Glastonbury Festival: Overview, Impacts, Strategies, and Recommendations

GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT
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GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT
Introduction
Social and cultural events and festivals are vital in promoting a healthy living environment. Through the social interactions in festivals, we obtain a self-sufficient society where diversity and togetherness are embraced. Different social and cultural events are held across the globe to enhance world peace and unity. Cultural and social expressions are effectively exhibited through the festivals. The festival celebrations also promote social cohesion and understanding in society. These festivals impact both individuals and the community in different ways. Every event has various social, economic, political, and ecological impacts. Event planners and organizers 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 to be felt on society rather than on individuals, although some benefit from such occasions. In assessing the effects of a community event, I focus on the Glastonbury Festival. The report gives a detailed assessment of the Glastonbury Festival event by providing an overview of the festival, its impacts, strategies used for planning, and recommendations for effective event planning.
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). Being started as a small festival, the event has made tremendous growth through increased attendance, becoming the UK’s largest music festival. The event is conducted annually on the last weekend of the month 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 variant 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 for three to four days and nights, providing exclusive entertainment for the attendees through various activities. The festival's objective is to stimulate and enhance youth culture globally in all forms, including circus, dances, creative art, variant music genre, 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. 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 brings numerous implications for both individuals and the 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.
* 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 to occur. They also have extra tourist aspects to encourage people to keep attending these events (Churches, 2021). Typically, corporations are permitted to infringe on host towns to provide services to foreign event attendees. In this context, the critical negative consequence or impact is that the international companies frequently direct an abnormally massive amount of their profits to their countries at the expense of the Pilton villagers and the host country. As a result, the host country fails to reap the rewards in the way it should.
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. Both on-site and off-site, it is revealed that the festival attendees, on an individual basis, made more spending in the local jurisdiction, thus supporting trade. Charity organizations also greatly benefit from the festival since millions of dollars are raised yearly to help fund the charities.
* 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. Different ethnic groups attend the festival. The people interact amicably during the festival, thus promoting national peace and harmony. Social integration and cohesion are vital for peace to exist in society. The festival encourages the youth culture by embracing various entertainment forms, which are beneficial to individuals and society (Churches, 2021). Different talents are recognized and developed through competition at the festival, fostering personal development at various levels and professions. The area becomes recognized globally through publicity, thus attractive human settlement and development in the area. Individuals with different talents showcase their abilities and innovations, which in the long run facilitate 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, p.13). 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. This risks 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.
* 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). 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 l...