We’ve carefully curated a list of ingenious fun virtual event ideas to inspire your attendees and have them return for more.
With this list, we want to help you:
- Connect with people and engage audiences, leaving them energized and excited
- Create memorable events that offer incredible value to attendees
- Inspire interaction through team building, networking, and fostering authentic connections
- Drive action and growth through idea sharing in spaces like virtual lounges, breakout rooms, chats, and Fluid Space
- Add zing to your thought leadership events, summits, and more
Planning virtual event experiences requires a fresh, captivating environment. Distractions are readily available, leaving it up to you to provide an event for business or social purposes that lets people escape everyday intrusions. So, let’s look at the 23 virtual event ideas and activities that will help you do that.
1. Virtual concert series
Concerts are the kind of virtual event activities that leave a mark. Choose a night each month to showcase a local band online. This can also be a great conversation starter for your event and spur spontaneous conversations in the chat section.
Most bands have booking information on their website. Feature different genres and encourage attendees to chat about their favorite songs or concert moments. Set up a merch shop so people can indulge in fandom. If you want more involvement, ask attendees what band they’d like to see on the concert calendar.
2. Expert talk series—a virtual event idea that’ll be remembered
The sky’s the limit with this type of event. When TED hit the scene, it made the talk series wildly popular. There are endless topics people want to know more about. Put together a series tailored to your group, and ask them what interests them.
Think about hot topics like time management, work/life balance, travel, how to live your best life, or how to be more productive at work. Conduct a survey to see what people want to learn. After the talk is over, leave time for chats and breakout rooms where people can further explore.
Because other sessions at your event can be work-related, expert talks are yet another virtual company event idea that won’t soon be forgotten.
3. Online casino nights—a great team builder!
A high-stakes game of poker is the perfect, exhilarating online event. Gather the team and engage in some competitive fun. All you need is a web-based casino program and a host, and you’re set to go. To make things more exciting, have some raffles throughout the event and offer appealing prizes for winners.
You can also ask people to dress up or bring a beverage. The key is to keep things light-hearted, so everyone walks away happy from a superb virtual event.
Your takeaway: virtual activities like casino nights or online poker games
4. Virtual trivia night
Trivia nights are excellent virtual team builders and a simple and fun hack to foster networking. Plus, you might even learn something new. Break attendees into groups and embark on a knowledge adventure.
To make it more interesting, you can design themed trivia nights—think music, movies, geography, TV, sports, or visual trivia, to name a few. Increase attendance by offering a prize to the winning team. Maybe a meal, swag, or gift cards.
5. Virtual book club
Book clubs are extremely social. It’s one of those virtual event ideas that encourages interaction. Everyone can relax in their favorite chair with snacks and indulge in thoughtful conversations. Include a few breakout sessions to allow attendees to dive deeper into topics in more intimate groups.
Not only do books broaden your horizons, but book clubs can give you a new perspective. Take votes on book selection prior to hosting. Companies can choose books that enhance skills and help employees explore work culture topics.
In short, they help your attendees connect, bond, and indulge in mind-expanding conversations. How’s that for a virtual company event idea? We say that’s pretty good.
6. Mixers
Get to know more people at a virtual mixer–an ideal way to host a virtual social event.
There are many ways to make it successful. One of the best is to break people into groups and give them some conversation starters. If you have time, switch groups, so people get to know more each time you host one of these interactive virtual events.
If the goal is to help team members learn more about each other, make sure to break up into groups that mix different departments and leadership levels.
This virtual event activity would enable your team members to walk away with deeper connections and bonds that might boost your team’s productivity. In short, it is a win for everyone.
7. Online fitness classes — a mood booster idea for your virtual events
If you’re looking for mood-boosting online event ideas, try offering virtual fitness classes that encourage wellness and bring people together. Whether you’re enjoying the benefits of yoga or trying some dance fitness, you can connect and network through a shared physical activity.
8. Happy hour slideshow — sip and network
Getting to know others while sipping your favorite drink creates an inviting virtual environment. For each happy hour slideshow, ask a few members of your group to share some photos. They can curate short highlights of their recent travels, day trips, other adventures, or pets.
Encourage comments, and save some time after each presentation for questions. To make your virtual event easier, give people theme options and a time limit.
9. Karaoke
There’s no shortage of fun virtual event ideas, but c’mon, who doesn’t love to belt out their favorite songs in front of a group? Virtual karaoke is entertaining and brings people together in a way nothing else does (because where else do you celebrate off-key singing!).
To make your online event even more fun, team people up for group songs or duets. All you need to make Karaoke night happen is a video event platform and a link from a platform like Watch2Gether.
10. Virtual cooking class
Hire an expert or stream Guy Fieri online and watch your team cook up some delicious food. With a virtual event like this tasty one, you can explore the culinary world and gain new skills while supporting everybody’s efforts. The real test will be when you sit down to eat. Enjoy some conversation and find out if all the attendees created a tasty masterpiece.
11. Fun movie night
Are you looking for easy but entertaining virtual social event ideas? Synced movie nights can end up being lively virtual event activities. Unlike a theater where talking is discouraged, plan to enjoy some witty chatter as people type up their impressions while watching a scene. At the end of the show, leave time for reviews. If it goes well, you can open the voting for the next pick.
12. Virtual speed networking
A few rounds of speed networking is an invigorating and simple activity to make room for some serendipity at your virtual corporate events and team-building sessions. Encourage attendees to come armed with questions and ready to make new connections. They need a virtual business card and an elevator speech, and they’re set to go.
13. Skill building
Virtual corporate event ideas don’t have to only revolve around virtual meetings but can be a way to provide a fun virtual event. For many people, there’s satisfaction in learning something new.
Give attendees a few options for each virtual skill-building session you offer. It can be a craft or a professional skill. Some ideas include coding, photography, painting, writing, learning a specific tool or platform, knitting, or podcasting.
Ask your group if there is anything they’re interested in. You can even use a team member to teach—everyone comes with a unique skill set that they are happy to share with others.
14. DJ and dance party
Start spinning the records and put on your dance shoes. During your next online event, a virtual DJ dance session will get everyone out of their chairs and moving. Elevate your event with a chat feature that lets people connect and network. Boost the experience even more with a photo booth.
15. Comedy show
When work gets stressful, a fun virtual event is exactly what’s needed. Everybody loves a good laugh, so gather virtually and make it happen. Work can get intense—which is why people need an entertaining outlet. Hire a comedian and let loose. Experts have long touted the benefits of laughter, so imagine productivity after virtual event experiences like this humorous one.
16. Scavenger hunt
What’s more energizing than hunting down items as a team? Virtual scavenger hunts can be as simple as creating teams and seeing what people can find in their own homes. If you want something more complex, invest in a pre-designed team-building virtual scavenger hunt.
While scavenger hunts are a more mainstream virtual event idea, you can add twists that make them all your own.
17. Midday water cooler talks (with lunch)
Slack is a stellar tool for water cooler chats. But sometimes, it feels limiting, and you need to bring people together with the right virtual event idea. Host a live virtual water cooler chat every once in a while so conversation flows smoothly. One idea: Hand select a group of people each week, send them some DoorDash, and give them an hour to eat and share.
18. Internet quest
Nothing is nobler (or more entertaining) than a good quest. And what’s better than unique virtual event ideas that bring people together?
Go on a journey with teammates and unite online. Your quest could involve finding obscure information, hunting for the funniest thing on the web, or touring a location. The goal is to introduce the quest, provide a task, share resources, evaluate the results, and conclude with a chat or prize.
19. Virtual wellness fair
Life can be stressful, and most people benefit from finding new ways to relax, be present, and improve their health. Host a wellness fair with a virtual space filled with resources, presentations, and classes that promote wellness.
This would be the perfect activity for you if you’re hosting virtual corporate events for employees. Who wouldn’t like a team of fit and healthy employees?
20. Virtual talent show
Get the team to sign up and share their unique talents. Find out who can sing, who can do a flip, and many other incredible things. Before the event, send out a signup sheet with instructions and guidelines. Use a chat feature to hoot and cheer for your teammates’ spectacular feats and talents. This can be a single virtual social event or a series of online events. It all comes down to how much talent your group has.
21. Guess who
Have fun discovering more about people during your next virtual event. Ask each participant for a list of things people probably don’t know about them and play a rousing game of guess who. Earn points by identifying the correct teammate. Sometimes, you don’t know who you’re working with—that’s why you need more fun virtual event ideas for companies like this.
22. Video game challenge
If you’re looking for an engaging virtual event idea, Gaming is an excellent way to unwind and participate in some friendly competition. Put together a virtual video game challenge to find out who among you has the best gaming skills. After a winner is crowned, ask them to share some hints and tips for the next virtual game night.
23. Bingo
Bingo isn’t just for kids and retirees—most people love it. Virtual bingo can involve snacks, drinks, and some good old-fashioned fun. Make it more interesting with prizes. For the best experience, hire a Bingo hall host. While this seems like an unimaginative virtual event idea, you’ll be happily surprised by how much fun attendees have.
24. Virtual mixology classes
Martinis, mojitos, whiskey sours, and sangrias are one of the very first things that pop up in our heads when we think about having a party or an informal social setting.
In short, drinks and friends = fun!
It’s always fun to get a drink from a bartender, but even more to be taught to do it. You can hire a bartender or a mixology expert to teach your audience how to mix. You can send everyone a cocktail mixology kit to make themselves a drink during the virtual lesson. Sounds fun?
We’re positive that a virtual mixology class can stir up the vibe at your event.
25. Virtual coffee or tea for the teetotallers
Some people consciously steer clear of any kind of alcohol. They wouldn’t be able to participate in mixology or a virtual bar, but they can have a good time bonding with similar people over virtual coffee breakout sessions.
26. A Virtual Garden Party:
A virtual garden party is a physical garden-like gathering that takes place online. It is a great social event that enables you to connect with nature in a digital setting. Choose garden party themes and tell participants to decorate their backgrounds with plants, blooming flowers, string lights, and elegant furniture. This unique idea will create a different level of excitement among the attendees to celebrate the virtual garden party event, especially when they cannot meet in person.
27. A Virtual Photo Booth: 
A virtual photo booth is an extremely fun and entertaining activity designed for remote workers to get together and enjoy in an online setting. This game will create a sense of bonding among the guests and keep them actively engaged throughout the event.
Attendees can create a personalized and unique digital picture with a range of virtual photo booth software including Snapshot, Simple Booth, and Snappic. With custom filters, graphics, and stickers, virtual guests will enjoy taking high-quality pictures and photos. Such events can help people remember the event long after it is over.
28. Virtual Holiday Party:
Plan to celebrate your virtual event during an upcoming holiday. It will add a festive touch to your digital event. These kinds of events are also referred to as “remote holiday parties,” “online annual parties,” or “virtual seasonal parties.”
You can celebrate a variety of festivals such as winter festivals, global holidays (New year’s, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Las Posadas & Diwali), virtual secret santa, and more. This is a perfect online holiday party idea to enjoy with colleagues, friends, or remote employees.
29. Virtual Origami: 
A virtual origami class is a creative art-making session where traditional folding paper is used to form various kinds of artwork. Allow your colleagues, coworkers, and remote teams to use their creativity and come up with a range of origami designs. The origami paper can be turned into any type of creation such as animals, birds, and more.
30. Virtual Charades: 
Virtual charades is a classic game in which one group has to decide words or phrases for a player from the other team, and the other group has to guess the word or phrase based on non-verbal communication cues from the selected player. Without speaking, a person has to act out a word or phrase. They can do it by using gestures, facial expressions, and body language.
Virtual charades are a great team bonding activity that can bring laughter and cheer to a remote team. Playing charades will foster a sense of teamwork and bring workers closer in a digital environment.
31. Online Chess: 
Chess is a game of planning and strategy. This cerebral game is equally as enjoyable and engaging online as it is in person. Even if some individuals in a team are not aware of the rules of the game, they can still contribute by knowing the basics. Chess requires players to think ahead and plan their moves so adding it to your virtual event could be beneficial to strengthen your team’s problem-solving skills.
32. Virtual Magic Show: 
A wonderful and interactive virtual magic show is ideal for virtual conferences, online celebrations, hybrid events, virtual corporate events, and online team meetings. It is a fantastic online show that guarantees an ultimate fun experience for companies that operate online.
Including a virtual magic show at your next virtual meeting will surely bring out the child in every audience member, filled with awe and excitement, even if only momentarily!
33. Virtual Tour: 
A virtual tour means visiting different places and locations with the help of videos or 360-degree images. You can explore the desired location such as museums, zoos, national parks, and more amazing places.
Various websites allow you to interact with a variety of popular spots including Virtualtours.city, Klapty, Virtualvacation.us, and Airpano. If you want to boost your team’s collaboration and engagement levels, a virtual tour is an excellent way to add excitement to an online event.
34. Typing Speed Race: 
Online typing speed is a game where players compete with their colleagues or friends to type a given text quickly and accurately within a timeframe. This is quite a different real-time activity that is engaging, as well as thrilling. There are various typing test platforms available online such as typingtest, speedtypingonline, and Livechat.
Divide your remote employees into teams, and use a simple spreadsheet to track each team’s scores. Offer prizes for the winning team, like gift cards or vouchers. It will help enhance participation and engagement.
35. Guess The Emoji: 
Guess the emoji is a classic guessing game that uses emojis instead of letters to represent a word or phrase. You have to guess the correct words or phrases from the given set of emojis.
This fantastic puzzle-solving game will put your team’s wit and logic to test. Guess the emoji game not only brings remote staff together but also helps create memorable virtual events, filled with giggles and fun.
36. Virtual Painting Class: 
Virtual painting class, often known as a virtual art class, teaches virtual attendees how to make unique pieces of art with paint. Having a painting class will provide extra fun to your virtual gatherings.
Invite experienced virtual artists or instructors to the event who can guide the participants to bring to life their original artwork. Further, select a simple painting to sketch. Instruct each participant to be prepared with the necessary materials such as paints, brushes, a canvas, water cups, palettes, and other essential stuff.
Incorporating virtual painting classes into your virtual events will promote creativity and teamwork among the participants.
37. Virtual Book Club: 
Virtual Book Club is a fun book-reading club that brings book lovers together to share their thoughts on specific books. Follow the given tips to add a virtual book club to your virtual events:
- Choose a book that you think will be interesting to discuss. Ensure the book is available in a variety of formats such as physical copies, e-books, and audiobooks.
- Promote your virtual book club internally to spread the word within your organization, and to create a buzz among your people.
- Set your reading schedule and share it with the members of the club, so that they have enough time to read the chosen book.
- Encourage members to share their takeaways, unique perspectives, and critical analysis of the book.
38. Virtual Movie party: 
Organize a virtual film party to bring a new level of excitement to the online event for your remote employees. Several platforms allow you to watch movies virtually but together such as Teleparty, Rave, and Twoseven. Include snacks and drinks to create a movie night experience like no other.
39. Virtual Code Names: 
A virtual code name is a game where two teams compete against each other to guess the secret words.
Follow the below steps to play virtual code names:
- Step 1 – Divide your participants into two teams, and choose one player from each team to be the spymaster.
- Step 2 – The spymaster will give a one-word clue with a number that indicates how many words are related to the clue.
- Step 3 – Then teammates have to discuss and guess which words on the grid match the clue. (If a team guesses correctly, the word is covered with their team’s color. If they guess wrong, the word is covered with a neutral color.)
- Step 4 – The round ends when one team guesses all the words. The game continues until one team has guessed all the words.
- Step 5 – The team who guesses all their words wins the game and celebrates their victory.
40. Minute to Win: 
In this game, the player has to complete the challenge within a minute i.e. 60 seconds. This is an amazing game that tests the player’s time management skills and quick problem-solving skills. Invite and encourage your participants to play along and enjoy one of the various online minute-to-win games such as Tic Tac Toe, Cup Tower, and more.
Conclusion
Virtual events have emerged as a revolutionary alternative to traditional in-person events, offering numerous benefits and opportunities for businesses, organizations, and employees.
Whether you are looking to host a virtual conference, a virtual trade show, or a virtual party, there are plenty of creative and genuine virtual event ideas that can help you provide a remarkable and engaging online event experience to your attendees. Implementing the top virtual event ideas presented in this article will significantly help you engage, connect, and build meaningful relationships with your online audience.
From virtual trivia nights and online fitness classes to virtual karaoke and online cooking classes, each unique virtual event idea will help bring remote participants together in a virtual setting. Staying current with the newest virtual event trends and best practices can ensure that your virtual events are not only successful but also memorable and impactful for all your participants.
Let’s call it a wrap!
Sad to see this list end? Maybe these bonus ideas will cheer you up.
So, what fun virtual event activities will you try?
Are you inspired yet? Have you found the right virtual event idea for you? Use this list with Airmeet’s features as a way to engage and connect your team during your next virtual event.
To sum it up, here are some virtual event ideas to make your next virtual event more fun and memorable
- Virtual concert series
- Expert talk series (like Ted Talks)
- Online casino night
- Virtual trivia night
- Virtual book club
- Mixers
- Fitness classes
- Happy hour slideshow
- Karaoke
- Online cooking classes
- Virtual movie night
- Virtual speed networking
- Skill building with masterclasses
- DJ and dance party
- Comedy show
- Scavenger hunt
- Midday water cooler talks
- Internet quest
- Virtual wellness fair
- Talent show
- Virtual guess who
- Bingo
- Video game challenge
- Mixology class
- Coffee breakout sessions
- Virtual garden party
- Virtual photo booths
Hold-up! There’s more. Hosting an awesome virtual event takes more than planning a few fun activities. You first need a virtual event platform that’s built to deliver great attendee experiences.
FAQ
Virtual events are similar to in-person events but take place online through a video conferencing platform. They are held in many forms such as webinars, workshops, conferences, trade shows, online classes, live-streaming concerts, networking events, and even social gatherings. Event organizers, companies, and participants can all attend live online events and experience them from anywhere with a reliable internet connection.
If you are planning to host an amazing virtual event in 2024, you need to know some important factors.
- Begin by defining the goal of the event. It will help you better understand your target audience. In fact, once you understand the event goal and its target market, your further planning will become simpler and easier.
- Next, choose a virtual event platform as per your needs and budget.
- Later, plan your event agenda with engaging content.
- Following that, market and promote your virtual event on social media channels such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram to generate excitement about the event among your audience.
- Finally, on the day of the event, make sure you engage with your audience by using the video platform’s interactive features like live chat, polls, Q&A, and even gamification.
- After the event, follow up with person attendees and collect feedback to assess the success of your online event.
One of the primary benefits of virtual events is its unrestricted global reach which allows your online event to reach a global audience that is not possible with a physical event. An additional major benefit of organizing virtual events is that they are budget-friendly, providing a cost-effective solution for both organizers and participants. Compared to traditional in-person events, digital events save a lot of money on venue rental, catering, travel & accommodation, logistics, and more. Some other key benefits include flexibility, on-demand programming, and the access to several high-value metrics and data points based on which organizers can consistently improve the event experience and impact.
Creative virtual event ideas for work include a global food tour, a virtual talent show, a virtual hackathon, and a margarita-making class. These innovative ideas will boost team morale and bring joy in a digital setting.
Consider hosting virtual events with unique online gamification ideas such as live trivia quizzes, photo contests, virtual scavenger hunts, live word cloud, and virtual bingo cards. These gamification ideas will surely increase participation and engagement at your virtual events.
There are many virtual holiday event ideas that you can use to celebrate the holidays with your remote team members such as Online Secret Santa, holiday-themed trivia, virtual beer and cheese parties, virtual picture nights, and digital magic shows. These brilliant virtual holiday celebration ideas will ensure that your remote teams have a great time during the holidays.
Key virtual event trends include the rise of virtual and hybrid events – which will remain popular, AI tools, personalized experiences based on attendee needs, live translation, and enhanced data privacy, and security. These are some of the trends that will shape the future of virtual events.
Yes, there are virtual meeting etiquette guidelines for online events. Whether you are an event organizer or an attendee, some essential etiquette must be followed, such as arriving for the meeting on time, dressing professionally, and muting the microphone when not speaking, etc.
