10th Unpacked Event

This year’s INBOUND—an 11,000-attendee conference for the marketing and sales community, hosted by CMR platform HubSpot—featured big-name speakers like Reese Witherspoon and Derek Jeter. The eye-catching main stage had an impressive scale, with colorful panels and the INBOUND logo drawing attention above a simple chair setup.

Pulled back, the stage made even more of an impact with large screens on either side, plus colorful panels extending off the top of the stage's backdrop. Lighting created an impactful ombré effect. See more: 6 Smart Event Strategies From HubSpot INBOUND 2023

In 2019, lifestyle brand PopSugar hosted its second annual PopSugar Play/Ground, an experiential festival designed for women, in New York. The experience, which was produced by Reed Exhibitions and designed by The Gathery, featured a “Powering Your Happily Ever After” theme with fairy tale-like touches including a giant rainbow swing set. The whimsical rainbow theme continued to the stage, which hosted conversations with the likes of Issa Rae. See more: What Was New at This Year's PopSugar Play/Ground?

During Grammys week in 2020, Billboard celebrated its annual Power 100 list, which honors the music industry’s top executives, at NeueHouse in Los Angeles. The event had a small stage that made a big impact with hanging lightbulbs and a striking gold design. Shiraz Creative handled event design and production, while Stoelt Productions handled fabrication, rigging, and permitting. See more: Grammys 2020: What You Missed at the Week's Coolest Parties

The 2022 edition of Cisco IMPACT, the company's annual sales kickoff, took place in August in Las Vegas. The event marked the first time Cisco’s sales leaders had been physically together since 2019, so the event teams wanted to lean into eye-catching designs that drove engagement and moments of unity. One highlight? A main stage area, designed and produced by TENCUE, that housed all 14,000 attendees. Speakers stood on a platform in the middle of the crowd, while massive screens with bold graphics—some of which extended off the screen—appeared behind them. See more: Most Innovative Meetings 2022: Cisco IMPACT FY23

The Wall Street Journal leaned into sustainability at this year’s Future of Everything Festival, held in May 2023. Working with their production partners at Studio Left, the in-house event team created a stage and backdrop that could host big-name speakers like former first lady Michelle Obama—but also be upcycled after the event was over. The result was a modular, LEGO-like white trellis that was covered in plants during the conference.

The next day, via a partnership with GreenThumb—the community garden extension of the New York City Parks Department—the team reassembled the trellis at a Brooklyn park, where it now provides shade and houses a variety of plants. See more: Inside The Wall Street Journal's Innovative Event Sustainability Strategies

Charity: Water, a nonprofit organization that provides drinking water to people in developing nations, has a reputation for using technology to build an emotional connection between donors and beneficiaries. So, for its first West Coast gala in 2019, the nonprofit upped the tech ante by surrounding the evening's 522 dinner guests with a 40,000-pound, 360-degree video experience. Produced by Trademark Event Production, the screen—which was made up of 840 LED tiles—showcased a moving video of a woman’s quest for clean drinking water in Ethiopia; it also showcased donation prompts, information on the types of equipment donors could fund, and more. A small stage in the center of the room was kept simple to keep attention on the screen. See more: How New Technology Helped This Gala Raise $7 Million

Working with experiential agency The Park, Spotify returned to Cannes Lions for its ninth year in 2023, hosting the airy Spotify Beach across from JW Marriott Cannes. The activation hosted a number of daytime master classes and sessions featuring guests like Trevor Noah, Issa Rae, Emma Chamberlain, and Cesc Fàbregas, who all emphasized the brand’s focus on creativity, connection, and innovation. The summery stage design evoked a pool, complete with a ladder attached to the wall. See more: Cannes Lions 2023: 45 Steal-Worthy Event Ideas From the Massive Festival of Creativity

Sometimes less is more, as seen with this striking stage design for Code Conference 2022 in Los Angeles. The simple, geometric, red and black design kept the spotlight on then-host Kara Swisher's interviews with the likes of Pete Buttigieg (pictured), Tim Cook, and Mark Cuban. See more: Behind-the-Scenes Details From Kara Swisher's Final Code Conference

At BizBash, we love a good hybrid event—and appreciate the clever approach C2 Montréal took for its October 2021 conference, when many of its speakers couldn’t attend in person due to COVID restrictions. Speakers like Mindy Kaling were interviewed on small, chair-height screens, while larger versions of the video were displayed as the stage backdrop. See more: Steal-Worthy Event Strategies From C2 Montréal's 2021 Hybrid Conference

Oscars stages also offer a wealth of event inspiration—and in March 2023, for the first time ever, the main stage was designed by women. Production designers Alana Billingsley and Misty Buckley were inspired by classic movie houses and theaters, leaning into warm materials like bronze and brass. About 3,500 square feet of high-resolution LED screens were embedded around the stage to highlight moments from this year’s films. See more: Oscars 2023: Elegant Event Inspiration From Hollywood's Most Glamorous Week

Another impactful Oscars stage came from Emmy-winning production designer David Korins in 2022. The set included a combined 12,940 Swarovski crystals and 252 strands, weighing a total of 1,350 pounds. See more: Oscars 2022 Review: Event Producers Give the 94th Ceremony a B

Variety’s invitation-only Hitmakers Brunch was held in December 2022 at City Market Social House in Los Angeles, drawing a who’s who of the music industry including Dua Lipa, Selena Gomez, Jack Harlow, and more. Stoelt Productions designed and fabricated the custom stage, which had a chic, sustainable look using mostly all-natural materials and earth tones. Floral design from 19 Stems included 40-plus eight-foot palm trees of various species spread throughout the venue.

At the third edition of the GO WEST conference, held in Edmonton in January 2020, producers Timewise Event Management modeled the main stage after a concert: Think no emcee, no podiums, and “singing announcements” to recognize sponsors, plus a mix of high-tops, couches, and beanbag chairs as seating. The stage’s design panels extended onto the ceiling to create a unique, immersive feel. See more: Most Innovative Meetings 2020: #2 GO WEST

The 15th annual Black Women in Hollywood event, held in March 2022, was designed and produced by MVD Inc. The design cleverly leaned into a glamorous “Black Cinematic Universe” theme, with abstract golf and chrome tones on the stage complemented by geometric designs on the carpet. See more: Oscars 2022: Event Highlights From the Week's Most Glamorous Gatherings