An exploration into the motivations of both attendees and volunteers of charity and commemorative events, focusing on Legion Scotland and Remembrance Sunday.

Abstract

Both event attendee motivations and volunteer motivations have previously been studied in various contexts including festivals, celebratory events and workplace morale. However, there is a significant limit to the research of motivations within commemorative events and the charities behind the organisation of them. Therefore this study uses a qualitative approach in order to gain an understanding of individual motivations behind attending commemorative events as well as the motivations behind choosing to volunteer for the organisations behind such events. It particularly focuses on Remembrance Sunday events in Scotland, Legion Scotland and Poppyscotland. The methods involve semi-structured interviews of events attendees, volunteers and members of each organisation. The aims and objectives of this study involved glancing at event management operations, the significance of the poppy and the impacts volunteers have on charities and their causes. These were achieved through analysing the interview data and interlinking it with the literature. The results implied that motivations significantly vary with individuals and many volunteers and event attendees consider more than one motivation when deciding to participate. The most significant motivations included gaining personal benefits or satisfying social needs simultaneously to demonstrating support for the cause. The main motivation found for attending Remembrance Sunday events was the concept of supporting the Armed Forces and veterans, and the main volunteer motivation involved the idea of personal connection to the Armed Forces. This study is important in understanding the success of commemorative events and in gaining volunteers which are vital to many organisations.