A Delicate Activity: Event Management for Large Scale Events - Essay Sample

Introduction

Event management is one of the primary and delicate activities that require high observance of the external environment changes to attain the desired goals (Shone & Parry, 2004). Event management is the process of applying the project management concepts in the organization, creation, and the development of large scale events such as conferences, parties, concerts, festivals, and conventions. Event management is a delicate activity which is made by multiple activities such as event promotion, event invitation system handling, scheduling, budgeting, and ensuring the availability of accompanying services such as catering, security, liaison, and adherence to strict timelines (Shone & Parry, 2004). Internal environment refers to the immediate organization of the event stakeholders and handling aspects such as goal creation and having a clear mission for all the stakeholders involved in the event management. The external environment, on the other hand, is the political, legal, technological, environmental, social, and political aspects that influence the success of an event. A prudent event manager should be able to anticipate, recognize, and deal with any external and internal environmental elements that can affect the success of the event. This paper will conduct an external environmental analysis of managing the Grass Festival in New South Wales and the identification of key contextual factors and recommendations to improve the overall outcomes.

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Grass Festival Overview

The Grass Festival is an annual Australian festival which is held in Byron Parklands in Yelgun, New South Wales. The festival is one of the premier music festivals which brings together leading rock, indie, and other genre artists. The festival offers the participants a lineup of inspiring music and also dance. The featured artists are the best in their categories, and the festival offers food and craft markets. The Grass Festival was founded in 2001 as a one-day event targeting Australia's winter season, which traditionally features very few events. In 2002, Grass Festival became a two-day event, and in 2009, a three-day event and today, it is one of the most recognizable events in Australia. The festival features famous artists and also allows emerging Australian artists. External environment factors play an instrumental role in the event's success in the event, and the management must establish and manage external factors that could negatively affect the event's success. This paper will seek to develop the external factors that influence the Grass Festival's success in Australia and provide key viable recommendations that can be used to improve the festival's financial outcomes, attendance, and safety (Splendor in the Grass. n.d).

Burke (2019) Article Contextual Factors

The article by Burke (2019) identifies the critical contextual factors that faced the last Grass Festival based on the government policies response and the external challenges that were facing the event at the time. One of the core contextual factors, which is evident in the article, is the administration's impact on the event and the impact of drug abuse culture in the sustainability of the Grass Festival. The articles show that the infiltration of drug cartels in the festival and the high drug use culture by the majority of the New South Wales young people has led to the growth of suspicion and top police planned presence in the event which has the potential of resulting in a negative response to the event by the key stakeholders. High police presence in the Grass Festival is projected to be a significant challenge to the overall event success. Another important contextual factor that is affecting the organization and planning of the Grass Festival is the event marketing practices due to the establishment and use of technology in ticketing activities using new startup technological solutions such as Event rite ticket sales and marketing disrupting technology (Boshnakova & Goldblatt, 2017).

Opportunities and Threats of the Key Contextual Factors Facing the Grass Festival

Successful event management requires careful analysis and identification of the nature of the contextual factor faced by an event. Managing the positive and the negative impacts of the contextual factors on the events significantly determines the overall event success. Event managers should take advantage of the opportunities while at the same time managing the threats posed by the events. In this case, new disrupting technologies such as e-ticketing and social media marketing should be perceived as opportunities that can be used further to enhance the overall outcomes of the Grass Festival. The growth of the number of people using technological devices and the internet makes the e-ticketing technology offered by startups such as Eventbrite a reliable opportunity that can be used to improve the overall Grass Festival outcomes (Boshnakova & Goldblatt, 2017). The majority of the Grass Festival attendants are young people, which makes it ideal to market the event in social media and, at the same time facilitate e-ticketing which will be instrumental in reducing the overall cost of managing the event while at the same time increasing the total coverage and marketing efforts. Drug abuse during the event and the presence of the law enforcement officers in the venue is both a threat and an opportunity depending on how effectively the situation will be managed. The presence of the police can cause unnecessary fear and tension during the event due to the history of police violence, which can push many prospective event-goers to avoid the event. The use of drugs by a small percentage of the event participants is also a threat to the event reputation, which can influence the future sustainability of the event. The revelers need to enjoy their precious time during the event within the limits of the law. On the other hand, the presence of the police can be an opportunity if it can be translated as a measure of improving security for the revelers. Therefore, the success of the Grass Festival is dependent on the ability to anticipate and manage the threats and opportunities posed by the external contextual factors.

Recommendations to Promote Grass Festival Competitiveness

Taking Advantage of Technology

Grass Festival can take advantage of the current technology disruptions such as e-ticketing and social media advertisements. The development of technology has led to the development of opportunities that are being pioneered by startup companies such as Event rite. With most of the population in Australia having access to the internet and smart phones, social media advertisement of the event, and the creation of an e-ticketing option for the Grass Festival attendants to acquire their attendance tickets. Taking advantage of the emerging disruptive technology will create greater convenience for the Grass Festival revelers while at the same time, reducing the overall cost.

Community Education and Cooperation With Law Enforcement Agencies

The threat of drug abuse can adversely affect the reputation of the Grass Festival. The majority of the Grass Festival attendants are relatively young people who can quickly be drawn to use drugs. As such, the Grass Festival event management should embark on an aggressive community education campaign that can be used to dissuade the revelers from the use of drugs, which can negatively impact the reputation of the event. At the same time, the Grass Festival event managers should embark on cooperation with the law enforcement officers, which will be vital in eradicating fear amongst the revelers and promote observation of laws and keep off drug dealers from the event.

References

Boshnakova, D., & Goldblatt, J. (2017). The 21st-century meeting and event Technologies: Powerful tools for better planning, marketing, and evaluation. Apple Academic Press.

Burke, K. (2019). Splendor in the Grass festival prepares for police onslaught over drugs at Byron Bay. 7 News. Retrieved from https://7news.com.au/entertainment/festivals/splendour-in-the-grass-festival-prepares-for-police-onslaught-over-drugs-at-byron-bay-c-355517

Shone, A., & Parry, B. (2004). Successful event management: a practical handbook. Cengage Learning EMEA.

Splendor in the Grass. (n.d). Grass Festival About. Retrieved from http://www.splendourinthegrass.com/