A Detailed Description of the Hue Festival - Essay Example

?Event Analysis Executive Summary The report includes a detailed of the Hue Festival which is being celebrated every year since 2000. Theactivities, number of visitors and participants involving with the festival have popularised the event across the world. Furthermore, the management and support from the local communities and governmental authorities have led to conducting the event successfully. The report will provide a brief overview of the city of Hue where the festival is being conducted each year. Furthermore, it will evaluate the technical, site and logistical requirements that will be useful for this festival. It will further help to identify the potential risks associated with the event and provide strategies to mitigate those risks. In addition, the report will focus on the staffing requirements and role of the volunteers in conducting the event successfully. Moreover, the budgetary requirement will be determined and the official partners of the festival will be identified. Additionally, the promotional strategy used by the organisers to promote the event will be evaluated. Last but not the least, recommendations will be provided in order to enhance the services being rendered to the visitors. Table of Contents 1 Executive Summary 2 Introduction 4 Technical, Site and Other Logistical Requirements of the Event 5 Identification of Possible Risks and Steps Taken by the Organisers of the Event 6 Staffing Requirements and Role of Volunteers in Conducting the Event 7 Budgetary Requirements of the Event 8 Promotions Mix Used To Promote the Event 10 Recommendations 11 Conclusion 13 References 14 Introduction Hue is acknowledged as the ancient capital of Vietnam. The city is further renowned for the glorious architecture of its palaces, temples, citadels and royal tombs among others. Furthermore, the greenish background on the banks of Perfume River has inspired several authors to create marvellous poetries regarding the heritage of the city (AsiaRooms, 2012a). Festivals and events form an essential part of the rich cultural tradition that prevails within the city area of Hue. The city is also regarded as quite famous for inspiring and rendering developmental assistance to creative artists and art enthusiasts due to which the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) declared it as a Wold Cultural Heritage Site in 1993. It was since then that Hue Festivals have been organised. The Hue Festival includes traditional concerts, theatrical performances, dance competitions and art exhibitions along with conducting sightseeing across the city. Notably, Hue festivals and events are organised for the purpose of promoting peace, harmony and supporting greater cultural exchange (AsiaRooms, 2012b). Huge numbers of artists across the world participates and performs in around 200 shows in more than 40 venues which continue for 9 consecutive days within the city. The festival involves a footfall of 1.5 million domestic and 150 million international visitors (Vietnam Online, 2011). Technical, Site and Other Logistical Requirements of the Event Hue festival comprises various cultural events which are organised in different venues, especially during the evening. Therefore, sufficient lighting has been one of the prime requirements of this festival. Moreover, the availability of artist’s specific utilities requires being arranged in advance in order to welcome them with satisfactory warmth from various countries. In addition, drum is regarded to be the most crucial instruments required for conducting this event. Hence, the organisers are often observed to hold public biddings inviting experienced contractors to provide equipments on a rental basis for installation of sound, lighting and theatrical instruments for such a massive event (Hue Festival Centre, 2010a). The venues chosen for conducting the Hue festival are generally found to emphasising on its capacity of accommodating millions of visitors. The venues are mostly open-air situated near the banks of Nghinh Luong Dinh and Perfume River. Additionally, the venues are also well decorated with abundant light and enough sound facilities in order to provide ultimate entertainment to the international and domestic visitors (Hue Festival Centre, 2010a). Since, the festival attracts millions of visitors from all over the world, accommodation and transport facilities are arranged effectively in order to lodge these huge number of visitors. Transportation facilities such as train, air and bus are also made available for the convenience of the visitors (Hue Festival Centre, 2010b). The organisation of the Hue festival is also well supported by the government and financial institutions through sponsorships. Furthermore, private and public companies are also learnt to be providing significant support to meet the minimum requirements associated with the festival in terms of technical, site and logistical aspects (Hoek, 1999; Hue Festival Centre, 2010b). Identification of Possible Risks and Steps Taken by the Organisers of the Event The festival attracts nearly 200 millions of tourists from across the world every year. Thus, the aspect of security can become a major concern for the organisers. Furthermore, persuading companies to function as the official sponsors can become quite challenging for the organisers as it can even pose a threat to the reputation of the festival with respect to meeting the expenses. Since, majority of the events are scheduled to continue till late night, tourist’s security and availability of proper transportation facilities can pose risks to the credibility of the organising committee (Presbury & Edwards, 2005). Additionally, the festival is decorated with various lighting elements which can get disrupted due to any technical fault arising during the event. Inefficient power supply can also adversely affect the festival and the events which fundamentally involves the major risks pertaining to the festival (Hue Festival Centre, 2010e). Thus, the government and Hue City People's Committee arranges for various means of transportation facilities in order to avoid chaos during the festival. Furthermore, the committee is also learnt to promote the festival in terms of a broad perspective in order to receive sufficient financial assistance from the public and private companies. Additionally, the committee attempts to ensure provisions for alternative power supply which can be utilised in case of shortage of electricity (Hue Festival Centre, 2010e). Staffing Requirements and Role of Volunteers in Conducting the Event Hue festival has gradually gained a considerable recognition from various nations in the worldwide arena. Millions of visitors along with thousands of famous artists visit the city during the festival in order to participate in the competitions and involve themselves with the rich culture and tradition that exists in Hue. Therefore, for conducting the festival successfully, huge number of staffs is required. It is in this context that the sound and lighting arrangements are done by the contractors after being approved by the organising committee. In addition to the governmental security assigned for the festival, the organisers strategically arrange for experienced personnel who are provided with the responsibility of ensuring a safe environment during the festive season. In addition to the finances contributed by the sponsors, revenue is also collected through the sale of tickets. The huge number of visitors therefore helps to generate a significant amount of fund through the sale of tickets for viewing various competitions held at different venues within Hue. Thus, experienced staffs are required for effective handling of the funds being generated (Hue Festival Centre, 2010c). In order to conduct an event successfully, staffs and volunteers play an imperative role in managing all the segments. From the commencing of an event to its completion, staffs and volunteers are provided with well-defined designated roles which need to be performed efficiently (Sharma & Sarangdevot, 2011). Distribution, maintaining of records, installation of technical instruments and assisting the organising committee for maintaining security are few of the tasks that are required being performed by the staffs and volunteers associated with the event (Kettle's Yard, University of Cambridge, 2012). Therefore, in order to execute the above mentioned tasks, staffs should require analytical skills and effective knowledge about the available resources. Furthermore, they should possess adequate inter-personal skills for enhanced communication between the volunteers as well as the members of the organising committee. Additionally, team work is also an important requirement in conducting the proceedings efficiently and successfully. Furthermore, promotion of the event can also be identified as one of the major tasks of the volunteers. Hence, experienced volunteers who have been associated with other events are given the utmost priority. Moreover, the staffs are even required to supervise the installation of technical instruments by the contractors. In addition, the representatives of the Ministry and Culture, Sports and Tourism and local relevant departments voluntarily involves in the proceedings of the event with the intention to promote the event across the world. Volunteers are also considered to be responsible for maintaining high-end security for the international participants and visitors. Although, certain events are scheduled at night, volunteers actively make attempts for maintaining the security of the spectators. Volunteers are further found to be responsible for the arrangement of accommodation facilities and making sure that effective services are provided to the participants (Getz, 2010). Budgetary Requirements of the Event In conducting an event, budget is measured to be one of the prime factors, where planning of generating sufficient funds and allocation of budget to various heads is deemed to be an important activity of the organising committee. Conversely, it has been observed that at times the proposed budget and the actual budget generated differ to a large extent. Thus, the organising committee should be well prepared with alternative budgetary plans for meeting the budget deficit (McKelvey & Grady, 2008; Carter, 2007). Numerous participants from different parts of the world take part in the competitions organised during the hue festival. Therefore, the organising committee only provides free accommodation to the participants. However, the 40 venues which are utilised by the organising committee involve a huge amount of cost pertaining to rents. Furthermore, budgets are allocated for providing transportation facilities due to the extensive travelling requirement to different venues within the city. Additionally, huge amounts of costs are related with the decoration of the outdoor venues compared to the indoor ones. Majority of the venues are also selected to accommodate thousands of spectators who arrive to witness the events. Furthermore, advanced sound systems are required for conducting the cultural events which too involve huge expenses. In addition, permissions and legal formalities prescribed by the local authorities involve certain costs which need to be included within the budget. Nonetheless, costs pertaining to logistics and transportation arrangements should also be involved in the proposed budget. Even, the hiring of security personnel requires additional costs along with the food and accommodation arrangements until the completion of the event. Certain portion of the budget is also allocated for the volunteers who are responsible for smoothly conducting the event. Hence, an estimated 10 to 15 billion Vietnamese Dong (VND) is required for successfully conducting the Hue festival (Hue Festival Centre, 2010d). The Hue City People's Committee, which is supposed to be the main organiser of the festival and events, are well supported by different business organisations and public entities for collecting funds. Organisations, such as Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam, Hue Beer Company, Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group and Vietnam Airlines Corporation among others are identified as the official sponsors of the Hue Festival 2012 who play the functions of raising fund for conducting the events. In addition, the government and local authorities are among the other financial supporters who help in collecting the funds for the festival. According to the organisers, the Hue Festival of 2012 collected 20 billion VND, out of which 17 billion VND were collected as cash and 3 billion VND through objects (Hue Festival Centre, 2010d). Promotions Mix Used To Promote the Event The organisers of the Hue Festival have developed various strategies to promote their culture and traditions through this event. For instance, the organisers used advertising as their initial promotional strategy by claiming that the presence of 700 reporters from various news agencies across the country helps to promote the festival effectively by highlighting the special arrangements and performances in relation to the event. Furthermore, the organisers also developed an online official site which provides all the necessary information regarding the festival. The talent competitions held among the professional and amateur artists, painters and performer of cultural activities facilitates additional promotion of the event across the world. Moreover, the tourism sites of Vietnam considerably exert additional efforts for promoting the festival through their official sites. This helps in promoting the tourism industry of Vietnam along with the Hue festival as well (Reverte & Izard, 2010; Hue Festival Centre, 2010c). Promotional strategy such as public relations is also effectively used to promote the event. The official website of Hue Festival comprises photos and videos of the past years’ events which tend to attract millions of spectators from all over the world. Besides, the photos of past years’ festivals, ancient structures and historical monuments of Hue are also included in the sites. The rich culture and traditions followed by the people of the city attracts numerous foreign tourists to participate in the events. The organisers undertake initiatives in encouraging the local communities for promoting the festival of Hue through social activities, such as helping the poor for renovating their houses, visiting hospitals for exploring the difficulties witnessed by the patients and encompassing traditional activities of the local people of the city. Participants are also provided with the facility of online registration forms for enrolling themselves in the competitions. In order to evaluate the purposes of conducting the festival, the organisers further attempt to ensure that the prices of the tickets are affordable to a wide range of visitors. The strategy of keeping low prices for the tickets has further helped the organisers to lure millions of customers worldwide. In order to increase the popularity of the festival, the organisers have also initiated a strategy of promoting the festival through social networking sites, such as Facebook uploading videos relating to the festival and events of the previous years’ which have proved advantageous for them in terms of avoiding huge expenses with regard to mass promotions (Otu, 2011; Hue Tourist, 2008). Although, public relations and advertisements through media houses are both equally important in promoting the festival, the organisers mainly focussed on media advertisements due to its large coverage across the world. The organisers through this promotional strategy gained benefit in promoting the event among the people across the world. Recommendations Although, the organisers prefer advertising through social networking sites due to its extensive usage in the contemporary era, promoting through online ‘paid’ advertisements can be an exclusive choice. The online paid advertisements can be of various types which would also prove to be cost effective. The best utilisation of the online ‘paid’ advertisements can be made through Cost per Click (CPC) method where the advertiser requires paying an amount whenever a visitor clicks on the advertisement posted on the websites. These advertisements are posted on popular sites which are commonly used by the users of the internet. Hence, the organisers of the Hue festival will be able to promote the events with the engagement of a comparatively lower amount of costs. Furthermore, the organisers can also employ traditional advertisements through television channels and radio advertisements. However, these types of promotional strategies are found to be limited to certain demographic areas due to its local coverage. Therefore, the organisers can develop banners highlighting the attraction of the events which will help to promote the festival among the local people. Promotional events such as distribution of free tickets, t-shirts and caps endorsing famous celebrities of the country can help to attract the domestic visitors by making them aware about the upcoming events (Dickson, 2010; Parry & Shone, 2004). Security concerns are also supposed to be regarded as one of the major considerations for the foreign tourists who are new to the country. In order to promote the security measures employed for the Hue festival, organisers can publish adequate information regarding the proposed precautionary steps for the convenience of the foreign visitors. Furthermore, the past records of efficiently holding the festival can also be expected to reduce the security concerns of the international visitors. However, thousands of professionals participate in the competitions involved in the festival. Thus, the structure of security arrangements will encourage more professionals to participate in the future (Connors, 2007; Allen & et. al., 2010). Conclusion Hue festival is one of the mega events held in Vietnam which has gained sustainable popularity across the world. The festival’s prime motive is to promote the rich culture and traditions of Vietnam across the world through conducting numerous competitions at different venues. It also helps to promote the scenic beauty that surrounds the city for developing the tourism industry. From the initial year of its commencement, the footfall of the audiences including domestic and international visitors has been increasing considerably. In the recently held festival on April 2012, the audiences visiting the city were found to be more than 200 million, filling up almost all the accommodation facilities present in the city. Hence, hotels, motels and means of transport are identified to be in great demand during the festive season. Thus, the local government should ensure that effective services are provided by their respective authorities for conducting the event successfully. Furthermore, instigating efficient promotional strategies will increase the audience footfall, thereby increasing the possibilities of higher ticket sales. Although, the organisers declared that the fund collected from the festival and revenue generated from the ticket sales are not the prime objectives, the surplus funds can be utilised in developing the local communities. Furthermore, hiring of experienced event management groups will help them to execute the festive programs more successfully and arrange additional funds from the business organisations existing in the country (Hessman, 2009). References AsiaRooms, 2012a. Hue Overview. Hue Travel Guide. [Online] Available at: http://www.asiarooms.com/en/travel-guide/vietnam/hue/hue-overview/index.html [Accessed September 01, 2012]. AsiaRooms, 2012b. Hue Festivals & Events. Travel Guide. [Online] Available at: http://www.asiarooms.com/en/travel-guide/vietnam/hue/hue-festivals-and-events/index.html [Accessed September 01, 2012]. Allen, J. & et. al., 2010. Festival and Special Event Management. John Wiley & Sons. Carter, L., 2007. Event Planning. AuthorHouse. Connors, E., 2007. Planning and Managing Security for Major Special Events: Guidelines for Law Enforcement. U.S. Department of Justice, pp. 3-101. Dickson, C., 2010. The Scholar Athlete Games: Experiencing Sport, Culture and Art. 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