An Investigation into the Influence of Green Practices on Event Attendance in Large-Scale UK Music Festivals

Abstract

The implementation of green practices in large-scale music festivals has begun to play a more significant role in event management in more recent years. This could be due to the increased consumer demand, escalated social responsibility of attendees or from festivals trying to impede their significant carbon footprint left on the environment. This study aims to investigate the influence and role that green practices in music festivals has on attendance. The research will achieve this by looking to compare the importance of green practices as a motivating factor for differing age cohorts, investigating attendees’ perceived views on music festivals and looking at the perceived ‘green’ attributes held by Glastonbury Festival. This research aims to aid in the understanding of the role of green practices as a motivating factor of festival attendance for future event organisers as this is fast becoming an integral part of festival management. This study also looks to contribute and add discussion to the gap in literature on the influence that green practices hold in the decision-making process of festival attendance. This was achieved through a quantitative approach, gathered by an online questionnaire in which the sample size was 100 participants to allow for the generalisation of findings. The key finding attained from this research was that although respondents did partake in green initiatives at home, this does not always correlate with decision-making process of large-scale UK music festivals. Other factors are regarded as more important by individuals whilst determining what event to attend, however it is an increasingly significant factor for event organisers to consider, which should look to encourage for further study and research within this field.