BM0936 Managing Special Events &

Festivals – Tutorial Series

TUTORIALS
1
Introduction to Special Events
and Festivals

Demand for Special Events and

Festivals

Events and Festivals Design

Events and Festivals Planning

and Development
Events Management

Venue Selection and Logistics

Financial Planning and

sponsorship

Events and Festivals

Marketing

Events and Festivals

Operations
BM0936 TUTORIAL 2
INTRODUCTION TO SPECIAL EVENTS AND FESTIVALS

CASE STUDY 1 – Leisure /Sporting Events – The Olympic Games (page 7)

Review the case study.

Questions:

1. Where were the most recent games held

2. How many people watched the Olympics?

3. How many people participated in them?

4. How were the games organised and what support services were involved?

5. To what use were the games buildings i.e. the Bird’s Nest stadium put after the
games had finished?

6. How much do the modern games differ from the ancient ones?

CASE STUDY 2 – Organisational Events – The Paris Exposition (page 12)

Read the case study. In addition, review the website address highlighting Singapore’s
hosting of the Youth Olympics and the construction of the Athletes Village and other
developments:
http://www.straitstimes.com/print/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/STIStory_166445.html
and http://www.todayonline.com/articles/235418print.asp

1. What is its purpose?

2. How was it organised?

3. In the long term, what is the benefit from having the event?

4. Who would pay for the event?

BM0936 TUTORIAL 3
DEMAND FOR SPECIAL EVENTS AND FESTIVALS DESIGN

CASE STUDY 1 – The Size and Scope of events – The European Grands Prix

Review the Grands Prix case study and answer the following:

Questions:

1. Go to Formula one’s official website. Is the information about participants,

visitors, income and size of the event kept internally or is it disseminated
publicly?

2. What key elements of information might help to build up a picture of the events
business and how might this data be collected?

3. What are the current problems and limitations of data collection

4. What sources of information might be available and how might we classify these
resources?

CASE STUDY 2 – Motives for attending events – the Berlin and other European
film festivals (page 28)

Review the case study.

2. If visitors were classified into various categories: film goers, film makers, the local
public, film stars, film stars fans, politicians etc, what would be their respective
motives for going to the festival both in terms of primary and secondary motives?

3. How should organisers seek to address the motivations of each category of

visitor?

4. Identify a film festival in your regions – how many people go to it?

5. How does the distinction between the core festival, “official” peripheral setions
and non-official activities impact on the festival itself?
BM0936 TUTORIAL 3
MARKET DEMAND FOR SPECIAL EVENTS AND FESTIVALS DESIGN

CASE STUDY 3 – The event “umbrella” – North Sea Jazz Festival : The Hague
(page 31)

Rreview the case study.

1. What might be the primary and secondary motives for a jazz fan attending this
event or a family attending one of the summer evening open-air concerts?

2. What are the marketing benefits to the main festival at the Congress Centre, of
having three days of free evening open-air concerts in the city for the public?

3. Do these extra events for example help create demand for the main event?

4. What kinds of businesses in and around the Hague benefit from the festival?
BM0936 TUTORIAL 4
EVENTS AND FESTIVALS DESIGN

Discussion Questions

1. Describe the five steps in developing an idea for an event.

2. Describe the various screens to test the feasibility of an event idea.

3. Use a flow diagram to describe the screening process for an event.

4. Read the article below and choose two key ideas adopted in the Athens Olympics
opening ceremony using the screens mentioned earlier.

The widely praised Opening Ceremony held on August 13, 2004 began with a
twenty eight (the number of the Olympiads up to then) second countdown paced by
the sounds of an amplified heartbeat. As the countdown was completed, fireworks
rumbled and illuminated the skies overhead.

After a drum corp and bouzouki players joined in an opening march, the video
screen showed images of flight, crossing southwest from Athens over the Greek
countryside to ancient Olympia. Then, a single drummer in the ancient stadium
joined in a drum duel with a single drummer in the main stadium in Athens, joining
the original ancient Olympic games with the modern ones in symbolism. At the end
of the drum duet, a single flaming arrow was launched from the video screen
(symbolically from ancient Olympia) and into the reflecting pool, which resulted in
fire erupting in the middle of the stadium creating a burning image of the Olympic
rings rising from the pool.

The Opening Ceremony was a pageant of traditional Greek culture and history
hearkening back to its mythological beginnings. The program began as a young
Greek boy sailed into the stadium on a 'paper-ship' waving the host nation's flag to
haunting music by Hadjidakis and then a centaur appeared, followed by a gigantic
head of a cycladic figurine which eventually broke into many pieces symbolising the
Greek islands. Underneath the cycladic head was a Hellenistic representation of the
human body, reflecting the concept and belief in perfection reflected in Greek art. A
man was seen balancing on a hovering cube symbolising man's eternal 'split'
between passion and reason followed by a couple of young lovers playfully chasing
each other while the god Eros was hovering above them. There followed a very
colourful float parade chronicling Greek history from the ancient Minoan civilization
to modern times.

Following the artistic performances, a parade of nations entered the stadium with
over 10,500 athletes walking under the banners of 201 nations. The nations were
arranged according to Greek alphabet making Finland, the Philippines, and Hong
Kong among the last to enter the stadium. Based on audience reaction, the
emotional high point of the parade was the entrance of the delegation from
Afghanistan which had been absent from the Olympics and had female competitors
for the first time. The Iraqi delegation also stirred emotions. Also recognized was the
symbolic unified march of athletes from North Korea and South Korea under the
Korean Unification Flag. The country of Kiribati made a debut appearance at these
games and East Timor made a debut appearance under its own flag. After the
Parade of Nations, during which the Dutch DJ Tiësto provided the music, the
Icelandic singer Björk performed the song Oceania, written specially for the event by
her and the poet Sjón. On this occasion, in observance of the tradition that the
delegation of Greece opens the parade and the host nation closes it, the Greek flag
bearer opened the parade and all the Greek delegation closed the parade.

The Opening Ceremony culminated in the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron by 1996
Gold Medalist Windsurfer Nikolaos Kaklamanakis. The gigantic cauldron, which was
styled after the Athens 2004 Olympic Torch, pivoted down to be lit by the 35 year-
old, before slowly swinging up and lifting the flame high above the stadium.
Kaklamanakis would later win his silver medal in the men's mistral behind Israeli
windsurfer Gal Fridman. Following this, the stadium found itself at the centre of a
rousing fireworks spectacular.
CASE STUDY 1 – Volunteer organisers and event screening – University College
Cork (Page 73)

Review the case study and answer the following:

Questions:

5. How is this event organised and by whom and how are the choices made about
what kind of event it will be?

6. Can the process be said to involve any research or confirmation that the event is
appropriate?

7. Assume this even involves members of the public who has to pay to attend. If
you were the chair of a committee planning this event, what steps could you take
to ensure proposals would meet what the public wants to participate in.
BM0936 TUTORIAL 5
EVENTS AND FESTIVALS MANAGEMENT

Discussion Questions

1. Outline the planning process for events management with the use of a chart.

2. Imagine you are the organiser for SBM Open House 2009. Use the planning
process and suggest what the issues that will have to be considered.

3. State the importance of information gathering before developing an event. Describe

the stages of the information gathering and environmental searching process.

4. You are appointed by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China to organize a
public sporting event at Ngee Ann City to celebrate the Beijing Olympics. Your
clients have suggested having a mini torch relay from the Chinese Embassy (along
Tanglin Road) to pass through the British High Commission, Australian High
Commission and the US Embassy before circling down to Orchard Road. Describe
how you would use the information gathering and environmental searching process
to develop this possible event.

CASE STUDY 1 – Demand Planning: The opening night of the Millennium Dome
(Page 88).

Review the case study answer the following:

Questions:
Identify the key mistakes that NMEC made in its organisation of the opening nght of the
Dome:

5. What are the likely background reasons for these mistakes?

6. What management tools or systems used in event management would have

prevented the initial ticketing failure?

7. How did the shambles of the opening night impact on the public and media
image of the Dome as an attraction?
8. Was this the only reason for lower than expected visitors to the Dome, or did the
Dome have infrastructure and content problems as well?

9. What is the accounting convention known as “sunk costs” and what might its
relevance be to the Dome?
BM0936 TUTORIAL 6
EVENTS AND FESTIVALS MANAGEMENT II
The organisation manager and the team – during the event

1. Outline the main functions of an events organisational structure. With the Open
House (Tutorial 5 Question 2) as an example, indicate the functions that would be
organised using this structure.

2. Review the Organisational Chart for Singapore’s YOG in 2010 and discuss the
following questions.

a. What type of structure does this follow?

b. Is this an effective structure for now?

c. What are the biggest challenges facing the organisation of the YOG?

d. How can the organisation committee solve these problems?

3. List the activities that the event organiser should engage in on the day of the event
itself using the “managing by wandering around” approach

4. Highlight the key items to highlight during the pre-event briefing.

5. Visit http://multimedia.asiaone.com/Multimedia/Story/A1Multimedia20080330-
3026.html. Read the excerpt of the article below and answer the questions below:

ALL the intercoms blew just as the snow machine started midway through the Ashley Isham show at
the Singapore Fashion Festival (SFF) on March 29.
The music was playing, the snow was falling, but no models came on stage.
Realising something was amiss, Daniel Boey, who is the creative director for this year's festival, made
a split-second decision.
'By the time the snow had fluttered to the ground, I had switched on my mobile phone, given my cue
to the crew backstage and the first model had appeared,' he says.
He then cued the entire autumn/winter collection and the finale via the phone. The festival ended
yesterday.
a. What type of management style did Daniel Boey utilise?
 b. Is this a good example of an effective organisation?

CASE STUDY 1 – Volunteers at the Mainz Carnival (Page 192).

Review the case study and answer the following:

Questions:
1. What role do the various voluntary organisations play in making the carnival a
success?

2. What is the function of the carnival secretariat?

3. How does the existence of carnival clubs improve the standard of the carnival and
the range of activities being put on?

CASE STUDY 2 – Organisation at the Deventer Book Market (Page 208).

Review the video and case study and answer the following:

Questions:
1. How is the organisation of the Book Market undertaken? What management style is
adopted?

2. In what way do the festivals in Deventer satisfy the strategic objectives of the VVV?

3. What reasons, including the weather, might there be variations in visitor numbers
and average spend at an event?

4. How might the media react to changes in published visitor numbers when headlining
their stories, and would the view taken by the media make the strategic objectives
difficult to fulfil?
BM0936 TUTORIAL 7
EVENTS AND FESTIVALS MANAGEMENT
Venue selection and logistics

1. Discuss the importance on finding the right venue of the event.

2. Look at the venue finding checklist. Describe the key factors that need to be
reviewed before selecting a venue.

3. Locate web resources on the “Fendi Fashion Show at Beijing” – Great Wall of China.
a. Discuss the reasons why this venue was chosen although it did not meet
some of the checklist requirements?
b. How can the challenges to the venue be overcome?
c. Propose a 4 stage “Fendi Fashion Production Schedule” (refer to Figure 8.9,
page 135 as a guide)

4. List the events management process – covering the organisational and logistical
activities

5. Review the 2 videos on the Singapore Airshow 2008 and answer the following:

a. Outline the planning stage for such a mega international airshow

b. The Singapore Airshow 2008 was the inaugural event. Discuss if this has any
implications on the logistics management process.

c. Discuss how the organisers can address such issues.

CASE STUDY 1– The ambience of events: Glastonbury Festival (Page 139)

Read the Case below and answer the questions below:

1. In what way does the setting of Glastonbury have an impact on the atmosphere and
style of the festival?

2. Identify the major features of the surroundings and of the communal lifestyle that
predominates at Glastonbury. Is the atmosphere due solely to the type of music or
are a range of other factors in place?
3. Can these factors be successfully transferred to other festivals?

4. Which features make the Glastonbury Festival unusual in organizational terms?

5. Having spawned a host of imitators, how should Glastonbury be competing with

them?
BM0936 TUTORIAL 8
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND THE BUDGET

Discussion Questions

1. Illustrate the cash flow pattern for events managers

2. Discuss the relationship between objectives and financial planning. Give an

example.

3. List the common budgeting mistakes for events.

4. Review the Fendi event in the previous tutorial (tutorial 7 question 3). Use the
Preliminary Budget form and identify the critical budget components that need to be
accounted for (Page 102, Figure 7.2).

5. Read the article below and answer the questions below

 THE World of Music, Arts & Dance (Womad) festival is taking a two-year break,
due in part to financial issues. Organisers say it will return in 2010 at a new
venue.

In a phone interview from New Zealand, Womad Singapore regional operations

director (Asia) Sarah Martin tells Life!: 'To be sustainable, we need to find the
right combination of private and public funding for the festival. While the number
of concert promoters have increased over the years, it is also hard to find new
sponsors. 'We want to look into the funding before we organise another event.'

Womad, which celebrated its 10th anniversary last year, costs between $1.25
and $1.3 million to stage annually. On average, the festival at Fort Canning Park
sees more than 10 sponsors each year, which have included Heineken and
Singapore Airlines. Says Martin: 'We hope the festival will get more government
funding as Womad is a well-known brand.'

About 50 per cent of the festival's costs are covered by commercial sponsorship
while government subsidy ranges between 10 and 15 per cent. Ticket sales
cover the remaining 40 per cent.

Last year, the two percentage point Goods and Services Tax (GST) increase to 7
per cent had an impact on the cost of staging the festival, says Martin. Concert-
goers groused about the spike in last year's ticket prices. Passes cost $58 per
day, $88 for two days, and $133 for all three days. In 2006, a one-day pass cost
$35, a two-day pass cost $57 and a three-day pass was $84. Martin says the
price increase is a 'reflection of current ticket prices'.

From the 8,000 people who caught the first Womad in 1998 to the record 20,000-
strong audience in 2006, attendance fell to 18,000 last year.

The dip in attendance was due to bad weather, says Martin.

[email protected]
March 17, 2008

a. Discuss if WOMAD organiser’s justification for the fee hikes was accepted by
the public

b. Do you think that the organisers made the right decision in raising the fees?

6. Read the article below and answer the questions below

HOW CHARGING A FEE CAN ‘HELP’ THE MARKETING

Quality. Don’t be scared. Charging an admission to your experience can be a good

thing. By hitting consumers up for a few duckets, marketers can pull targets who
want to interact with the brand. Witness Vans Skate Parks, currently testing a new
pricing structure that offers half- and full-day passes to “members.” The 50,000-sq.-
ft. inline outlets offer a hipper, cleaner, more secure indoor skating environment than
the typical park. Kids and parents recognize the value and don’t mind paying.
 Quantity. Think of it as a crowd controller. An admission can help control throughput,
wedding out the non-core end-users you don’t want to connect with anyway. How
crowded would the Universal CityWalk in Orlando be if they didn’t charge that $8
parking fee? Heineken just wrapped a five-market three-on-three Triple Team
Challenge that charged an entry fee of $100 per team. Had the tournament been
free to enter, the program would have been mobbed by non-hoops wannabes,
compromising the original objectives of connecting with die-hard basketball fans.

Revenue. Incorporating some kind of tariff also helps with the bottom line. Events
are getting more expensive, and the fee component can alleviate some of the
pressure from those folks over in Purchasing. “This is the next generation of
experiential marketing. Charging makes it an economic experience,” says Jim
Gilmore, co-author of The Experience Economy: Work is Theatre & Every Business
a Stage. Gilmore argues that starting with an admission strategy helps create a
better program in the end, as marketers are incentivized to serve consumers an
event worth buying into. “Work this in as a design principle. Start with the
assumption that you will charge and build the experience from there,” he says.

a. Discuss the advantages/disadvantages for NOT charging a fee for an event.

b. State the reason why charging a fee may be good for the event.

c. Suppose you are the organiser for the National Day Parade. Do you think
charging a fee will negatively affect the event attendance?

CASE STUDY 1 – Sponsorship and the Tour de France (Page 114).

Review the case study and answer the following:

Questions:
4. How do cycling and the Tour de France compare, as sponsorship opportunities, with
other sports such as the English Premier League?

5. How has the heritage of the race, including some of the negative aspects, affected
the outlook for event, team and personal sponsorship?

6. What implications are there for ensuring that each of the several sponsoring
companies gets an optimum return?
BM0936 TUTORIAL 9
EVENTS AND FESTIVALS PROMOTION
Marketing and Public Relations

Discussion Questions

1. List some key questions to ask about the target market

2. List the two key steps to influencing your market. Discuss how these determine your
marketing efforts.

3. Describe the elements of a marketing plan.

4. You are the marketing agent for the Fendi event in the previous tutorial (tutorial 7
question 3). Use the events marketing plan framework to design a suitable
marketing plan for the event.

CASE STUDY 1 – Recording of visitor information – Geneva Motor Show (Page

161).

Review the case study and answer the following:

Questions:
5. How can the information be used for marketing purposes?

6. What kind of details would it be especially useful to know about the visitors at the
event for the coming year??
BM0936 TUTORIAL 10
EVENTS AND FESTIVALS IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION
Operations

Discussion Questions

1. List the key stages for Event Management activities.

2. List some project planning techniques that can be used to manage an event.

3. Describe the elements of a Event Management Gantt Chart. Use the following
information and sample template to devise one.

Task F St S M T W Th F St S M T W Th F St S

a. Clear site – 4 and a half days starting on the first Friday Night
b. Generators setup – Requires a half day after site is prepared
c. Lighting setup – To be setup 2 days after generators are setup till end of
event
d. Tents setup – To be setup a day after lights arrive. To be completed before
opening night
e. Stage setup – To be setup 2 days after tents are first setup. Requires 3 and a
half days.
f. Site security – To be setup 2 days after tents arrive and last till end of event
g. Sound system – To be setup prior to opening night – requiring half day setup
time.

4. Review the video for Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. Develop a risk assessment form
for 3 types of hazards (see below for example) for the event. Which is the highest
risk rating? How will you cater for these?

Hazard People at risk Worst case Likelihood Rating

5. List some of the permits that need to be obtained in organising a street parade in
Orchard Road

6. Discuss on the security aspects associated with a high profile event – for example
the opening ceremony of the 2010 Youth Olympic Games

CASE STUDY 1 – Crowd Safety – the Moshpit at Roskilde (Page 173).

Review the case study, the video and answer the following:

Questions:
7. Is the media reaction to disasters normally measured and reasonable or is it
intended to be hysterical and critical?

8. Why should this be the case and what effects does the lack of a knowledgeable
commentary have on efforts to identify the genuine reasons for accidents?

9. Does this impact on the ability of those involved and those in authority to react to
accidents in a way which will make future events more safe not less?

10. What steps can be taken to ensure crowd safety at events?