Festival Flags and Bunting For Outdoor Events
Updated: May 3
Why flags and bunting are the decor upgrade your outdoor event needs
If you want to take your outdoor event decor to the next level, the answer is festival flags and bunting for outdoor events.
There's just something about fabric catching the breeze that turns a beautiful event space into something that feels alive. Whether you're planning a festival, a wedding, a birthday blowout, or a corporate event, injecting colour and movement with beautiful flags and bunting can completely change the atmosphere.
As a stretch tent hire company, we spend a lot of time thinking about what makes outdoor events feel magical (yes, it's a big part of the job – we're not complaining). This blog is our honest guide to using festival flags and bunting to make your stretch tent event unforgettable. Let's get into it, shall we?
WHAT MAKES STRETCH TENTS SO PERFECT FOR FLAGS & BUNTING?
Before we get into the decor itself, let's talk about why stretch tents and bunting are made for each other.
Stretch tents have an organic, flowing shape – no rigid shapes, no boxy corners, just beautiful curved lines that let the outside in. The soft peaks of a stretch tent create natural anchor points for hanging decor, and the fabric canopy acts as a gorgeous backdrop that makes colours pop.
We’re detail oriented people. Some stretch tent companies might come and install a beautiful tent but not want to be involved in dressing the tent. We want to make your event memorable, we’ll install the lighting just so, lay the carpet beautifully flat, and take care to install the flags straight and the bunting evenly spaced.
THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF FLAGS & BUNTING TO CONSIDER
Not all bunting and flags are created equal, and the type you choose will make a huge difference to the overall feel of your event.
You could opt for cotton bunting and small cheap flags, but if you want big impact go for Event Flag Hire! Here's a quick breakdown:
SATIN BUNTING
Forget cotton triangles – Event Flag Hire's bunting is made from gorgeous multi-coloured satin, finished with ribbon and available in a huge range of colourways. The Festival Mix is a firm favourite – bright, joyful, and suited to absolutely any occasion – but if you want something more considered, there's Warm Hues (yellows, oranges, reds and pinks), soft Pastels, a full 31-shade Rainbow topped with metallic gold tape, and Neon for anyone who wants their event visible from space. They also do Single Hues if you're working to a specific colour palette – from golds and greens to blues and purples – so you can get a really precise, cohesive look. All beautifully made. All surprisingly affordable. Strung from peak to peak inside your stretch tent, it's an instant transformation.
FESTIVAL FLAGS
This is where Event Flag Hire really shines. They make seven distinct styles of festival flag, all crafted from recycled polyester silk and dyed in the UK, and each one is genuinely stunning. A few of our favourites to consider for stretch tent events:
New Leaf – Five huge petal shapes inspired by nature, over 4m long and available in almost every colour imaginable. Bold, joyful, and incredibly high impact around the perimeter of your tent.
Silk & Ribbon – Eight triangles of different colours with double-sided satin ribbon detail. Elegant and graceful, these have become a wedding favourite and it's easy to see why.
Indian Summer – Possibly the most beautiful of the lot. Rich jewel tones or soft pastels, each flag with intricate laser cut detailing on the sleeve and edge. These are the ones that make people stop in awe (I know, we had these at our wedding - I’m the one throwing the bouquet).
Phoenix – Event Flag Hire's newest design, available in a gorgeous array of pastel tones with a subtle gradation of five colours per flag and ribbon detail on every vein. Utterly stunning for weddings and more refined events.
Calypso & Stripes – Jazzy, colourful, and brilliant for indoor use or calm, sheltered settings where you want maximum visual energy. Perfect for keeping the party atmosphere going inside the tent.
All festival flags come with self-install carbon pole systems, so set-up is straightforward even if you’ve not got us installing for you.
CUSTOM PRINTED FLAGS
This is where things get really fun. Event Flag Hire can print your flags on either recycled polyester silk or knitted polyester, in a range of sizes from compact banners up to large statement flags. Whether you want your event name, a logo, a bold graphic, or something entirely bespoke – the visual impact is enormous. We've seen organisers use custom flags to mark different areas around the tent (the bar, the dance floor, the entrance), and it makes everything feel intentional and professionally pulled together. The highest quality digital printing means colours are vivid and impactful, even from a distance.
OVERSIZED BUNTING
If standard bunting is gorgeous, oversized bunting is a proper showstopper. Event Flag Hire's oversized range features triangles twice the size of their standard bunting – available in rainbow, warm hues, pastels, festival mix, and a brand new neon UV colourway for 2026.
Here I am hanging bunting a at fun yellow and green themed family event!
HOW TO HANG BUNTING IN & AROUND A STRETCH TENT
This is the bit people sometimes overthink – and honestly, it doesn't need to be complicated. Here are a few approaches that work brilliantly:
Peak to peak inside the tent. Stretch tents have beautiful peaks and anchor points that are practically begging to have bunting hung between them. Strings of bunting looping from point to point across the interior creates a canopy-within-a-canopy effect that looks absolutely magical, especially in the evening.
Along the tent's open sides. You can hag the bunting along the open edges of your stretch tent which creates a lovely frame and softens the transition between inside and outside.
On guide ropes and anchor points. The structural ropes of a stretch tent are practical and, with a little dressing, decorative too. Wrapping them in bunting gives them a purpose beyond the functional.
On external flag poles around the perimeter. Place tall festival flags around the outside of your tent to create a visual boundary for your event space and build that festival atmosphere from the moment guests arrive.
Pro tip: always secure bunting properly. The UK wind has a habit of having opinions about loosely hung decor. Make sure everything is tied securely, and always chat to your tent hire team (that's us!) before attaching anything directly to the tent fabric.
COLOUR PALETTES THAT WORK BRILLIANTLY UNDER CANVAS
The natural, earthy tones of a stretch tent create an incredible backdrop.
The classic festival mix - you can’t go wrong with a bright rainbow of colours to make your event feel really festive. Event Flag Hire’s festival mix is a gorgeous mixture of different rainbow colours, carefully selected to be bright and joyful without being garish.
Traditional white & ivory - if you want to bring in those really traditional wedding colours (which works really really in a sort of juxtaposition with the chino tent) go for white & ivory.
Pastels - the most popular choice for weddings. Subtle pastel colours create a soft and pretty decor look which is really popular for weddings.
INSIDE VS OUTSIDE: THINKING ABOUT BOTH SPACES
One thing we always encourage our clients to think about is the full event journey – not just what the tent looks like inside, but what the experience is like from the moment guests arrive.
Outside the tent is your first impression. This is where huge 4m festival flags come into their own. A row of tall Silk and Ribbon flags leading up to the entrance, or a cluster of Indian Summer flags marking the way across a field, sets the can create a huge impact before anyone has even stepped inside.
Inside the tent is where the magic happens. This is your opportunity to create atmosphere, delineate spaces, and give guests those Instagrammable moments they'll remember. Layering bunting and string lights (we have festoon and fairy lights) – some high between peaks, some lower along the sides – adds depth and dimension to the space.
Between the two, you can use bunting or flags to create a visual thread that ties everything together. Same colour palette, same vibe, consistent flow.
Practicalities for Festival Flags and Bunting For Outdoor Events
We'd be doing you a disservice if we only talked about the pretty stuff. Here are the practical considerations that will save you a headache closer to the day:
Wind. Stretch tents are designed to handle the UK weather, and they do it brilliantly. But bunting and flags on external poles can take a battering. Make sure everything is rated for outdoor use and is secured properly. Cheap fabric bunting left out overnight in a gust can end up decorating the field next door.
Flame retardancy. If you're using any kind of open flame at your event – candles, fire pits, lanterns – make sure your bunting is flame retardant. This is a non-negotiable safety requirement, not an optional extra. Plus, always make sure that fire is always a very safe distance from flags and bunting.
Removal and tidying up. Plan for how you'll take everything down. Bunting has a habit of becoming inextricably tangled if it's not taken down carefully, so assign someone this job and give them time to do it properly.
Weight and attachment. Never attach anything to your stretch tent without checking with your hire company first. Stretch tent fabric is tough, but it has attachment points and structural logic that needs to be respected. We're always happy to advise on the safest and most effective ways to hang your decor.
If you choose us at Golden Valley Events to be your stretch tent company we will make sure everything is sourced properly, the weather is considered and we’ll put it all up and take it down carefully.
SOME IDEAS FOR YOUR SETUP
We've set up a lot of stretch tents for a lot of events, and some combinations make us stop and take a photo ourselves. Here are some ideas:
The meadow festival look. A large stretch tent in a wildflower field, with rows of warm hues bunting inside and tall New Leaf flags around the outside. Add some hay bales and lanterns and you have yourself something inviting and spectacular.
The boho wedding setup. Pastel bunting hanging in soft swoops inside the tent, Silk & Ribbon at the entrance, and dried pampas grass in tall vases. Simple, elegant, and completely romantic.
The vibrant birthday bash. A riot of colour – clashing bright Indian Summer flags, rainbow bunting with gold ribbon, and a custom banner printed with the birthday person's name. Joyful and impressive, exactly as a big birthday should be.
READY TO PLAN YOUR EVENT?
We love helping people create outdoor events that feel individual and special – and talking through the decor possibilities is one of our favourite parts of the process. Whether you already have a vision or you're starting from scratch, we're here to help you figure out what's going to work brilliantly for your space, your guests, and your budget.
If you're considering a stretch tent for your next outdoor event and want to talk about how to make it look incredible – get in touch.
Find our stretch tent packages here and don't forget to enquire about festival flags and bunting!
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