Sector spotlight: festivals

Hot air balloons in the skies, the sound of music and the tantalising scent of street food wafting in the breeze herald the arrival of summer in Bristol.

The city has come a long way in the last ten years and is now renowned for its jam-packed and diverse festival calendar that attracts visitors and locals all year-round.

From the internationally renowned Balloon Fiesta, to Upfest – Europe’s largest street art festival – via food, film, science, sport, performance, music and more – festivals put Bristol firmly on the map.

As a sector, they contribute an estimated £90m a year to the local economy and have provided a platform for many a related home-grown business to flourish.

St Paul’s Carnival – photo by Chris Bahn

The longevity of some key events, such as St Paul’s Afrikan Carribbean Carnival, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, and the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta, which marks 40 years, are testament to a thriving tradition.

But, as each weekend brings a multitude of festival options and organisers are increasingly challenged to think of new, innovative ideas to sell tickets, some fear the sector is becoming a victim of its own success.

Combine that with the notoriously unpredictable British summer weather and hefty overheads, it is a business model fraught with instability and even the long-standing staples on the circuit are only as successful as their last event.

Bristol Festivals is a charity formed to support the sustainable and strategic development of festivals and events.

“The sector is intrinsic to the city’s identity as a hotbed for creativity, culture, activism and experimentation,” says Marietta Kirkbride, development coordinator for Bristol Festivals.

“Home grown festivals have become cornerstones of the city’s annual calendar and iconic of specific areas, be that St Paul’s Afrikan Caribbean Carnival or Redfest in St George.

“International festivals, including In Between Time, Mayfest, Upfest and Encounters Short Film & Animation Festival bring artists to Bristol from around the world.”

Contact Gonzo, Mayfest, Bristol 2018. Photo by Paul Blakemore

The city’s cultural programme has a combined audience reach of more than 1,500,000 people per year.

As the managing director of REM Events, a Bristol-based events management company with a world class portfolio, including the Bristol Harbour Festival and Bristol International Balloon Fiesta, Ben Hardy knows the sector inside out.

He believes that the city is one of the best at showcasing itself on a global scale through its live events scene.

“There’s certainly been a boom in recent years when it comes to Bristol’s global appeal and this is in part to events such as the Balloon Fiesta,” says Ben.

“As this, and some of the city’s other leading events have grown in size, so too has its marketable value and, in turn, the marketable value of Bristol.”

Bristol International Balloon Fiesta attracts 500,000 people across four days and Fiscal studies have shown that £15m is spent each year by visitors.

He adds that the sector is facing challenges that include access to funding, increasing competition and finding appropriate, affordable space to host events.

Love Saves The Day

Team Love is a small, independent, Bristol-based festival production team behind music festivals such as Love Saves The Day (LSTD), The Downs, Simple Things and Love International in Croatia.

Tom Paine, of Team Love, says the festival scene has changed a great deal in the time he has been involved in it.

“We remembered Ashton Court Festival in its heyday,” he says. “Which was brilliant, but then it just stopped and there was nothing. When we started LSTD, it was in a direct response to the fact that Bristol didn’t have a music festival of sorts.”

LSTD launched in 2012 with 9,000 people in Castle Park, moved to Eastville Park in 2015 and attracted a crowd of 38,000 people last year, with 52 per cent of ticket sales bought by festival-goers outside of the Bristol area.

Production costs, not including artists and musicians, are around £1,500,000 and approximately 80 per cent of this is spent with local companies and people.

But despite a series of successes under his belt, Tom is worried that the sector is at risk of becoming a victim of its own success and is all too aware that when an event goes wrong, it has a knock-on effect on independent traders and staff.

Shambala, Shindig Weekender and Boomtown Fair are all major players on the festival circuit with Bristol roots.

Reflecting on Shambala’s growth, creative director Sidharth Sharma says: “The early days of handmade clay pendants in place of wristbands may be a distant memory, but the soul of Shambala has not changed a jot since it began.

“The festival and events scene has definitely grown and developed considerably since I first moved to the city over 20 years ago. Now the city festival calendar is packed full all year round and this just typifies the creative and entrepreneurial nature of Bristol.”

While optimistic about the future of festivals in Bristol, Sidharth warns that being a festival organiser is rarely a money-spinner – in fact, usually quite the opposite – and most events are real labours of love.

Boomtown

Since starting out as a small, grassroots affair put together by a group of music and theatre-lovers in Bristol, Boomtown has gone on to attract a crowd of 60,000 to its scenic Hampshire setting – but still keeps its completely independent ethos.

Maintaining this independence in the face of increasing competition is one of the challenges for organisers, says Boomtown’s creative director Lak Mitchell.

“Industry-wide, one of the biggest challenges is probably the same as we have in general society, that of managing waste,” he continues. “And to try to change the mentality of single use and disposable items, such as tents and wellies. This year, we are massively focussing on those elements and will be launching a big sustainability campaign to hopefully reduce the amount of waste produced by the event, and also left behind by those who attend.”

Boomtown has taken a pioneering approach to reducing the harm caused by illegal drugs by hosting a pop-up lab, run by not-for-profit community interest company The Loop, in which drug users can get their substances tested.

This is now being introduced at LSTD for the first time this year.

Explaining the reason behind this approach, Lak says: “We really wanted to make some pretty high profile noise about the negative effects that can come with taking drugs and that drugs can, and do kill.

“The old approach of ‘don’t do drugs they are illegal’ doesn’t work, and we decided to take the conversation on in a way that we felt was more informative and realistic with the way people approach drugs in today’s society.

“Having the drugs testing facility at the festival was a huge help with this as it meant that we could have engaging conversations and raise the valuable awareness,  as well as give the education needed to help keep people safe and teach people how to be safer.

“This is a way bigger problem than just a Boomtown one, but we had a responsibility to do everything we could to raise awareness and hopefully cut down possibly lethal approaches to drug taking, and ideally cut down the number of people actually wanting to take drugs in the first place.”

He adds: “Hopefully the festival sector will continue to grow and remain strong, but I really hope it does so by maintaining the values and vision that the original grassroots festivals set out to achieve.”

Shindig is a family friendly festival. Photo by Lee Niel

Will Lardner, entertainment director for Shindig, agrees with Lak’s sentiment, but is confident that Bristol’s burgeoning festival scene has room for everyone.

“Shindig is very much aimed at families and bringing up the next generation of festival-goers,” he says, adding that an emphasis on sustainability and minimising the negative impact of festivals on the environment is increasingly important in the sector.

This green ethos has paved the way for new business ideas, from biodegradable cups, to solar-powered loos to carve their own niche.

Kath Senior of EcoStardust at Port Eliot Festival

EcoStardust burst onto the festival scene in April last year and has since been spotted by ASOS and grown into a fulltime business for founder Kath Senior, who runs the enterprise from Easton Business Centre.

“I have always been very passionate about the environment and I have always loved glitter,” she explains.

“I stopped using glitter when I found out I was actually throwing plastic on the ground. I thought that there had to be an alternative.

“In August 2016, I started working with a manufacturer and EcoStardust was launched in April 2017. We went to a few festivals and started spreading the word. It’s been brilliantly well received because of the shift in society and attitude towards plastic, people are receiving the product really well. It’s just taking off.”

The business is one of many to have started life in muddy fields, catering to hyped and hungry festival-goers – with Bristol success stories including the likes of Biblos, Thali and the Hippy Chippie, to name just a few.

Kobra at Upfest 2017 – photo by Nick Clague

One event that has undoubtedly made its mark on the city in more ways than one is Upfest.

Established in 2008, the festival has grown to be the largest of its kind in Europe and, this year, will host 400 artists travelling from 70 countries to paint buildings, vehicles and boarding throughout Bedminster, Southville and Ashton.

It attracts upwards of 50,000 into the heart of the city and brings benefits in excess of £3m to Bristol’s economy.

“Some people don’t realise just how good Bristol has it, mainly driven by dedicated teams and volunteers even in the face of reducing support and rising costs,” says Upfest’s Steve Hayles.

Reflecting on challenges within the sector and funding cuts that are affecting many arts organisations, he adds: “Many existing festivals and event organisers will adapt to the ever-changing climate. My biggest concern is for the new and exciting ideas that may never come to be, as they just won’t have the support to flourish.”

What is without doubt is that in these turbulent times, Bristol’s festival offering is worth protecting.

James Durie

As James Durie, chief executive of Bristol Chamber of Commerce & Initiative, Business West, says “Bristol’s cultural offer is an important part of our local economy. It’s part of what defines us as a city and one of the main reasons we are increasingly seen as the most liveable city in the UK.

“This is activity we have long sought to support and encourage, both as a sector in its own right for enterprises and talent, but also because of the wider value it brings to our city’s communities.”

Festival facts:

• Festivals are worth an estimated £90m a year to Bristol’s economy.
• The city’s cultural offering has a combined audience of more than 1,500,000 people per year.
• Management and operational costs take up the lion’s share of the budget for most festivals.

Read more: Bristol to become first UK city to provide drug safety testing