Custom Lanyards for Events, Conferences & Exhibitions
At any event with controlled access, a lanyard isn't just branding, it's functional infrastructure: it's how organisers tell attendees, exhibitors, staff and VIPs apart at a glance. This guide covers how custom lanyards work across event roles and how to plan quantities and deadlines.
Conference attendees
A standard attendee lanyard typically carries the event logo and name, giving every attendee a consistent, branded badge holder for the duration of the conference.
Exhibitors
Exhibitor lanyards are often colour-coded or labelled differently from general attendee lanyards, making it easy for organisers and security to identify booth staff at a glance.
Staff
Event staff lanyards typically use a distinct colour or label from attendee and exhibitor lanyards, which helps attendees quickly identify who to approach for help.
VIPs
VIP lanyards are commonly differentiated by colour, a special badge design, or additional access printed directly on the lanyard or the badge it holds, making VIP status immediately visible to staff managing access points.
Visitor badges
A lanyard paired with a visitor badge gives a simple, low-cost way to manage short-term or day-pass access, distinct from the longer-term badges worn by staff and exhibitors.
Event access
Colour-coding lanyards by access level (general admission, backstage, VIP, staff-only areas) is a common, low-tech way to manage access control at a glance, without relying solely on badge scanning.
Sponsor branding
Lanyards are a common sponsorship placement: a sponsor's logo printed alongside the event's own branding puts their name in front of every attendee for the full duration of the event.
Event hashtags
Adding your event hashtag to the lanyard design, alongside the logo, encourages attendees to tag their event photos, extending the event's visibility on social media well past the venue itself.
Company logos
Whether it's the event organiser's own branding, a sponsor's logo, or both, PrintOnline's full-colour printing on the Full-Colour Custom Lanyards product handles multi-logo designs cleanly, printing front and back.
Badge holders
The lanyard's base price doesn't include a badge or ID holder, but you can add one to the same order rather than sourcing it separately: a standard ID card holder runs AED 5 for one and around AED 3 each at 100, with a rigid holder available for a more structured card. Add it at ordering, because a box of lanyards with nothing to clip into them is a familiar morning-of-the-event problem.
Two accessories worth considering for events specifically: a safety breaker, the breakaway clasp that releases under pressure, and a buckle, which lets the badge section detach from the strap so an attendee can hand their pass to a scanner without removing the lanyard. Both are selectable at around AED 1 per lanyard, falling with volume.
Quantity planning
Order based on your confirmed or realistically projected attendee count, plus a buffer for walk-ins, replacements and staff. The minimum order is 1 unit and the maximum is 5,000, so there's no barrier to ordering exactly what you need.
Build the buffer in before you order, though, not after. Per-unit pricing drops steeply with volume (AED 10.30 each at 100, AED 9.17 at 230, AED 8.46 at 500), so a second top-up order of fifty lanyards costs far more per piece than including them in the first batch, and adds a second production and delivery cycle you probably don't have time for.
Delivery deadlines
Standard production dispatches in 5 working days, with a 2-working-day rush option for a surcharge that scales with order size. Delivery is then courier (1 to 2 days after production) or a special driver (within 6 working hours for AED 50, or 10 working hours for AED 150).
The detail that catches event organisers out: the production clock starts at artwork approval, not at payment. If your artwork takes three days to sign off internally, those three days are yours, not the printer's. Work backwards from the event date, add the approval round, and build in a buffer on top.
Order custom lanyards for your next event from PrintOnline.
Related: custom lanyards for companies in Dubai: the complete guide, choosing the right custom lanyard and sublimation vs screen printing for lanyards.
