Canvas Awnings, a standout shelter solution for UK live event industry

5 reasons why leading UK events industry teams are choosing & endorsing our freestanding canvas canopies for festivals, live shows & pop-up activations.

Food trader pitch using a Forest Green Canvas Awning to serve pizza at Wilderness Festival

Year after year since 2011, leading UK event production agencies & site design teams have been choosing Canvas Awnings to provide stylish shelter for some of the UK's most recognisable festivals and outdoor live events.

When production priorities include striking visual impact, authentic sustainability, robust design & of course full structural certification, our Canvas Awnings are a versatile shelter solution for the UK events industry, that ticks all the boxes.

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A visually striking event canopy

6m x 4m burgundy Canvas Awning set-up to host a summer picnic

With shiny PVC structures as the outdoor event industry norm, the natural materials and elegant design of our Canvas Awnings make a refreshing change. The visual impact of our canopies on a festival site is striking in its seamlessness. No jarring PVC or industrial aluminium frames to detract from the outdoor party vibes, these shelters blend into the environment to enhance the immersive festival experience.

"Great service and an excellent product, which we love having at all of our events across the Summer. Highly recommend."

Team Love, Bristol

The natural look and feel of our canvas canopies is a unique feature: they're highly photogenic. Their visual appeal helps to create an inviting atmosphere for the festival audience, inviting engagement.

At Canvas Awning Company, we pay attention to detail. Artisanal elements include: a round wood pole frame, spliced rope detailing, hand-made wooden tensioners on our guy ropes & lathe-turned wooden finials to crown the awning poles. Elegant details that set our structures apart.

Standard size Canvas Awning Forest Green

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Canvas shelter solution that hits Uk events Industry sustainability targets

For innovative event production teams seeking to hit sustainability targets, Canvas Awnings are right on the mark. At Canvas Awning Company, sustainability is integral to what we do. We practise low-impact, small batch production of our canopies. So site design teams can be confident in the structures they’re sourcing.

"So beautiful! You can absolutely tell that these products are hand made by very skilled people. I love that they are made in Britain with locally sourced poles. Amazing amazing product and fab customer service too."

Wilderness Festival

Wooden Awning Frames

We harvest the poles ourselves, from local Northumberland woodlands.

The wooden frames of our canvas Awnings are made from locally sourced larch poles. We cut them ourselves. From harvesting the young trees near our workshop in Northumberland, to completing the finished product, we aim to keep things as close to nature as possible. We strip the bark by hand to reveal the pale wood underneath. Keeping knife work to a minimum, results in a natural round wood awning frame that sits well in the natural setting of outdoor festivals and events.

Durable British Canvas

The folded canvas canopy of a standard size 6m x 4m Awning in sand

For us, working towards sustainability begins with choosing high-quality British materials and prioritising product durability, so that the Canvas Awnings we make will last for many years. The canopies for our awnings are made of blended poly-cotton which offers strength and high performance. Unlike PVC gazebo structures, our canopies have a natural look and feel that is also completely waterproof and extremely durable.

Artisanal Detailing

The guy ropes for our awnings are made of synthetic hemp - for strength and longevity with a natural aesthetic. Here in our workshop the guy rope ends are spliced by hand so they loop neatly onto the ground pegs. Even the wooden tensioners and ash pegs are hand-made using sustainably-sourced, locally harvested wood.

Impressively fast build & break times

Canvas Awnings are easy and quick to erect. Setting up one of our standard 6m x 4m size canopies takes just two people and can be done in less than 30 minutes. There’s no special equipment or machinery needed. The only tool required is a sledge hammer to knock the ground stakes in. These awnings are a complete cinch for the build and break team.

"We purchased some awnings and they have been brilliant. Simple to put up and down, they keep you dry in the rain and in shade in the sunshine - perfect. Great quality canvas and lovely ash poles. Quality workmanship!"

A & E Adventures, Event decor design & build

Crew training is available on our website, where we have a step by step instructional video as well as easy to follow written instructions. Changing build and break teams? No problem. They can quickly learn how it's done by accessing our website, where full instructions are always available to watch and download.

Fully Certified Event Awnings, compliant with on-site health & safety

Canvas Awning Company structures are fully certified by a structural engineer. This means they're all-set for professional use at live events, including pop-up activations, food & music festivals, corporate events and live shows.

Having the correct structural specifications, wind-loading documents and fire retardancy certificates for our structures means that they’re event ready from the get-go. Canvas Awning Company can supply site management teams with the correct health & safety documentation to comply with on-site health & safety. Another thing ticked off the list.

Incredibly versatile canopy shelters for front of house & backstage

Our Canvas Awnings are dotted across UK event sites to fulfil a variety of purposes. They’re set-up backstage as shaded workspaces for production teams and shelter for crew catering. They’re the welcome reception spaces for boutique glamping and VIP access areas.

Front of house they’re set-up as DJ booths, cocktail bars, small stages, cover for traders, & sheltered seating areas throughout the event site. When site design teams are mapping out the event, our Awnings are a flexible shelter solution.

Now Available in 3 size options

New for 2025 we’ve created the compact size Canvas Awning with a 5m x 3m canopy. Its our most portable structure yet. This means we’re now offering 3 canopy size options to perform a range of event shelter needs. Choose between large 8m x 6m size canopy, standard 6m x 4m size canopy and the new compact 5m x 3m size canopy.

Have an event in mind?

If you’re a creative events agency involved in festival site design and considering Canvas Awnings for your next project, please get in touch.

Contact Bryony to talk about Canvas Awnings