Commonly called ‘Arts Council’ these publicly funded organisations can be found in most counties in the world with the primary objective of developing and investing in artistic and cultural experiences that enrich people's lives. How do these organisations contribute to the progression of artists and businesses associated with the events and festival sectors.      

The majority of music festivals are well established with some running for decades as successful annual events. There are unfortunately some festivals that ran for a few years before disappearing for good. What are the success factors that keep some music festivals going year after year while others fall by the wayside. 

As most established sports are controlled by official sporting bodies tied up with multi-million-dollar TV rights deals there is little scope for new entrants to that market. Over the last 30 years some new alternative live sporting events have grown in popularity and created a support industry dedicated to these alternative events. 

Comic convention genre events are now some of the most visited recurring events globally with huge investments being made by commercial organisations to stage ever larger annual comic conventions. What is the history behind the growing popularity of this genre and what are the logistics challenges facing new entrants to this sector. 

Literary festivals continue to be popular around the world with a steady flow of interested visitors always keen to attend. Sometimes referred to as book or writer's festivals they focus on celebrating all aspects of literature and writing attracting a solid fanbase irrespective of language, culture, country or nationality.

The coronavirus pandemic has brought about a new skill set for music festival organisers, that of the dynamic planner. With restrictions and lockdowns in place throughout the UK over the last eighteen months organisers have had to quickly adapt to reopening dates that are often like tracking moving targets.

There is always continuous innovation in society but for music festival-goers in 2021 what are the new crazes hitting the muddy fields? Aside from the great strides in technology being made by festival organisers what other more down to earth innovations are gaining traction among keen festival goers this year.

Any live music entertainment can be enhanced by using professional dancers to add a bit of spice and create a visual party atmosphere. What can live event organisers do to get the best fit professional dancers for their events that will enhance the customer experience and lift the overall mood of the show or event. 

It has been a sad fact over the years that assaults do happen during large-scale music festivals and although the majority are minor incidents some can be more serious. What can festival organisers do to mitigate any violent behaviour and prevent serious assaults on festival-goers and staff for the duration of the event.

The rules and regulations surrounding the various licensing and compliance requirements for anyone working in the events and hospitality sector can be complex. Fortunately, there are courses available to get people trained in understanding what the various requirements are and how they can be manged to ensure full compliance.

For every music festival or live event, the local community close to a venue can experience both positive and negative impacts of such events. The economic benefits on the local community can be significant but must be offset by acceptance of other impacts like traffic congestion and increased pollution. 

Large scale music festivals and events will often have a sizeable internal team that mange every aspect of organising their event. Smaller festival and event entities usually rely on outsourcing most organisation functions or employ the services of a one-stop-shop events production company. What are the employment prospects for working in an independent event production company.

There is an emergence of common problems being blamed on younger festival-goers but is restricting entry based on ago going to solve this? Whilst most music festivals go ahead without any significant issues several large music festivals in the UK have received bad press recently for a spate of problems. 

One of the key functions in any music festival is the production office which can take responsibility for managing just about every aspect of running a successful music festival. Larger festivals may have a production team with responsibilities split into logical functions. For smaller events the entire function could be performed by a single person.

Ever popular in the late seventies the sounds of funk soul and disco music filled most discotheques of the time and the genre was seen as enemy number one by rock and alternative music fans the world over. The long-forgotten days of the 70’s disco scene and its music is making a comeback of sorts but remastered into a new genre that is more acceptable to modern tastes. 

As music festivals emerged from the coronavirus pandemic there have been plenty of events taking place in the UK during August. Authorities have given the go ahead to many organisers based on the agreement to implement strict COVID-19 entry protocols but how effective have these been?

Large capacity music festivals attracting large numbers of visitors are no different from a small town and therefore are subject to the same policing issues any similar sized community experiences. In granting licences for a music festival to go ahead local authorities always make it conditional on close cooperation with local police forces. 

For any mega music festival with upwards of 50,000 festival-goers the queuing and overcrowding can be an off-putting experience. As the largest music festivals often take place in remote locations getting in an out will usually be painful experience but for those with enough money there are alternatives to the usual traffic jams simply booking a helicopter ride in to the festival site.

Having good press coverage of a music festival can really enhance the event’s reputation and status, equally, bad coverage can cause irreparable damage. How can music festival organisers control the media in attendance at the event and ensure that any news coverage is verified for authenticity.

Any large-scale music festival will probably have a number or ‘runners’ but what are their responsibilities and is it a job worth considering for someone with an interest in starting a career working for a music festival. Being a music festival runner can give a great rapid insight into how a music festival operates. 

With advances in technology and a shift in ticket sales to an online environment the physical box office is almost redundant. However, the function of the ‘Box Office’ still plays a crucial role in the financial success of any event and especially for music festivals. What are the key elements of box office management that music festival organisers should focus on?  

When a website visitor searches and finds a music festival website with the intention of buying a ticket there is nothing worse than slow loading pages that potentially cause browers to hang. It seems to be an endemic problem specific to music festival websites primarily caused by video and audio files so how can festival organisers mange this? 

Every music festival organiser needs to have an efficient ‘Advancing’ function as it can be critical to the smooth running of the entire event. Large music festival organisations may even have a sizable team dedicated to the advancing logistics and for smaller festivals the function may be performed by a single person.

Attending a music festival often leads to the desire to work in the industry having been bitten by the festival bug. How can someone with a keen interest find an internship programme in the music festival sector with a view to a long-term career and is it as glamorous as a budding intern might view such work? 

Any large-scale music festival with over 50,000 festival goers needs thousands of people to work behind the scenes requiring a number of backstage passes to be issued. The backstage area of any music festival can be a hectic place and organisers should carefully mange access to avoid overcrowding of unnecessary people who could disrupt the festival's smooth running. 

Every touring band or musician has traditionally used roadies to transport their equipment from gig to gig along with set up and problem solving. These unsung heroes who make the behind-the-scenes logistics operate like clockwork still exist but their role has been changing over time. Are roadies still relevant in the modern era of touring artists and music festival appearances?             

As the popularity of music festivals has increased broadcasters have made efforts to get a piece of the action to increase their audience numbers. With the largest and best music festivals often being sold out well in advance watching a live streamed event on a commercial TV channel is appealing to a large number of people.       

Having a theme for any festival can contribute to the event’s branding and promotional opportunities as well as keeping an annual event fresh each year. The theme selected can be just about anything but it should form part of that festival's identity and appeal to festival-goers as well as contributing to what the festival organisers believe in. 

A great party city can mean different things to different people but there are some cities that can be categorised firmly as party destinations. Every large city has some nightlife but can be restrictive in choice and operating hours with a focus on catering for local residents and occasional visitors and therefore probably can't be considered as ‘party’ destinations.           

There are some summer destinations that have a reputation for the best beach parties that can go on for weeks or last the entire summer season. What are the best picks for those keen to spend a few weeks partying in some of the world's most legendary beach party destinations once international travel fully opens up again?