Glastonbury Festival Impact Assessment

GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT
By 
Impacts of Events & Festivals
5BUS1174
Module Leader: 
Table of Contents Introduction.. 3 Glastonbury Festival’s Overview.. 3 Impact Analysis. 4 Political Effects. 4 Economic Effects. 5 Social & Cultural Effects. 6 Environmental Impacts. 7 Identification of Methods and Strategies. 8 Recommendations. 10 Conclusion. 11 References. 12 Reflection.. 15
“Glastonbury Festival Impact Assessment”
Introduction
Social and cultural events and festivals promote a healthy living environment (Gelber and Mitchell n.d). As per Holmes and Mair (2018), the focus on sustainable plans embraces diversity and togetherness that can be achieved with festivals and social gatherings. Different social and cultural events are held across the globe to enhance world peace and unity. Henceforth, cultural and social expressions are effectively exhibited through the festivals. The festival celebrations also promote social cohesion and understanding in society: these festivals impact individuals and the community differently (Sava and Badulescu 2018). Every event has various social, economic, political, and ecological impacts. Event planners and organisers are tasked with ensuring the objectives of the events are met. Different strategies and techniques are put in place to facilitate efficient coordination and operations of the event, thus guaranteeing its success. Since the events are communal, the impact is likely on society to develop social impacts on individuals (Duffy, Mair, and Waitt 2018). In assessing the effects of a community event, the paper focuses on the Glastonbury Festival. The report evaluates the Glastonbury Festival event by focusing on the overview of the festival, its impacts, strategies used for planning, and recommendations for effective event planning.
Glastonbury Festival’s Overview
Glastonbury Festival is a music and performing arts global event in the UK. The event has been held since 1970 at Worthy Farm near Glastonbury. Michael Eavis and his daughter Emily are the masterminds who pioneered the festival and are still in charge of the event through the Glastonbury Festivals Ltd Company (Glastonbury Festival 2022). Glastonbury started as a small festival; the event has grown tremendously through increased attendance, becoming the UK’s largest music festival. The event is conducted annually on the last weekend of June in Pilton village, Somerset. Glastonbury Tor provides a clear view of the festival site. The festival has developed to appeal to individuals from various lifestyles through its objective of creating inclusivity and a sense of communal integration. The festival’s primary theme is music (Glastonbury Festival 2022). However, it offers a variety of entertainment aspects, including performing arts, comedy, and theatre. The event lasts three to four days and nights, providing exclusive entertainment for the attendees through various activities. The festival aims to stimulate and enhance youth culture globally, including circus, dances, creative art, music genre,s design, and theatre (Victoria and Albert Team 2019). The festival also gives a platform for showcasing environmentally-friendly innovations and a debate forum for moral and social aspects (Görmar and Harfst 2019). Thousands of individuals usually attend the event to enjoy the social interactions and the many essential activities displayed during the festival.
Impact Analysis
The Glastonbury Festival has numerous implications for individuals and local communities during and after the event. The festival has fiscal, political, social, environmental, and cultural effects. The effects of the festival on the host communities are discussed below.
Political Effects
The term “festival-induced travel” is often used to refer to ways that facilitate meeting people from different religious backgrounds, ethnicities, and cultures. As a result, students get to learn about other cultures and embrace their uniqueness. However, such gatherings typically reveal significant disparities in lifestyle and political ideas between residents and visitors (Churches 2021). According to Minamore (2017), Glastonbury Festival is among the most political event. It was observed during the time of Brexit, as Left Field in 2016 was occupied for the discussion of the European Union, but it suddenly shifted into tirage station. Also, occupying the left-wing for music, talks, and panels fulfill political interests. On the other side, the festival banned the sale of Native headdresses from America. Besides, it is magnified in Anderton (2018) that the resulting animosity and hatred between the locals and visitors can sometimes lead to clashes and other violent outbursts at specific events. Since some political aspects, including laws and regulations, usually differ between countries, visitors may be forced to comply with the host nation’s laws, as it declines cohesion efforts as Glastonbury Festival has socio-political associations. Some rules may be complex and inappropriate for some visitors to comply with, thus causing inconveniences for local authorities.
Economic Effects
To the host town, the most vital benefit of the festival is that they generate a significant amount of revenue. As a result, the host cities have an additional financial commitment to maintaining such events to ensure they continue. They also have different tourist aspects to encourage people to keep attending these events (Churches, 2021). As per UK Music (2020), Glastonbury Festival contributed over £100 million to UK’s economy every time and created employment opportunities for around 85,000 people. On the other side, the cost incurred in organising the event is massive, which inclines the expenses of the parties involved. However, the profits generated with tickets and other activities create balance and benfits the UK’s economy.
Considering the economic effect theory, music festivals are substantial in creating value for a region like Glastonbury Festival for the UK region by creating employment, increased labour supply, an expanded standard of living, and growing awareness about the region. Moreover, the festival has led to employment for the residents. Over 100 people are employed permanently to manage and facilitate the event. The creation of jobs is a significant boost to the economic growth and the growth of the country’s GDP. The local companies also benefit from the festival since they are given a platform to sell their products and services to the attendees of the festival event (Tolle 2014). On both on-site and off-site, it is revealed that the festival attendees, individually, made more spending in the local jurisdiction, thus supporting trade.
Social & Cultural Effects
The festival has a significant impact on fostering social cohesion and integration while promoting cultural aspects. The festival blends people of different diversities and backgrounds, thus creating social inclusivity. Also, different ethnic groups worldwide attend the festival based on their social interests. The people interact amicably during the festival, thus promoting national peace and harmony. Social integration and cohesion are vital for peace in society (Sava and Badulescu 2018). Besides, music festivals like Glastonbury Festival encourage youth culture by embracing various entertainment forms that benefit. Different talents are recognised at the festival for their participation, fostering personal development at various levels and professions. The area becomes recognised globally through publicity, thus attractive human settlement and development. Individuals with different talents showcase their abilities and innovations, ultimately facilitating togetherness and peace. The festival’s income generated facilitates operations of various social facilities and groups, including the playing fields pavilion, the Pilton parish church’s development, sustainable housing units, and other social facilities (Churches 2021). The festival also boosts tourism activities, thus helping the locals embrace their culture and social form (Dyer 2018). The locals also have an opportunity to upgrade their lifestyles and adopt new social structures.
However, the festival has led to negative impacts on the host communities. For instance, people tend to abandon their traditional lifestyles and embrace other cultural aspects brought by foreigners, as seen in the discrimination against black and Asian audiences highlighted by Sir Lenny Henry. He spotted that little diversity in the Glastonbury festival crowds (Wright 2022). It risks the extinction of some cultural lifestyles and products that locals hold. Some become more dependent on festival-related income for growth. The event also causes congestion and overcrowding, which may spike crime-related activities (Dyer, 2018, p.13). Disruption of daily activities for the residents is also a factor to consider.
Environmental Impacts
It is difficult to say whether or not this aspect reveals the negative or good consequences. Even though the event is known for destroying or disrupting surroundings and the environment, it may also be a powerful force for preserving pristine ecosystems. Considering the UK’s biggest music festival, Glastonbury festival contributes massively to the ecological footprints of -1,278.018 tonnes of CO2 that affected the climate condition within the region. Also, noise pollution is an adverse effect of the festival. The noise emanating from the festival may be heard many kilometers away, thus interfering with daily activities in the area. There may be a possible increase in carbon emissions in the atmosphere through traffic congestion (Jackman 2022). The emissions cause environmental disruptions, including climate change, soil pollution, deposition of drugs and waste into river Whitelake, and related effects (Aberg et al. 2022). Jackman (2022) also proposed that the Glastonbury festival attracted the attendees 200,000 from around the world and produced the rubbish of 2000 tonnes, which is another adverse impact on the environment, for which the management is effectively working to be efficient with operations and limiting the carbon footprints.
Identification of Methods and Strategie...