Impact of Music Festivals on Environmental Sustainability

The Environmental Impact of Music Festivals on the Host Region: Challenges and Opportunities for Environmental Sustainability
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Word Count: 2521 words
Abstract
The growing phenomenon of music tourism necessitates a critical evaluation of the environmental impact of music festivals on host regions. Focusing on the planet (environment) dimension of the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) accounting framework, this study conducted a scoping literature review of the challenges and opportunities for environmental sustainability presented by music festivals in host regions. The review revealed that the event industry has several adverse environmental impacts on the host environment regarding waste generation, greenhouse emissions, water pollution, depletion of non-renewable resources, and biodiversity loss. However, the study also demonstrated the potential of music festivals in promoting social transformation towards sustainable attitudes and behaviors. Music festivals are influential modes of communication, association, and engagement and can nurture environmentally conscious individuals and communities. However, for music events to change attendee attitudes and behaviors, they must first espouse the values they promote through sustainable event management.
Table of Contents
Abstract………………………………………………………………………………….………2
Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………...4
Body……………………………………………………………………………………………..5
Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………....……8
Recommendations………………………………………………………….……………....……8
References……………………………………………………………………………....……….10
The Environmental Impact of Music Festivals on the Host Region: Challenges and Opportunities for Environmental Sustainability
Introduction
Music festivals offer thousands of people the opportunity to assert their identity in public and satisfy the inherent desire to belong while sampling different cultures, foods, and musical genres. In recent years, music festivals have attracted more and more tourists, both local and international. They are now recognized for what they are: music tourism – visiting other regions and cities with the express purpose of attending a music concert. Music tourism is booming, with glitzy cities to lesser-known towns hosting music festivals that attract 200,000 attendees. While numerous studies on the sustainability of music events in the host region have tended to focus on the economic and social aspects, there is a dearth of literature on the challenges and opportunities for music events to contribute in a meaningful way to environmental sustainability.
This study will use two key terms when investigating the environmental sustainability challenge and opportunities of music festivals concerning the host region: environmental sustainability and sustainable event management. Environment sustainability refers to protecting global ecosystems and natural resources to support the health and wellbeing of future generations. Sustainable event management is related to the concept of green events. It refers to transitioning an activity into a more environmentally sustainable version that leaves a positive legacy for the host community. Overall, the study will aim to answer the research question: To what extent do music festivals impact the environmental sustainability of host regions?
Body
The most visible impact of music festivals on the environment is the massive amount of waste generated: any event is sure to result in overflowing trash bins and ground scores resulting from a wanton disregard by attendees about where to toss their rubbish. More than 80% of trash from summer music events is generated and left on the grounds, including leftover food and alcohol, sleeping bags, clothes, camp chairs, sleeping bags, tents, rubber boots, gazebos, roll mats, and other paraphernalia, resulting in tons of plastic and metal that have to be sent to the landfill (Collins & Cooper, 2016). Major open-air music festivals like the Coachella (which attracts more than 250,000 people over two weekends) produce about 106 tons of solid waste every day. An estimated 23,500 tons of waste is generated by music festivals in the United Kingdom. The Glastonbury Music Festival (a five-day event) alone produces 54 tons of plastic, 400 tons of chipped wood, 193 tons of compostable organic material such as food and paper cups, 11.2 tons of tents, and 9.12 tons of glass (Bendrups & Weston, 2015). While most festivals hire litter pickers to clean up the grounds after the events, the extensive use of disposable plastics has made waste management operations challenging. The discarded wristbands, plastic cutlery, toiletries, fancy dress clothing, glitter ponchos, tents, and other waste made from polymers can persist in the environment for centuries.
For instance, the Woodstock Music and Art Fair, where 400,000 music lovers gathered in 1969 for a weekend of music and festivities, left an environmental scar that is still visible 50 years later. The trash cans and toilet facilities were woefully inadequate, and after three days of heavy rain and mud, many just walked off and left their clothing, sleeping bags, and other items on the grounds (Paton & McCullen, 2014). Beneath the topsoil of the festival grounds now lies a sea of waste that cannot be disposed of properly. Even recycling efforts by event management are not enough to control the environmental impact of these music festivals given the difficulty of classifying rubbish: attendees dispose of all kinds of rubbish into the few bins provided at these events, from organics to cardboard to personal effects dense plastics. Given the number of music festivals happening globally at any time, the global environmental implications are quite overwhelming (Kačerauskas et al., 2021). It is challenging to practice environmental sustainability in these music events because of attendees’ rampant environmentally irresponsible behaviors: waste management is rarely a target behavior when people enjoy themselves on the campgrounds.
Another environmental impact of music festivals is the carbon footprint resulting from transport movements to and from the event. Most attendees use personal car and truck transport to reach and leave the venue resulting in 80% of total event greenhouse emissions (the number of attendees arriving or leaving a festival can reach 200,000 people in a single day). Music festivals in the UK (the carbon footprint of attendees in the UK is comparable to Australia) are attended by more than 3.9 million people and result in 540,000 tons of greenhouse gases every year, mostly from fuel-guzzling vehicle emissions (Ruddy, 2021). In vast countries like Australia, traveling by car is necessary, and the global implications of greenhouse gas emissions generated by festivals are more significant than in the UK. Music festivals generate 43% of the entire music industry’s greenhouse gas emissions. However, most of the reported statistics fail to consider the emissions produced by non-attendee staff, including artists, management, contractors, vendors, and the transportation of massive gear and stages to the festival grounds. In 2015, the Shambala Festival in British Columbia measured and examined the greenhouse gas emissions from non-attendee staff and found approximately double those of the 17,000 people who attended the music festival (Paton & McCullen, 2014).
Moreover, 20% of total event emissions are generated by the diesel-powered generators that provide round-the-clock electricity for stage lights, sound systems, RV power, floodlights, camp lights, vendor power, refrigeration systems, vendor power, and etcetera. Since most music festivals occur in remote areas, they must rely on importing power instead of sourcing from pre-established energy grids. Most music festivals are off-the-grid events that are wholly powered by the continuous burning of diesel fuels. On average, the diesel generators used in the events operate at half throughput or less for days on end. As a result, a significant amount of fuel is wasted by inefficient combustion efficiency and excessive idling (Yan et al., 2021). While it is difficult to estimate the amount of greenhouse gas emissions from a single music festival given the variance in power consumption by different setups and equipment used, global music festivals like the Electric Daisy Carnival, Sziget, Donauinselfest, Mawazine, Coachella, Glastonbury, Lollapalooza, Summerfest, and others generate several metric tons of CO2 every year (Pérez & Bernal, 2017). Music festivals are gas-guzzling events that add to the growing burden of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and result in significant air and noise pollution.
Another environmental impact of musical festivals relates to water consumption. Most open-air music festivals face the challenge of controlling possible water wastage. Sanitary facilities such as hand-wash stations and showers result in much wastewater that is never collected or recycled. Most of the showerheads and toilet facilities used in the events are not water efficient, and much water is wasted. Often, the gray and black water generated from the events is irresponsibly disposed into nearby water sources. In other instances,...