Festival and Special Event Management - Case Study Example

Contents INTRODUCTION 2 UPCOM MUSIC FESTIVAL 4 THE KEY STAKEHOLDERS 5 CONTENT OF THE EVENT 7 EVALUATING THE FESTIVAL 9 IMPACT ASSESSMENT 10 INTRODUCTION Upcom Music Festival will be an educational music festival aimed at bringing many new and old musicians together in a single event. The event will be focused at promoting the talents of upcoming musicians who will be participating in the event. Participation will be through auditioning for the new musicians while a category of different musicians might be invited to come and make special performances during the festival. Different forms of performances will be conducted during the events and the participants will be registered according to the categories of their performances (Cloonan 2013). The event will mainly be focused on musical elements of singing and dancing, as these are the main aspects which define music. Upcom Music Festival will be held at the Royal Festival Hall in London. The city of London has a large populations and has been hosting many music concerts and festival in the past (Quinn 2005). The Royal festival Hall is large capacity hall capable of sitting 2500 people who will be attending the festival. This presents a perfect location that will provide an ambient environment for both the performers and audience. With a large number of other amenities like restaurants available within the hall, other needs of the attendants will be catered for within the same location (Holmes 2011). The architectural design of the hall has been established to support musical performances and this provides the perfect location for hosting this music festival. Figure 1 the Royal Festival Hall as seen from river Thames (Holmes 2011) The event will take place during the summer period in the month of July for a duration of four (4) days. This period presents a perfect time for many of the young individuals to be able to attend the festival as they remain the main target audience. The event will be conducted during the school holidays to ensure that the school going teenagers have an opportunity to attend all the four days of the event if possible. This will ensure that the venue capacity becomes fully maximised through large attendance of the target individuals (Bowen & Daniels 2005). The event will be a platform for showcasing music talent while providing entertainment to the attendants of the festival. The performances during the festival will be undertaken by some established musicians who will be invited by the event organiser. The key performances however, will be by the upcoming musicians who are the main target for the event as it seeks to promote musical talent (Burnard 2012). The festival will be aimed at achieving the following objectives. To promote the upcoming musicians by giving them an opportunity to showcase their musical talents To encourage the growth of music talents among the youths through opportunities to interact with superstars and other stakeholders in the music industry To promote the cultural values of music in the UK through educational training and sharpening of the skills that participants show. To enable upcoming musicians to grow their musical careers by offering them an opportunity to showcase their talent and meets producers To provide entertainment to individuals who are interested in music and the youth during the summer school holidays To encourage the youth to be more active through participating in such events and gaining exposure UPCOM MUSIC FESTIVAL The music industry is one of the growing industries that have provided talented individuals with career growth opportunities. The Upcom Music Festival will be seeking to identify the existing talents through the event which targets amateur musicians from different ages. The attendance into the festival will be based on the tickets which will be valid for a single day of the festival. This will be critical in maximising the sales which organisers receive from the festival (Getz 2012). The youth commonly have a myriad of talents, and the failure to recognise these talents result in them becoming wasted and they fail to help the people possessing these talents (Burnard 2012). The entrants into the festival will perform their own compositions in front of the audience that will include professional music and dance adjudicators. The performances will be judged according to the professional elements of the music being presented. The element of performing one’s own composition seeks to assess and encourage creativity among upcoming musicians. Through the composition of music they will be able to sharpen the necessary musical skills, for a prosperous career. The various entrants into the festival will be provided with an opportunity to learn from each other through observing other people’s performances. The festival will, be able to encourage the upcoming musicians to continue pursuing their musical careers through providing a friendly and supportive environment (Harrison 2014). Many of the musicians might never have had an opportunity to present their music before a high calibre audience. In seeking to promote the music talent, the performing confidence of the musicians will become immensely increased during these performances. The performances will be judged by professional adjudicators according to the desired standards of the various performances. The participants will receive verbal, and sometimes written feedback on other performance form these professionals. This will enable the musicians to understand themselves and gauge their music skills. A certificate of performance and participation will also be issued to all the entrants (Stone 2008). Trophies will be awarded for exemplary performances in different categories. While boosting the morale of the upcoming musicians, these elements of the festival will, be aimed at providing a learning experience and exposure to real festival performances. The musician might never have an opportunity to be evaluated by a professional adjudicator, which is a major boost for their learning. THE KEY STAKEHOLDERS The event will be one of the pan-city music festivals showcasing various artistic talents of upcoming musicians. The event will combine both world-class performers and emerging musicians from around the United Kingdom. This will be aimed at promoting musical talents of the entrants. The key stakeholders of the event will include the following Organisers – these will be the people who own the event, and they will perform the role of ensuring they source for the best talent and performers in seeking to meet the fundamental objectives of the festival (Bowen & Daniels 2005). The organiser will have the responsibility of ensuring the event continues as per the plans. Invited performers – the fundamental purpose for having these performers will be providing inspiration to the upcoming musicians, while entertaining the audience as well (Harrison 2014). The upcoming musicians will also be expected to learn some basic performance skills from the invited performers. Upcoming musicians – these are the target individuals and the fundamental reason for organising the concert. They shall be expecting to learn and gain exposure from performing in the festival. These aspects will be key to the development of their future careers in the music industry. Professional adjudicators – their role will be in the assessment and evaluation of performance by the upcoming musicians. Their input will be critical to the outcomes of the event as other stakeholders like the arts council might rely on their judgement to determine the individuals whom to support. Audience – the attendants of the festival have different objectives for visiting the event. While the organisers will seek to ensure that the audience is entertained, the audience will also have their own objectives like reviewing the content of music within the country (Bowen & Daniels 2005). A wide range of individuals will be expected to attend for different purposes, including journalists seeking to gather material for entertainment programmes. Arts council – this is a non-profit making organisation which is involved in the promotion of arts. The organisations commonly provide function for upcoming local artists in order to grow their talents. The organisation will get an opportunity to identify some talented artists form the festival, who can be supported for career development. Southbank centre – this refers to London’s complex of artistic venues where the Royal Festival Hall is located. The region is marketed and popularised for hosting various exhibitions and festivals throughout the year. During the time when the Upcom festival will be hosted, the complex will benefit for the massive movement of people and gain significant financial benefits from the event. CONTENT OF THE EVENT The event will be planned to run through a period of four days, within which different categories of performances will be undertaken. The main activities that will be occurring during the festival will be generally performances and evaluations of these performances. These will form the basic activities involved within the plan being executed throughout the festival Performances The performances that will be undertaken during the event will surround the two categories of performers, and will be aimed at achieving different objectives. Professional and upcoming musicians will be actively participating in the performances, with each individual performing alone. The performances will be the fundamental activities which will be providing the entertainment to the audience. The performances are expected to the source attraction which will keep audience in the hall for the entire period of the festival. Ticket sales will be expected to generate a considerable amount of income based on the quality of performance and the interest of the audience in the performers. Professional musicians will be performing in order to provide encouragement and allow the amateur musicians to learn through observation. The interaction that the upcoming musician will have will enhance their understanding of various concepts through the performances of professionals and other amateurs. Generally, the performances will provide a learning experience for the amateurs and be able to improve their confidence. This will be critical towards the development of music industry through transforming amateurs to professional musicians. Motivation is key to the career advancement and this will occur through interactions with professionals. Evaluation and awarding This will be the fundamental role performed by the professional adjudicators upon the performances of amateur musicians. The evaluation of these performances will seek to inform the individuals of their capabilities from a professional perspective. This will become a basis upon which the musicians can be able to conduct self-evaluation and improve as they seeks to advance their music careers. Exemplary performances, based on the adjudicator’s evaluation, will be recognised and awarded. This will the ultimate outcome of the festival, where best performers will be identified and interested parties can continue supporting them. Official recognition from professionals will be essential in enhancing the motivation of amateur musician to continue their careers in music and other related activities. EVALUATING THE FESTIVAL The core elements of the festival will be critical in the evaluation of the success achieved during the post event evaluation activities. The attendant will be utilised in evaluating the success achieved based on the objectives established by the event organisation committee (Lucas 2014). The attendants will be supplied with questionnaires which they can fill, and return to the event organisers. These questionnaires will be utilised in the collection of vital information regarding the attendants. Some areas of interest that will be utilised to establish the attendance and demographics of the audience will include the following elements, regarding the respondents to the questionnaires. Where the respondent came from How they learnt about the festival Reason for them being in London to establish whether they came for the event or had other activities How many they were, in case of groups How much they spent at the festival Other than the audience demographics, it will also be critical to evaluate the event itself in seeking to make improvements. Such evaluation of the event will seek to identify the weakness and elements which resulted in individuals failing to get satisfied with the event (Derrett 2004). This will be based on the expectations of the audience as established from the marketing information about the festival (Allen et al. 2012). This will include getting the views of respondents regarding the following attributes of the festival Location of the event Auxiliary services like parking, restaurants, signage and other social amenities The value for the money spent in the festival Possibility of returning to future events The post event evaluation measure will be established from the information gathered through the respondents. The provided responses will enable the organising committee to make informed decisions and be able to improve future festivals (Rowley & Williams 2008). The target market for the festival can also be clearly established as the organisers seek to maximise the financial returns gained from the festival (Saayman & Saayman 2006). This will involve analysis of the popular sources of information which festival attendants utilise in searching for information regarding festival. A post event debriefing with the stakeholders will be conducted in which the report of the post event evaluation will be discussed. Formulations of future policies and proposals for future events will also be established during this briefing. Figure 2 popular sources of information for events IMPACT ASSESSMENT There will be an assessment of the critical factors that might affect the outcome of the event or the stakeholders to the event. These factors will include the various elements which might have both positive and negative effects to the society and the event as well. Identification of these factors will be followed by establishment of policies aimed at mitigating the negative effects and encouraging the positive elements for the betterment of the event (Williams & Bowdin 2007). The assessments will include the following aspects Risk Risk involves the analysis of potential events which might result in the festival not being implemented according to the plan. This will also involve consideration of the risks presented by the festival to the surrounding society, like health risk of communicable diseases. Provisions must be made aimed at mitigating the imminent risks emanating for the event, targeting the attendants. This would involve availing emergency response, insurance and first aid services among other risk mitigating activities. Environment This will be based on the compliance with the environmental policies existing within the region where the festival will be held. This will include consideration of element regarding waste generated during the festival and the effective management of such waste. This should be clearly documents in the environmental impact assessment. This will ensure that the event does not have negative environmental impact. References Allen, J. et al., 2012. Festival and Special Event Management 5th ed., Queensland: John Wiley & Sons. Bowen, H.E. & Daniels, M.J., 2005. Does the music matter? Motivations for attending a music festival. Event Management, 9(3), pp.155–164. Burnard, P., 2012. Musical creativities in practice, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Cloonan, M., 2013. Popular music and the state in the UK: culture, trade or industry?, London: Ashgate Publishing. Derrett, R., 2004. Festivals, events and the destination. In I. Yeoman, ed. Festival and events management: An international arts and culture perspective. London: Routledge, pp. 33–50. Getz, D., 2012. Event Studies: Theory, Research and Policy for Planned Events 2nd ed., Oxon: Routledge. Harrison, N., 2014. The Power of Engagement at Music Festivals. Positive Psychology. Available at: http://positivepsychologyprogram.com/power-of-engagement-music-festival/ [Accessed November 6, 2014]. Holmes, R., 2011. Royal Festival Hall: a building to lift the spirits. Homes & Antiques. Available at: http://www.homesandantiques.com/feature/royal-festival-hall-building-lift-spirits. Lucas, M.J., 2014. The organizing practices of a community festival. Journal of Organizational Ethnography, 3(2), pp.275–290. Quinn, B., 2005. Arts festivals and the city. Urban studies, 42(5-6), pp.927–943. Rowley, J. & Williams, C., 2008. The impact of brand sponsorship of music festivals. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 26(7), pp.781–792. Saayman, M. & Saayman, A., 2006. Does the location of arts festivals matter for the economic impact? Papers in Regional Science, 85(4), pp.569–584. Stone, C., 2008. The British pop music festival phenomenon. In J. Ali-Knight, ed. International perspectives of festivals and events: Paradigms of analysis. London: Elsivier, pp. 205–224. Williams, M. & Bowdin, G.A., 2007. Festival evaluation: An exploration of seven UK arts festivals. Managing Leisure, 12(2-3), pp.187–203.  Read More