How to Book Your Entertainment through Entertainers Worldwide

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How Do I Book?

Our directory makes it easy for you to find and book talented entertainers in your area, or abroad. Just use the search bar to find a list of entertainers in your area, browse through the listing and then contact them direct using the green ‘Request a Quote’ button.

Can’t find exactly what you’re looking for? Just fill in our general Request Form, giving us as much detail as possible about your event and what you’re looking for. We’ll get entertainers to contact you direct.

Looking for Virtual Entertainment? Many of our Entertainers now offer Virtual bookings – you can find virtual entertainers either by using the buttons on the Virtual Entertainment page or by using the Virtual Services filter when you search. This can be found on the left on desktop and at the bottom of the search results on mobile.

What happens after I contact an Entertainer / submit a Request? If you contact an act direct, they should respond within 24-48 hrs. If they haven’t responded within this timeframe (and you've checked your junk / spam folder) please submit a ticket to contact Sam, Karina or another support representative.

If you’ve submitted a request, you should start to get responses within 2-3 days. However, you are likely to receive more if you wait a few more days, so if you have time, we would advise waiting 7 days before reviewing all of your applications.

Once you’ve chosen your act, make sure you confirm all the essential details with them when you confirm your booking.

Booking Confirmation & Your Terms & Conditions

Once you've chosen your act and agreed all the details, you can click the 'Confirm Booking' button in your message feed to make the final booking.

Depending on the type of act you have booked, you may be asked for a deposit by the act or when you go to confirm your booking in your account you may be asked to pay a deposit which will be 10% of the final fee in order to finalise your booking.

If you are asked to pay the 10% deposit for booking, your Booking Terms & Conditions will appear in your message feed when you make the booking, which covers everything you need to know about your depost and our cancellation policy. You can also find the full Terms & Conditions here.

When should I book?

Most professional entertainers, whether it’s singers, bands, magicians or other acts, tend to get booked up months in advance. If you want to be able to pick and choose the perfect act for you then it’s a good idea to book at least a year in advance.

If you’ve left your booking later and are struggling to find an act that is available for your dates, don’t forget you can use our quote request form and we’ll do our best to find available acts, who will then contact you direct.

Things to Remember / Practicalities to Consider When Booking

When it comes to practicalities, it’s always better to discuss them in advance, to avoid any unexpected hitches on the day. Whatever questions you have, make sure you ask them before you make the final booking. Good communication is the key to planning a great event.

We have covered many of the areas you may need to discuss below, but don’t forget your own personal requirements such as playlists, song requests and preferences. We also recommend double-checking everything with your chosen entertainer a week before your event, to re-confirm all your booking details.

Venue Considerations

The space needed by entertainers varies greatly, depending on the act type and the number of guests. A caricaturist will have very different requirements to a band. It’s really important to discuss all the venue requirements with your act, including things like power sockets, noise levels and space.

When booking your venue, it’s also a good idea to check with your entertainer how much set up / take down time they will need. This can vary according to what type of entertainment you've booked - for example, a close-up magician may not need any set up time, but a stage magician often needs two hours.

Backstage Area: Entertainers often need a private room away from the guests, ideally with a mirror, to get changed, warm up and relax in between sets. A small, lockable room or back office may be sufficient if there’s no custom-made dressing room available.

Parking: Entertainers and event service providers may need to unload heavy equipment, so a parking space near to the entrance, with easy access to the backstage and stage areas is ideal. However for many venues that might not be possible, in which case please confirm where there is a loading bay that they can use and a parking space nearby to avoid any delays on the day.

Food: Your entertainer may have travelled some distance to get to your event and have a long day ahead. For daytime performances, acts will require soft drinks, water and tea or coffee free of charge. For longer or evening events, provide a meal if you can, this will be much appreciated!

Performance Times

The length of your entertainers performance will vary greatly depending on their act. .

A typical stage show is usually 45 mins to 1 hour (for magicians, comedians, hypnotists etc), a walkabout act would be between 1-2 hours and a band or singer will often play 2-3 sets of 45 mins to 1 hour, but please confirm your entertainer's performance length when you book.

Do I need to pay a deposit?

In most instances you will need to pay a deposit to secure your booking. This will either be a deposit amount agreed with your performer/act or a 10% deposit that will need to be paid via the site when you confirm your booking.

Your deposit protects the performer against lost income in the event of cancellation, and also gives you reassurance that you have a confirmed booking. Make sure you check the terms and conditions of the deposit when you book, so you are aware of what will happen in case of cancellation.

If the deposit is paid direct to your act you will need to check their terms and conditions with them before you pay the deposit. If the deposit of 10% if paid through the site you will see the terms and conditions covering this deposit in your message feed when you click the button to confirm your booking. You can also find these Terms and Conditions here.

Please note that if you are asked to pay a 10% deposit through the site to secure your booking, you do not need to pay any additional deposit direct to the act. If this is requested please contact us by submitting a ticket here Submit a ticket : Entertainers Worldwide Support.

Will I have to cover travel expenses?

These will usually be included in the quote you are given, as your entertainer will need to calculate their travel costs, especially if they are travelling some distance.

What happens if the act cancels?

Thankfully this rarely happens. In the unlikely event that, due to illness or other unforeseen circumstances, the entertainer is unable to perform for you as agreed, some entertainers have a contingency plan. This means they can send a similar performer in their place, at no extra cost to you. For confirmation of this, you can check the Terms and Conditions in your contract and ask your performer what will happen is they are unexpectedly unavailable.

If your act cancels unexpectedly before the day of the booking, and they can't arrange cover for you / this isn't covered in your contract, you may well be able to get another last-minute booking by searching for a new act in our directory. You can also contact us through our quote request form and get our entertainers to get back to you with a new quote.

What happens if our event is cancelled?

If you are in the unlucky position of having to cancel your event, many entertainers may be happy for you to postpone their booking to a later date. It is advisable to get in contact with them as soon as you can to check this with them.

If this isn't possible there may be a cancellation fee. The amount usually increases the closer it gets to the event date. For example, cancelling 90 days before the event might incur 75% of the overall fee, while cancelling less than 30 days prior might mean paying the entire sum. These conditions should be laid out in the contract you receive when booking, so check before signing.

What do I do if there are issues on the day of my event?

If you have confirmed all of the details in advance, including any contingency plan your entertainer has in place in case of illness you shouldn’t have any last-minute issues. If your act contacts you to cancel before the day of the booking, you may well be able to get another last minute booking by searching for a new act in our directory. You can also contact us through our quote request form and get our entertainers to get back to you with a new quote.

As a direct bookings platform, rather than an agency, we are unable to either contact your entertainer or replace them on the day of your event so please check the contingency plans with your entertainer when you book.

About DBS Checks

When hiring entertainment for children, additional care needs to be taken to ensure their safety. While many Children’s Entertainers have DBS clearance (police checks carried out by the Disclosure and Barring Service - this used to be called a CRB), the law on this changed in 2018. Children’s Entertainers (unlike social workers, teachers and other employees who work regularly with children) are not in a caring or teaching role and are not left alone with children. Therefore, it is up to you to ensure that a responsible adult is present to supervise throughout the duration of their act.

While some schools and local authorities may require DBS checks for entertainers who work for them on a regular basis, it is not obligatory for Children’s Entertainers to undergo DBS checking and this should not be made a requirement of booking. For more information on DBS checking, visit the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Insurance & Risk Assessments

Reputable entertainers will have Public Liability Insurance. This covers you and them in the event of a claim, should any members of the public or guests be injured at your event, or any damage be caused to property. If you’re hiring a venue, the venue should also have Public Liability Insurance. If your act is a member of Equity, a trade union that represent live performers in the entertainment industry in the UK (the American Guild of Variety Artists or the Actors' Equity Association in the U.S. and various unions and societies in Europe), this gives you extra reassurance that they are professional and trustworthy, fully insured and abiding by industry standard contracts.

If your venue requests a Risk assessment, you can ask your act to supply this when you book.

We hope you’ve found these FAQs helpful, but please do visit our support portal if you have any other questions about booking entertainment or event services through our site.