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An entire global industry of festivals and events has evolved and developed since the early 1990s. The
phenomenal growth, coupled with increased consumer awareness and choice, requires the industry to
manage the sector effectively and efficiently to ensure sustained development and growth in the future.
The characteristics of festivals and events are unique and as such, no one standard model of management
fits all. These characteristics include intangibility, production often taking place at the same time as
consumption and perishability. Festivals and events have different levels of operating costs and they fall
into both the not-for-profit and profit-making categories. Their purpose varies – some have an
entertainment and educational remit and can be used to bring different communities together, others can
be used for business promotion. The role of sponsorship is often an important one in defining their
objectives. Some festivals and events can be arts related, while others can focus on other forms of culture
such as sport. They can range from small-scale, locally based events, to large international festivals.
No matter what the reason is for hosting a festival or event, there is a wide range of customers, each with
different expectations, and this will impact on the management processes considered for each individual
festival or event. The management model adopted needs to match the requirements of all those involved
in each stage of the individual festival or event, and tools such as those employed in managing projects and
quality are useful.
Although festivals and events vary enormously in type and form, the management issues relating to this
wide range are often surprisingly similar and include working within an increasingly competitive
environment with decreasing resources and more discerning and sophisticated consumers.
Culture economy:
French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu championed the concept of cultural capital in the 1970s, and the
economic significance of the arts and cultural sector has long been overlooked. Cultural organizations have
traditionally been seen as of little economic significance and an underlying resource for education or
business. As well as being sources of learning and knowledge, the cultural and creative industries are now
increasingly recognized as an economic sector in their own right. According to research undertaken by the
European Commission, around 7.2 million people are employed in the cultural sector. Between 1995 and
1999, employment in the sector grew by an average of 2.1% a year, making it one of the fastest growing
areas of the European economy.
Culture is central to promoting the continued renaissance of the city and has a role to play in creating a
more inclusive and sustainable community. Culture creates jobs, attracts investment and enriches the lives
of people who live and work in and visit the city. Culture brings distinction to the image and profile of the
city; it enriches the experience of the city centre and makes each community unique in its history or sense
of place. Culture is an essential creative force in the new knowledge-based economy and helps to build
skills and confidence in people.
While the character of culture itself is diffuse, the growth of theoretical approaches to it in relation to
festival and events has been less so. O’Sullivan and Jackson (2002) comment that festival tourism literature
has tended to include all elements of events and festivals, of all sizes and organizational purpose. They
further opine that the growth of literature in these areas has not been commensurate with the growth of
the industry itself, although the diffuse nature of the study perspectives has.
Decision phase:
Catalysis
The person(s) who provide the original idea for the development of an event – the event catalyst(s) – are
not necessarily event experts and may emanate from the public (government, local authority or agency),
private (corporation, firm or individual) or voluntary sector. The organizational affiliation of the event
catalyst is likely to impact on access to resources for event implementation.
Specifying the event aims and objectives
Event aims may fall into one of three main categories: economic, social and cultural, political. Event aims
are usefully broken down into specific objectives – the steps required to achieve each aim. Objectives
ideally should be ‘SMART’, i.e. Specific to the event, Measurable quantitatively, Agreed (or achievable) by
those involved, Realistic (or relevant) to the resources available, Timed around the event schedule. SMART
objectives help identify performance targets for the event which facilitate the later evaluation of the event,
e.g. by specifying volumes of income or profit, ticket sales, advertising revenue, merchandising sales,
sponsorship, donations, subsidies or cash flow, number of local or international visitors, or levels of
investment
Establishing the management board
A management board usually plans, implements and evaluates the event. For complex events, specific tasks
may be delegated to subgroups. The board needs to reflect a diverse range of skills and expertise, which
may be vested in one or more individuals, covering all aspects of event management, marketing, financial
management and the law, although ‘titles are often used loosely’ (Getz, 1997: 12). Specialist consultants
may be invited to undertake work as required. A board operating as a team is likely to be more effective.
Market research
Market research can facilitate decision making, providing useful evidence of potential financial success,
ensuring it fulfils its aims by providing information about potential customer characteristics, motivations,
preferences, promotional tools. Market research may influence sponsorship decisions, marketing, venue
selection and dates for launching the event. Defining the data required from market research, in primary or
secondary terms, is a key issue. If secondary data is sufficient then appropriate data sources need
identification. Primary data collection is very costly and event managers must be convinced of its necessity,
although it can be a vital part of implementing an event, facilitating later evaluation.
Financial implications can lead to major or minor modifications to event features, notably the range of
activities included, the choice of venue and, most commonly, ticket price.
Decision making
Decision making is the last substage in the decision phase and the stage at which the board needs to have
collected enough information to decide whether the event should go ahead to the detailed planning stage.
Perhaps there need to be some modifications to the original idea, e.g. scale, location, ticket price?
Detailed planning phase:
Following a positive outcome from the decision phase, the event moves into a detailed planning stage,
which is the essence of managing the event. Detailed planning includes event product definition and
development of a detailed financial study, before moving on to development of strategies relating to
human resource management, marketing, venue planning/ operations management and event scheduling.
Event product definition
The event product is a unique blend of activities, which are the tools for achieving the overall event aims
and satisfying customer needs. Event design should be customer oriented, and event organizers should
create a mix that satisfies the largest number of potential customers – Getz (1997: 251) points out that
‘many events suffer from a ‘‘product orientation’’ – that is, they try to sell their event with little or no
regard for what potential customers need, want, and will pay for’. Core activities are determined by event
nature and overall budget to reflect the event theme and may be supplemented by secondary attractions
to give the event its overall shape.
Theme
The theme is an umbrella to unify the final event image – it should be complementary and synergistic to
the event aims. Historical and ethnic themes are common and ‘once the theme is established, the elements
of the event must be designed to fit in’ (McDonnell et al., 1999: 246), including the event name, logo, venue
de´ cor, staff uniforms, performers’ costumes, activities, entertainment, lights, music, special effects, food
and beverage, mascots and merchandise.
Location and venue
An event location differs from an event venue. The term ‘location’ describes where the event will take
place, e.g. a desert or open-air, whereas the venue denotes a specific place, e.g. the Luxor Temple, the
Millennium Stadium or the Royal Albert Hall. ‘Location is everything’ (Allen, 2000: 37). Choosing an event
location and venue goes beyond just finding an arena that will hold the crowd. An appropriate venue is of
primary significance to the overall success or failure of the event and should complement the theme of the
event. In selecting the specific venue there are a number of specific issues for consideration:
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Size and capacity
Facilities – the services and facilities are vital to an evaluation of suitability. Requisite technical
facilities may include information and communication technology connectivity, power supply and
sound/ audiovisual systems, as well as toilets, food and beverage facilities and first aid services.
Visibility, centrality and clustering - Visibility is especially important when financial constraints
preclude a major promotional campaign. Centrality relates to the proximity of services and other
facilities, e.g. airport, bus or train station. Clustering is ‘the association of events with other
attractions and services’
Venue cost
History
Personal preferences
Ticket price
Ticket price may cover entry alone or may include in-site services, e.g. parking or transportation. Ticket
pricing has major implications for customer decision making and participation. There are a plethora of
different pricing strategies; however, those suitable for events include:
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Cost-oriented pricing, which bases‘pricingstructuresontheactual cost of providing the goods or
services’ (Weaver and Oppermann, 2000: 231). Full-cost recovery aims to cover all costs with a
margin for profit.
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Competition-oriented pricing (follow the leader), where ‘The emphasis here is on competitor
behaviour as the major criterion
Prestige pricing, where ‘the price is deliberately set higher than the competitors for positioning
reasons – usually to suggest quality and attract higher-spending visitors’
Yield management recognizes that an event usually deals with multiple market segments and, for
example, ringside seats can be sold at a premium. Yield management relates service quality to price
and enables the event to deal with different economic segments
Financial study
The financial analysis usually focuses on three issues: anticipated income and expenditure, budgeting and
cash flow. Source of income: grants or subsidies, donations, fund-raising and sponsorship (sometimes
difficult), merchandising, broadcasting rights, catering etc.
Marketing > marketing mix
Hall (1992: 136) identifies three important objectives of event marketing: ‘read their customer needs and
motivations, develop products that meet these needs, and build a communication programme which
expresses the event’s purpose and objectives’.
Venue planning and operations management
Using these techniques the organizers can plan how the event will fit into the venue and how facilities,
staff, equipment services, etc., will be distributed. Signage external to the event requires consideration of
the flow of customers to the event and the different potential modes of transport. Careful consideration
needs to be made of where people are likely to come from to facilitate routes to car parks and minimize
traffic problems. The venue, the nature of activities and the characteristics of potential customers can help
define risks, e.g. crowd control issues. For some events ‘mobbing the stage, screaming and yelling’ are not
part of the ‘crowd’s psyche’ (Ernst & Young et al., 1992: 81). Crowd control involves constraining a
disorderly crowd
Event scheduling
An event schedule describes the timing of the different elements of the event in minute detail. Event
schedules are designed to help monitor event progress and as an evaluation tool.
Shutting down activities
Shutting down post-event ensures that everything is put back in place after the event and includes two
tasks: dismantling and removing the equipment, and cleaning up. A timetable for suppliers to dismantle
and remove hired equipment (e.g. sound and lighting systems; mobile toilets; temporary stages) should be
identified in the hire contract. Selling off equipment after the event may generate additional back-end
income.
Industry analysis
New music festivals may not see a lot of trouble while coming up with a festival as there are
low barriers for the entry but because more mature festivals dominate the industry market.
Growth, stakeout and maturity are the next stages in the industry lifecycle which makes it
difficult as at this stage both mature and new up coming festivals would be competing.
The case studies tell us that a central location does not really promotes success as two of
these major festivals, T in the Park Festival and Glastonbury festival are organized in remote
locations. But both of these festivals, as shown is strategic group analysis offer a mixed genre
of music, which could be one of the important reasons for their success.
Looking further on the geographical distribution of these festivals, there is a scope of
successful music festival in the northern part of UK, as there are not certainly high number of
music festivals there. Thus, the strategy would be to find a place where there are less or no
successful festivals and which can also hold unto a large number of people attending the
event. The aim should be offer a vast no of genre and artists, to attract more people. The new
festival should focus on improving the customer experience. The analysis of the case study
tells that new festival should incorporate the strengths of these festivals while weakness,
opportunities and threats should be taken in record and worked on to gain advantage and
have increased chance of success.