Impacts of a health crisis on music festivals: a qualitative approach

Abstract

PurposeThis research explores the consequences of a health crisis provoked by a pandemic scenario on music festival impacts considered by the stakeholders involved. The purpose of this paper is to identify the perceptions from the stakeholders' point of view (host community, public and private sector) and to identify the impacts generated before and after a health crisis regarding the celebration of a festival.Design/methodology/approachThe study offers a holistic insight into impact research by music festivals. The methodology implemented is based on qualitative techniques. By conducting 20 in-depth interviews with essential stakeholders, it is possible to determine their perceptions of the impact of the event and the effects of a health crisis.FindingsThe results allow detecting a gap between internal and external stakeholders due to poor communication and planning of the event. The results show that a health crisis provokes negative impacts on the economic benefits of events' organisation. However, the cultural city's identity suffers an important damage that it is difficult to overcome. The community and visitors are the stakeholders that suffer a detrimental impact on their experience when attending the festival, considering the security measures. Moreover, results allow us to identify practical implications for event management and planning in a health crisis scenario.Originality/valueThe most important contribution of this research is the theoretical model proposed to analyse stakeholders' perception of the event celebration in a context of a health crisis. The model also considers different moments of the social exchange. The theoretical approaches considered theory of social exchange (SET) and Visitor, Industry, Community and Environment (VICE) models allow analysing the stakeholder's perception of a case study of a music festival (Viña Rock Festival, Spain). The emerging and central role of the cooperation between stakeholders constitutes another notable contribution to the literature.

Festival hiatus, resilience and innovation during COVID-19: learnings from the Edinburgh festivals

“…athletes or artists) (Ludvigsen and Hayton, 2022). Orea-Giner et al (2022) note that there is a need to research the impacts of rescheduling or cancelling of festivals due to COVID-19.…”

Fenntartható(bb) fesztiválok a pandémia idején – a balatoni fesztiválszervezők kihívásai és tapasztalatai

“…Az elmúlt időszak során számos változást érzékelt a fesztiválszervezői szakma: megerősödött a rendezvények helyi jellege, (Gold -Gold 2021, Rentschler -Lee 2021, valamint a stakeholderek között hangsúlyosabbá vált az együttműködés (Orea-Giner et al 2022).…”

What counts, safety and security or hygiene? Suggestions on the reopening of major events under pandemic conditions in Germany

“…Only few address the connection between safety and hygiene concepts (e.g. Chan et al , 2021; Drury et al , 2021; Orea-Giner et al , 2022). However, none of them addresses interplays of safety and hygiene concepts.…”