Festival Insights

I’ve highlighted here some of the things that have been published about the demographics of festival attenders and the importance of community and escapism which I have referred to in my festival reflections. With festivals attracting huge numbers of mainly younger people who enjoy music (and those stirring spiritual lyrics I’ve mentioned) they surely have something to say to the Church in 2015 as we seek to engage with those who have little notion of who we are and what we believe!

In an earlier blog I estimated that 500. 000 people attend festivals each year. Woeful underestimation:

This statistic displays attendance at music concerts and festivals in the United Kingdom in 2012 and 2014. Attendance at UK festivals grew from 2012 to 2014. In 2014, roughly 3.5 million people attended music festivals in the United Kingdom.

http://www.statista.com/statistics/282032/music-concert-and-festival-attendance-in-the-uk-by-attendee-type/

Here are some other interesting insights from The Festival awards Market report 2013

The annual UK Festival Census has concluded another survey of 3,380 British festival-goers – a sample of geographically and demographically representative respondents who answered questionnaires

Of the 3,380 people that responded to the UK Festival Census 2013, 42% were male and 58% were female. Two-thirds (60%) are under 30, with 17% aged 31-40 and 20% aged 45-65. The remaining 3% were 16 and under, or over 65.

Why do people go to festivals? Mostly it’s the music – 53% of people said it that was the thing they love above all else. A further 22% go because they can “escape from normal life “and 11% love hanging out with their friends the most. Festivals are indeed a unique experience, which combine people’s passion for music with a sense of community – something which is borne out away from the festival itself via social media. Many festivals have fully engaged fans all year round, people they have conversations with and communicate with at all times of the year. It’s this opportunity to escape from normal life that is so wonderfully compelling. The escapism offered by festivals can be seen in a beguiling array of expressionism on-site. From fancy dress to silly hats, exploring new music to just sleeping in a tent, British people love throwing off their day-to-day routine and having new experiences.

Generally people are all very positive about their festival experiences. When asked what is the biggest downer for them at a festival, the largest proportion say nothing was bad. Following that, 16% feel the biggest frustration for them is when their favourite bands clash on the bill. Otherwise, there’s a fairly even spread (at about 6% for each factor) mixed between having to rough it without clean showers or toilets, the price of tickets, the cost of food and drink on-site, muddy conditions, overcrowding, and restrictions on what you can bring in.

http://www.festivalinsights.com/wp-content/uploads/UKFA2013_SHOWGUIDE_MarketReport.pdf