The size question comes before every other gazebo decision, and it is the one most people get wrong in the same direction: they buy the size they can picture rather than the size their pitch allows. This guide gives you the four sizes we make, what fits under each one in people and tables, which events each size suits, and the questions to ask an organiser before you order.
If you want the wider picture, frames, printing and walls, read our guide to choosing a gazebo. This one is only about size.
The Four Sizes at a Glance
| Gazebo | Floor area | Comfortable for | Tables | Typical use | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2m x 2m | 4 square metres | 1 to 2 people | One small table | Information point, registration desk, promo stand | £437 |
| 3m x 3m | 9 square metres | 2 to 4 people | One trestle table across the front | Market stall, club stand, standard event pitch | £510 |
| 3m x 4.5m | 13.5 square metres | 3 to 5 people | Two trestle tables | Product display with room to walk in | £714 |
| 3m x 6m | 18 square metres | 5 to 8 people | Three trestle tables, or tables plus seating | Hospitality, sponsor area, large vendor | £914 |
Prices exclude VAT. Every size comes with the frame, the printed canopy, a carry bag, pegs and guide ropes. A standard folding trestle table is about 1.8m by 0.8m, which is the table these figures assume.
Start With the Pitch, Not the Gazebo
Markets, shows and festivals sell floor space in set sizes, and the most common is 3m x 3m. A 3m x 6m pitch is usually sold as a double. Your gazebo has to fit inside the pitch with the legs on your side of the line, so the first thing to do is ask the organiser three questions:
- What are the pitch dimensions? Not "a standard pitch", the numbers.
- Is there a height limit? Some venues and some covered markets have one.
- Can I peg into the ground, or is it hard standing? This decides how you hold the gazebo down, and it is covered below.
A 3m x 3m gazebo on a 3m x 3m pitch is the normal fit. A 3m x 4.5m on the same pitch overhangs into the walkway or your neighbour, and you will be asked to take it down. If your pitch is bigger than 3m x 3m but not 3m x 6m, the 3m x 4.5m is the size that fills it.
2m x 2m: The Compact Gazebo
Four square metres is enough for one person behind a small table, or two people standing. It suits a registration desk at a run, a club recruitment stand at a fete, a sampling point outside a shop, a ticket desk, or a charity collection point. It also fits in places a 3m gazebo cannot: a narrow pavement, a corner of a car park, a space between two bigger stands.
It is the least expensive printed gazebo we make, and because the canopy is smaller the branding is closer to eye level, which works well for a single logo and a short message. The 2m x 2m gazebo uses the same aluminium frame as the larger sizes. Walls for it are available on request.
3m x 3m: The Standard
Nine square metres is the size most events are built around, and for good reason. A trestle table across the front leaves about two metres of depth behind it for two people to work, with stock on the ground. Take the table out and four people can stand under it comfortably with room for a display stand.
This is the right size for a market stall, a food vendor, a sports club or school stand, a small business at a county show, and a standard outdoor pitch at an exhibition. It is also the size that joins up: two or three 3m x 3m gazebos in a row give a bigger stand that still packs into separate bags and fits separate pitches on other days.
The 3m x 3m gazebo takes a 3m full wall (3m x 2m, £99) or a 3m half wall (3m x 1m, £65) on any side.
3m x 4.5m: Room to Walk In
The extra 1.5m of depth changes how the gazebo is used. With a 3m x 3m, people stand at the front table and look in. With a 3m x 4.5m, you can put a table along the back or the side and let people walk under the roof, which is what you want for product you need them to touch: clothing, crafts, garden goods, food samples with somewhere to stand out of the rain.
It is also the size for a stand with two things going on, for example a serving table at the front and a seating or consultation area behind it, or a display on one side and stock on the other. Three to five people can work under it without getting in each other's way.
The 3m x 4.5m gazebo takes a 4.5m full wall (£157) or half wall (£88) along the long sides, and 3m walls on the short ends.
3m x 6m: The Double Pitch
Eighteen square metres is a room. It takes three trestle tables with space behind them, or a serving counter at one end and seating at the other. This is the size for a hospitality area at a corporate day, a sponsor lounge at a sports event, a large food or drinks vendor, a brand activation with several things to see, or a team base at a show where staff need somewhere to sit between shifts.
Five to eight people work comfortably under it. It needs a 3m x 6m pitch, which most organisers sell as a double, and two people to put up.
The 3m x 6m gazebo takes a 6m full wall (£206) or half wall (£115) along the long sides, and 3m walls on the short ends.
How Many People Fit Under a Gazebo?
A useful rule for standing room is about one person per square metre once you allow for a table and some stock. So a 3m x 3m takes around four people at a comfortable working density, a 3m x 4.5m around five, a 3m x 6m around eight. You can fit more for a short time, a crowd sheltering from a shower, but not for a working day.
Seating takes more. A chair and the space to use it is close to one square metre on its own, so a 3m x 6m with a table and six chairs is already half full.
Walls Change the Answer
Walls are the reason to buy one size up more often than people expect. A full wall is 2m high and closes a side completely; a half wall is 1m high and works as a counter edge or a windbreak.
- A back wall turns the gazebo into a stand with a backdrop. Print it like a backdrop banner and it is a photo background as well as branding.
- Two side walls plus a back wall makes an enclosed booth. On a 3m x 3m that leaves nine square metres with only the front open, which feels tight with a table and three people. On a 3m x 4.5m the same walls feel like a shop.
- Half walls keep the view in and the wind out. They suit markets and anywhere you want people to see the stock from the walkway.
If you know you will want three walls and people inside, size up.
Hard Standing and Wind
Pegs and guide ropes come with every gazebo, and on grass that is how it stays put: peg each leg and tension the ropes. On paving, concrete or a car park there is nothing to peg into, so the legs need weights. Tell us where the gazebo will be used when you order and we will advise on weighting the legs.
Whatever the size, a printed canopy catches wind. In sustained gusts above about 25 mph a gazebo comes down, not because it will break but because it can lift. The larger sizes catch more wind and need more weight on each leg, not less.
Transport and Setup
Each size packs into its own carry bag with the canopy attached to the frame, so putting it up is a matter of opening the frame, pushing up the legs and pegging or weighting it down. A 3m x 3m is a two-person job in a few minutes; the 3m x 6m is a two-person job that takes a little longer because of its length. Pack it down dry. A canopy folded wet and left in the bag will mark within days.
Matching the Size to Common Events
- Farmers' market, craft fair, Christmas market: 3m x 3m. It is the pitch size and it fits in with the row.
- Fete, fun run, school or club event: 2m x 2m for a desk or collection point; 3m x 3m for a stand with a table.
- County show or agricultural show: 3m x 4.5m or 3m x 6m, with a back wall. Visitors expect to walk in.
- Outdoor trade show or expo: whatever your pitch is, usually 3m x 3m or 3m x 6m, with a printed back wall as the backdrop.
- Food and drink vendor: 3m x 3m for a single counter; 3m x 4.5m if you cook behind and serve in front.
- Sponsor activation, product launch, festival: 3m x 6m with walls, so the brand has a space rather than a stall. Add a sail flag or feather flag at the front so people find it.
- Corporate hospitality, open day, team base: 3m x 6m with seating, plus a branded tablecloth on the serving table.
Before You Order
- Get the pitch size in metres from the organiser, and the height limit if there is one.
- Decide how many people will work under it and whether anyone sits down.
- Decide whether people stand at the front or walk in. Walking in means 3m x 4.5m or bigger.
- Count the walls. Three walls and people inside means sizing up.
- Find out whether it is grass or hard standing, so the legs can be held down properly.
Printing and delivery to mainland UK takes 7 to 10 working days from artwork approval. See the shade range for all four sizes and current prices, or request a quote and tell us the event. For frames, print options and walls in more detail, read choosing the right gazebo.
