The economic and social impact of

festivals: a case study from the East

Midlands, England and its implications
for festivals and regional development
in Europe
Christopher Maughan and Dr Franco Bianchini
Faculty of Humanities
De Montfort University
Leicester
Aims of presentation
To use case study from East Midlands, England to:
Discuss methodological issues concerning the
calculation of the economic and social impact of
festivals
Raise questions about the contribution of festivals
to regional development in Europe, and how to
maximise this
Identify questions for future studies on festivals
and regional development in other European
countries

The 11 festivals included in the research

February Leicester Comedy Festival

June Art on the Map (Lincolnshire Open Studios)
Newark on Water Festival
Tideswell Well Dressing

July Buxton Fringe Festival
Buxton Festival
Leicester Belgrave Mela
Derby Caribbean Carnival

September Northamptonshire Open Studios and Exhibition
Wirksworth Festival (and art and architecture trails)

October Now Festival, Nottingham


Income and expenditure data for
selected festivals
AotM BF LCF Newark NOSE Tideswell
Income 16.8 549 58 156 12 0.6
Expenditure 16.7 548 49 162 14 0.3
(figures are in
000s)
The Research Methodology

review of literature on economic and social impact of the arts
design of audience questionnaires
4,704 questionnaires completed by audience members
an estimated 250,000 people attended the 11 festivals
additional questionnaires to:
local authorities
tourism authorities
relevant regional bodies
arts organisations
festival organisations
local businesses and sponsors
Chambers of Commerce
analysis of the festivals websites and relevant policy documents



Calculating Economic Impact (1)

Two principal sources of financial information:
expenditure by the festival organisation
expenditure by the festival audience ancillary

This raw data can be used to calculate three types of impact:
direct (expenditures by the festival and audiences in the area)
indirect (expenditures by the suppliers of goods and services to the
festival and to ancillary businesses)
induced (expenditure by the employees of those companies that
supply the festival and the ancillary businesses)

To show:
incomes generated by expenditure in the local economy
jobs created/supported in the local economy
Calculating Economic Impact (2)
rationale for the choice of the multipliers,
or why Atlanta is different from Tideswell
(or Tralee)
the vexed issue of how to define a local
economy and why this matters
the importance of the tourist pound (or
euro)
the infrastructural costs of festivals
local business and festivals
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Buxton International Arts Festival
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Some key findings in Festivals and the Creative Region (1)
Festivals generate wealth and employment
7 million spent by audiences through local businesses.
A further 4 million may have been generated for the
region - equivalent to 209 FTE jobs
93% of local businesses saw festivals as good for
communities and 84% saw them as contributing to
tourism but .....
45% thought festivals were not sources of new business
for them 33% did
20% thought that festivals were actually disruptive

Some key findings in Festivals and the Creative Region (2)
On social and cultural impact: enhancing local image
and identity
more than 64% of audience members felt more positive
about the place where the festival was held
90% rated the content of the festials as good to excellent
return visits - almost 70% of the audience would be
more likely to attend other events in the future
55% of people who attended, had been to the festival
before
increasing interest in arts activities - more than 44%
said they had become more interested in the arts as a
result of attending a festival

Some key findings in Festivals and the Creative Region (3)
Varied audience profile
almost 90% of people attending were in a group or couple
65% of attendees were over 45 years old
young people under 25 represented the greatest potential for
growth. They make up 30.9% of the region's population but for these
festivals only make up 13.5% of audiences

Local commitment
audience members generally travelled less than 50 miles return.
50% travelled less than 5 miles and 16.2% less than a mile.
More than 17% of audience members came on foot. The majority of
those who attended travelled by car (71.9%.)
44% of people found out about the event by word of mouth and 17%
from the local newspaper
an estimated 33,000 hours of help by volunteers (equivalent to 375
days work or 15,000 for each of the festivals) demonstrates that
many festivals are rooted in the social and cultural life of the host
community

Issues around disability, ethnicity and age

provision for people with disabilities
under-representation of Black and Asian
people in the festivals sector
attracting more under-25s

Stakeholder views: some key points (1)
need for increased funding
improving communication, co-ordination, the
calendar
weak links with non-cultural policy agendas
profit v corporate social responsibility
local v county v regional
need for integrated action by local authorities in
their partnerships with the Arts Council

Stakeholder views: some key points (2)
developing project management/evaluation skills
understaffing and dependency on volunteers
festivals are not always party to the existing
dialogue between tourism and business
weaknesses in tourism infrastructure transport,
accommodation and catering
the weather is not always an asset

Some practical recommendations
publicity in workplaces
group discounts
improving festival websites
potential role of local newspapers
signage planning issues and cost
local festival fora and e-newsletters
making festivals part of local cultural clusters
developing high profile niche events

Festivals and the crisis of public
social life
Some trends:

privatisation of public space
standardisation and excessive theming
museumisation
fear of "the other
the emergence of "gated communities
information and communication overload
the erosion of free time
a crisis of creativity?




The potential of festivals
A festival at its best can be:

not only
an effective way of nurturing skills and social capital
a vehicle for attracting visitors, and for enhancing the image of a
place for both local citizens and the outside world.

but also
a catalyst for reflection and for imagining alternative futures for both
individuals and communities
a source of creativity and innovation
a way of developing audiences for different forms of cultural activity
a process for generating different perspectives on place identity and
uses of space


Some concluding thoughts
are festivals "festive"?

the virtues of disruption and ambiguity

the danger of "instrumentalisation

the importance of core audiences and core
identities

widening mental and spatial horizons

creating new intercultural festivals