A Comparative Analysis Between Kensington Town Hall and Hyde Park - Case Study Example

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN KENSINGTON TOWN HALL AND HYDE PARK by A ComparativeAnalysis between Kensington Town Hall and Hyde Park Introduction “Booking a venue for the show is your first step, of course, and it is also likely to be one of your largest costs.” (McDonald, n.d.) Kensington Town Hall is the venue under consideration for organizing a classical musical event. Hyde Park is being considered for an open live concert of Coldplay. The reason these two venues have been chosen for the respective events is that they are suitable for the above stated events; Hyde Park has the ability to cater to a wide variety of events, that include large scale events, and the concert is most likely to create noise for which the venue is an apt choice, while Kensington Town Hall fulfils the criteria for arranging a classical event which is more of an unruffled event. The main purpose of organizing any of these events is collecting money for a charity and therefore, the profits would not be transferred to the accounts of ABC London Events Co. Comparative Analysis Fazio, Wilson and Higman (2013) present some useful steps in planning a successful non profit fund raising event. This can prove a great help in the event management of both the events under consideration here. A comparative analysis of the two venues in terms of operational important issues and related risks is presented from here on so that the selection of the best venue for the most appropriate event becomes easy. According to a tentative event plan for both the events, there are certain facts that must be mentioned before proceeding to the next level. It would make the comparison simpler. The number of audience in the classical event in Kensington Town would be 400. The tickets would be sold on a one centre location, which would be the main head office of ABC London Events Co. It is considered that advance ticket selling of this kind does not require extensive channels of ticket distribution. The number of tickets is strictly limited for genuine reasons; some of them being parking space, seating arrangement and food supplies. The audience would involve people of age 30 and above; the reason being that people of this age group are interested in classical music and this age group belongs to earning income class. Most of them earn quite a handsome salary from which they can afford such entertainment events. As far as nationality is concerned, they can be of any cultural and national background. There are no hard and fast rules for that. The number of audience in an open live concert of the famous band “Coldplay” in Hyde Park is projected to be 1000, but there is contingency planning involved to some extent. There would be some extra 50 to 100 tickets available on the venue, apart from selling tickets on the centre location as well as online. The reason of including ticket selling on online basis is that the audience which is targeted in this live concert is youth, aging from 15 to 30 years; youth are into online dealings rather than personally going to the centre location. Social networking sites and the official website of the company itself can offer ticket selling. “Posting flyers to get the word out and making tickets available only at the venue hurts your chances of reaching maximum fan potential. Work with your venue to sell tickets online.” (Mariana, 2013) The parking space, seating and food supplies would be arranged accordingly. As far as nationality is concerned, there are no restrictions. Operational Issues and Risks in Kensington Town Hall There are certain operational issues and risks involved in the event to be organized in Kensington Town Hall. One main factor that must be kept in mind that all the legal obligations, related to local authorities licences, are conducted through the venue arrangers. The events would only have to take care of public authorities for safety matters, if any, i.e.: police, fire brigade, ambulance, transport providers etc. Power (2011) states in his article some the successful companies’ practices on operational problem solving which are different from what other usual companies are doing: “These firms have detailed checklists and procedures for most activities. Their people are much more likely to perform their work in accordance with the standards.” The operational issues are elaborated as follows: Operational issues Public assembly/entertainment: The classical concert requires public assembly in the chosen venue for entertainment purpose. For that matter, the legal obligations have to be fulfilled, which can be done by contacting local council licensing department. The Town Hall charges £500 if there are any property damages but it can be refunded if there are not any. Parking: There is an adequate and convenient parking in Kensington Town Hall which can easily cater to the number of guests that are planned for the event. One issue that might occur if any mobility impaired guest arrives but it can be planned if local authority is contacted beforehand for that purpose. A volunteer can be made responsible for such a person because the Kensington Town Hall has lifts for these people which do not allow to exceed a certain weight limit; this can be taken care by the assigned volunteer. For the legal and licensing issues related to parking, the local council highways and transport department or the police can be contacted. Seating, lighting and sound system: The number of seats will be strictly according to the number of tickets available. The lighting would be subtle because the focus is on classical theme. Also, it must be taken care that the entrance and exit points must have proper lighting over them. For contingency planning, use of auxiliary battery power and generators can be made too in case of power failures. The sound system has to be brought in on special request in advance to the venue members. Food: According to the tentative plan, there are some snacks that can be offered to the audiences after the classical concert. The snacks can include sandwiches, fried chicken pieces, rolls, pastries and other similar items with tea and coffee. The costs of all these items would be included in the ticket cost and the audience would not have to pay extra for that. The arrangements require food to be supplied by the Town Hall’s own kitchen with the damage deposit of £500 beforehand; in case, there are not any, the deposit would be refunded by the council. Issues related to food handling can include something like the supplies have to be licensed by the local council environmental health department and their delivery has to be ensured by the management team. The delivery has to be on time and it has to be fresh. As an event is considered to be at the end of a supply chain, so everything has to be time-specific. A controlled delivery acceptance system can be set up in the form of one volunteer standing at the main entrance who would be responsible for checking what is coming, in what quantity and in what condition, i.e.: fresh or not. Signs and banners: Marketing and advertising for the event is mandatory for its success. “The best way to help make your event a success is by diversifying your promotional efforts.” (Miksen, n.d.) The Kensington Town Hall permits to hang banner on the exterior of the Great Hall Wall. There are some measurements given for that and the banner design can be arranged with some good designing and printing company. The county council highways and transport department can allow posters that can be displayed on the notice board at the central library in Kensington, but it requires an agreement beforehand. Also, marketing can be done through Kensington Town Hall’s “Diary of Events”. It should be kept in mind that the privacy of neighbourhood is not disturbed by hanging banners everywhere. The restrictions should be followed such as not advertising on footway or roads, avoiding fixing of banners or street furniture, and abstaining from handing out leaflets to public without permission. Safety: Safety is of prime concern in every event. High security is not required for this event because if there are too many security guards on an event, the audience automatically develops a sense of fear that something bad might happen. The purpose of this classical music concert is not to frighten the guests but to ensure safety for them. Public health: The number of toilets according to the number of anticipated guests, free or nominally charged potable water, waste management and noise monitoring are all the concerns related to public health. The licenses are there with the Kensington Town Hall but the event management team has to take care that all these are fairly taken care of at the venue. Insurance requirements: Insurance does not seem imperative for this event but in later stages, if the venue holders require, there can be some public liability insurance as part the risk management strategy. Risks There are always some risks attached to an event, and there are some that are related to this classical event as well. They are described below: Risk in managing an event perhaps in enthusiasm or risk of expectations: When someone hears about a classical music event, it comes to his or her mind that the event might be boring. So there is a possibility that the audience might not be as enthusiastic about the event as the event itself wants them to be Risk in transporting items: When the transport of large items is involved, there are some risks. The sound systems, the stage and suchlike objects might pose a threat to the safety principles of the event, mainly for the staff when transporting goods from one place to another. Risk of deliveries on time: There can be a risk of deliveries not reaching the venue on time, let’s say due to a road blockage or some accident etc. Operational Issues and Risks in Hyde Park Hyde Park is spread over an area of 142 hectares which is a massive land space for an outdoor live concert to take place. According to contingency planning, if the number of audiences exceed than the anticipated audience, then there would be problem regarding seating issues. The operational issues and risks in the live concert of Coldplay in Hyde Park are stated as below: Operational issues Public assembly/entertainment: The charitable open air live concert is a public assembly of people for entertainment purpose, and therefore some legal obligations are mandatory. The park authorities make sure that they comply to event safety and sustainability matters. Parking: Parking is sufficient for the event participants, including the audiences and the staff of the organizing team. Even the transport vehicles can also easily get space in the parking area. Lighting and sound system: The lighting and sound system has to be perfect because it is an open space and the audience need to have the perfect sound of the concert. In the past few years, there have been critical views on the sound quality in Hyde Park. So, the management team has to take care that this does not happen in this event. The lighting on the stage, as well as the entrance and exit points should be focused too. Food: An open air live concert is likely to have food stalls and the food items can be purchased by the audience themselves. The prices of these food items are included in the ticket costs. The earnings from these food stalls would also go to the charity. The local government authority would be notified about the food stalls. The food stalls operators would have individual approval from the local authority. In this way, the management team would be aware of the requirements of the town itself. Signs and banners: Signs and banners can be fixed on some specific locations such as hanging banners on the lamp posts. But hanging banners on the roads, street furniture, housing areas and distribution of pamphlets to public should be avoided strictly. Safety: A relatively large number of security members are required for this concert because the event would take place on a large scale. There is a possibility that youngsters get involved in some violent activities like jumping, running, trying to push everyone while getting to the stage. If such a chaos takes place, there must be a good number of security members to take care of. Property damage in such a case should also be monitored carefully by the security team. Public health: Clearly, the live concert would give rise to a lot of noise. To pacify the noise makers, the management team must focus on controlling the crowd properly. Besides, nominally charged water bottles on the food stalls would be made available. Waste management would be of prior importance because the youngsters are likely to create a lot of waste on the venue while enjoying the event. Insurance requirements: The live concert has an outrageous property and therefore, requires risk management. A little contingency planning can involve insurance over property and equipment can cover the costs, if there are any. “In the recent years, fatalities, injuries and losses from damage due to winds and storms at live outdoor events have put new emphasis on insurance coverage. But even those who escape direct weather problems may still pay a price.” (Daley, 2013) Risks “When threats materialize at large scale events, the damage often spills over to other parties.” (Jennings, 2012) The certain types of associated risks with this event are: Risk to staff: There is a risk involved in terms of confused organization, poor health and safety practise. In the outdoor events, there are risks involved regarding safety issues. So, the working staff has a small percentage of risk attached to themselves. Risk in health and safety: Outdoor events are large and complicated, especially in this one, where a large number of audiences are catered. The entire practice in inherently risky for the public specifically. Risk in catering provision: There is a risk involved in hygienic food supplies at the food stalls and sanitation provision to the public. Risk in crowd management: Overcrowding, potential crush points, the sitting and availability of emergency exits, noise control and violent behaviour are all included in crowd management risk. A comprehensive report from the Department of Health and the government of Western Australia naming “Guidelines for Concerts, Events and Organized Gatherings” (2009) have some valuable guiding principles which can be undertaken to manage the crowd effectively. Risk in security: Large events, such as this one, involve high levels of security. Also, there are high risks involved regarding security in every aspect. Conclusion After comparing both the venues for their respective events in terms of operational issues and risks involved, the venue that seems the better option is the Hyde Park live music concert by Coldplay. There are various reasons for that, justified as follows: i. Firstly, the event is large. There are chances that a fairly large proportion of audience would come to attend this concert. Youth’s interests are more inclined towards music these days, and they love to hang out with their friends as well. It is most likely that a lot of friends groups would plan to go out on a concert of a band which has become a rage among this segment. ii. Secondly, large proportions of audience means large number of ticket selling and greater amounts of money going to the charity. iii. The extra money that would be earned from the food stalls would also contribute in the charity money. iv. According to the contingency planning, there is a chance that more audience would show up at this event than the targeted figure, i.e.: 1000. The past trends have shown that youth are more gigs and they love attending those gigs with friends; due to the spread of word of mouth, a lot more number of people is observed at the event day actually. The managers must be prepared for a similar situation here as well, which is good because more people mean more money for charity. v. In the Kensington Town Hall classical concert, although best efforts would be put up for the marketing of the event and the arrangements on the event day but due to the age factor, it is less likely that a large number of audiences would be there. As mentioned above, the past trends show that youth are more into music and concerts, and that too, going out with friends but the elderly people are mostly busy in their own lives. There is a lot of stuff that they have to take care of in their lives apart from attending a classical event. The limited number of seats for the classical event does not mean that less people would be coming and fewer earnings would go to the charity. The cost of the ticket is set up in such a way that even the less number of tickets would contribute largely towards the charity because the cost of refreshments are also included. It is only the number of audiences that matter for the event to be successful. From the discussions that were carried out with the events professional via social media and the discussions with peer groups, it was concluded that the live music concert in Hyde Park seems to be the best option. Although the events professionals assessed that the risks involved in this event are more because the event is on a large scale and more security would be required in every aspect, but the main purpose of organizing the event is fairly fulfilled by this concert, i.e.: collecting money for charity. The more people coming to the concert, the larger the amount of money going to the charity. This is the fundamental criteria which would weigh up the accomplishment of the event in reality. Sometimes the high risks calculate the high returns, and the proposed venue and event seem to be following the same rule in the given scenario. References Daley,D., 2013. 10 trends in live events 2013. Infocomm International, [online] Available at: [Accessed on 29th March 2014] Fazio, J., Wilson, L.G., Higman, R., 2013. Planning and executing a successful non profit fundraising event. Network for Good, [online] Available at: [Accessed on 20th March 2014] Government of Western Australia, 2013. Guidelines for concerts, events and organized gatherings. Department of Health, [online] Available at: [Accessed on 29th March 2014] Jennings, W., 2012. The Olympics as a story of risk management. Harvard Business Review, [online] Available at: [Accessed on 29th March 2014] Mariana, 2013. Music industry predictions: labels, concerts, licensing and more. Reverbnation, [online] Available at: http://blog.reverbnation.com/2013/01/31/music- industry-predictions-labels-concerts-licensing-and-more/ [Accessed on 29th March 2014] McDonald, H., n.d. Concert promotion costs. About.com, [online] Available at: [Accessed on 29th March 2014] Miksen, C., n.d. How to make a promotional plan for a non profit event. Small Business, [online] Available at: < http://smallbusiness.chron.com/make-promotional-plan- nonprofit-event-33955.html> [Accessed on 29th March 2014] Power, B., 2011. Get your operations in shape by focusing on process. Harvard Business Review, [online] Available at: [Accessed on 29th March 2014] Read More