TOURISM
Floating entertainment venues usher in a new era of leisure across the floating economy
Adaptable platforms bring dining, shows, and nightlife directly onto the water.
Pittsburgh Shore Thing. Photo by Chrissy Suttles.
Shore-side space is tight and expensive—and that’s reshaping how entertainment is designed. Floating entertainment venues are bringing nightlife, culture, and public events onto the water, literally expanding leisure into new spatial realms.
Here are landmark developments already making waves:
Shore Thing—Pittsburgh’s floating pop-up pier. In July 2025, Riverlife opened “Shore Thing,” a 4,800 ft² floating entertainment platform assembled from 10 repurposed barges on the Allegheny River. It serves food, drinks, and live community performances through mid-October, activating the riverfront in a modular, low-footprint way.
Oceaya—world’s first transformable floating venue. MEYER Floating Solutions and Oceaya LLC began construction in mid-2024 of Oceaya, a modular floating platform designed as a day lounge, nightclub, cinema, or restaurant. Scheduled for launch in 2025, it’s a purpose-built entertainment system designed for sustainable, multi-use operations at sea.
Landward shift continues—riverside venues return to shore. In 2025, multiple riverboat casinos—including Belle of Baton Rouge (Mississippi) and Par-A-Dice (Illinois)—announced plans to relocate operations ashore, citing tighter regulation, insurance, and economics as key factors driving the transition.
Floating stages host global performances. Specialized floating stage companies are designing modular platforms for concerts, theater, and festivals on lakes and rivers. These structures can be deployed temporarily or semi-permanently, creating dramatic waterfront settings for live events in Europe and North America.
Steel cutting ceremony for Oceaya. Photo by MEYER Floating Solutions.
That’s not all: event planners are exploring temporary floating venues for weddings and cultural festivals. These can be assembled seasonally to reduce land-use pressures, support local economies, and create showpiece waterfront experiences.
—TFI
The Floating Institute is all about advancing knowledge of the global floating economy.