There is a large and diverse range of types of festival within the industry, from music, to sport, to dance, to gaming. Each one can be categorised in a different way depending on their scale and form. The three main sectors that a festival will fit into are the government, community and corporate sectors. This essay will explore the differences between each sector and the sub sectors within each one. The large variety of stakeholders that are involved in events will be explored as well as their relevance to the different sectors. Social and economic impacts of festivals are vast and limitless; this essay will establish some of the effects that a festival has, both positive and negative.
The biggest of the sectors within the festival industry is the government sector; corporations within this sector primarily create events for social, cultural, economic and tourism causes. The government sector mainly creates mega events; these are defined by Getz (2005) as ‘must see’ events that yield extraordinarily high levels of tourism, media coverage, prestige and high economic impact for the host community. Examples of such events are the London 2012 Olympic Games, the Millennium celebrations and the Queen’s Golden Jubilee; seemingly government sector events are those that are aimed at the general public and will often combine the celebration of a significant national anniversaries and events. Silvers (2004a) defines government and civic events as those that are comprised by or for political parties, communities, or municipal or national government entities. Government run events are typically characterized by free entry and wide accessibility to form part of the public culture; for example the New Year firework display in London. The central government focuses on civic celebrations and commemorations, but also collaborates with smaller governing bodies and councils to promote tourism in smaller areas with less capital. An example of a tourism organisation is VisitBritain; this company aims to increase and extend tourist visits to the host community region. On the other hand, The Department of Trade and Industry holds events to assist industry and generate jobs. Things like entertainment and alcohol licensing, implementation of rules and regulations, road closures for events, and parking permits are also all elements of the government sector within the festival industry. In all, almost all government departments make use of events to develop networks and increase economic impact and social capital (Bowdin et al, 2012).
This is due to the amount of extra security, supplies and funding required for an event, particularly a festival. Governments also set and direct the policies that rule the staging of events. Local councils often work closely with the governing bodies such as road and traffic agencies, health departments and police and implementation of rules and regulations as well as smaller scale elements like the sale of food, noise restrictions and parking requirements.
The community sector within the festival industry host events that are linked with the spirit and ethos of the host community; special interest events that serve a particular purpose for their target market. Events created within this sector are on the whole hallmark events, defined by Ritchie (1984) as a major one time or recurring event of limited duration that is developed primarily to enhance awareness, appeal and profitability of a tourist destination. The community sector also generates some major events too; these are events that depending on their size and media coverage can attract a significant number of visitors. The Grand National, Notting Hill Carnival and the London Marathon are all examples of community major events which are cultural and traditional but are on a larger scale than a hallmark event like a town fair. Getz (1997) identifies community events altogether as attractions and image-makers that can be seen to minimize negative impacts of mass visitation and foster better host-guest relations. Yeoman et al. (2004) go on to say that festivals can lengthen tourist seasons, extend peak season and even introduce a “new season” into the life of the host community. Upholding tradition plays a fundamental part in hallmark and community events, with each tradition and custom being celebrated so to reinforce the beliefs and morale of the locals. A community event is usually the main social event of the year and has no entry fee. They can not only bring the locals together but also give them an opportunity to share their beliefs, culture and traditions with tourists. It also gives the community the prospect of developing and improving on their social and economic statuses. An example of a community event is the Shrewsbury Flower Show; this small 2 day festival held in the centre of the town attracts people from not only the local areas but also from afar. Events like this within the community sector encourage diversity and economically impact the host community by bringing more business to hotels, restaurants, shops and local business. Within a small festival like this the stalls are usually retailing local produce and things that relate to the theme of the event. The only drawback of this heighten in trade is that it is seasonal and will not last all year round. Quite often, a small community event would be a fundraising or profile-building activity for a charity, such as recreational sporting day for the locals, in which the participants are sponsored. Charities are habitually stakeholders within events and festivals, especially in the hallmark and community sectors. An event like this will usually bring together the host community as one and elevate its social capital. They rely on their uniqueness and the fact that they are a niche in the market to attract visitors, such as the Africa-Oye festival in Liverpool.
The corporate sector is involved in events at a number of levels; Silvers (2010) describes corporate events as any occasion that supports business objectives, including management functions, corporate communications, incentives and customer relations. Each of these elements uses events and festivals in a different way. For example, companies and corporations use sponsorship and product placement in order to promote their goods; for instance Crabbie’s Ginger Beer sponsor The Grand National. However, this can be quite an expense for an organisation; at Glastonbury festival each stall is priced individually, based on location within the site, type of organisation, the number of staff, the size of the stall and the product it is selling (Glastonbury, 2015). The corporate sector contains the sponsorship of major events like national festivals like Creamfields and V Festival. Bowdin et al (2012) define a major event as one that by their scale and media interest, are capable of attracting significant visitor numbers, media coverage and economic benefits. Many international sporting events and championships also fit into this category. This can include anything from the likes of Glastonbury festival to the British Formula One Grand Prix at Silverstone. The corporate sector generates both internal and external events. An example of an internal event could be a staff training day or a social evening. An instance of an external event may be something of a larger scale used to remove the clutter of advertising and media to reach customers and clients directly (Bowdin et al, 2012), for example, a product launch or a publicity event. This type of event can increase sales and corporate image. Some corporate events can be categorised as free entry events, yet are still aimed at a target market instead of the general public. In comparison, entrepreneurs create ticketed events like sporting days or concerts; these will hopefully succeed and develop into bigger and better celebrations. Media organisations can often become involved in an event, but also generate their own promotional events such as a radio station holding a concert; BBC 1Xtra Live is very popular and produces a lot of endorsement for the radio station itself.
There are also various subsectors within each sector of the festival industry; these include food, music, drink, sport and dance, among countless other forms. These subsectors are all included within the corporate, government and community sectors. Nonetheless, some are more commonly used in one sector than in another. For example, the community sector will create events based around food and drink, which give the local businesses a change to promote their produce. However, the corporate sector uses the music sub sector a great deal more, and on a much larger scale that the community or government sector would through the use of music festivals like Glastonbury and V Festival.
There are a multitude of different stakeholder groups within the festival industry and each and every one is in some way affected by the festival that it is in correlation with. Stakeholders are defined by Johnson et al (2007) as individuals or groups who depend on an organisation or festival to fulfil their goals and needs and whom, in turn, the organisation depends on. Each stakeholder has a different level of importance depending on what the event is. There are two main types of stakeholders; primary and secondary. The primary stakeholders are those that have the most invested in the festival; this group includes the organisation who constructed the event, the employees and volunteers, sponsors, suppliers, the attendees, among many others. Secondary stakeholders are those that have an interest in the programme, but are not essential to event production. Involved in this group are the host community, the government, services surrounding the event such as extra policing and traffic regulation services and local businesses. Primary stakeholders such as volunteers are important within the community sector because this is where most small town hallmark events occur; these events may not have the funding to pay employees and so depend on volunteers to help the event run smoothly. In contrast, the media as a stakeholder is important to the government sector because it will hope to promote the event and increase the number of visitors. An events objective and the stakeholders needs depend on the feasibility and desirability of them. Each individual stakeholder need is imperative and it is vital that an organisation meets each one. An events success is based on how well it caters for the competing needs, expectations and interests of a large range of stakeholders. Event management must be viewed from both a demand and supply point of view. Getz (2008) says that the demand side consists of a consumer perspective and what it requires. This determines who travels for events and why, as well as what they do and how much they spend. He goes on to say that on the supply side, destinations develop, facilitate and promote all kinds of events so that they can meet multiple goals; these include attracting tourism both in on and off-peak seasons and fostering a positive destination image that will contribute to the general place marketing.
There are many different effects that a festival will have on the visitor economy of the host community. These can be defined as both positive and negative effects. Every festival will have both negative and positive effects and it is down to the festival managers to make sure that the positives always outweigh the negatives. Positive effects include the increase in tourism to the host community; this consists partly of the many economic and job creation benefits that come from a festival or event. The Edinburgh Festival creates over 27,000 jobs each year according to the Edinburgh Convention Bureau (Edinburgh Festivals, 2015). Local businesses benefiting from festivals will include the hotels that accommodate the visitors of the region; shops and transport to facilitate tourist’s needs and local businesses such as restaurants and cafes. It is estimated that in 2009 alone, music festivals in the UK contributed £450 million to the British economy (King, 2009). This is most likely very similar in other locations too due to the international popularity of festivals. There is also a likelihood that travellers will visit local heritage sites around the host community area meaning that cultural tourism is amplified throughout the duration of an event; this boosts a sense of pride in the community. An example of cultural tourism is when festival goers attend Glastonbury; it is common for them to also visit Stonehenge as it is nearby. Events bring the community physically together and give the host community a chance to share their culture and traditions with tourists and visitors which will in turn will boost morale. It is also a chance for people to meet and form relationships with one another that they may not otherwise have within their community. However, as previously mentioned, although festivals and events usually generate plenty of positive results, there are also various negative effects they can have on the host community and surrounding areas too. One of the main negative effects is the quality of life for the local residents. A festival can attract thousands of people and this in turn generates traffic problems, an increase in crime rates, and general pollution of the area. The noise from an event can travel miles and this could potentially be very disruptive to the local community. Another destructive effect of a festival is that although it may generate a rise in general trade within local businesses, this is only a seasonal and part-time effect. This means that even though many jobs are created, tourism employment is actually very seasonal in nature and also low paying, hence the use of volunteers to minimise extra costs. If not planned and regulated properly a festival could also have a damaging effect on local land and services; for example, occasionally the Glastonbury festival must be revoked for the year due to the amount of damage that is caused to the land.