Issue 49 June 2011 £4.75
Poor sales prompts festival cancellation
‘Music brings huge boost to UK tourism’ By Dominic Musgrave THE Government must implement a national live music strategy following the launch of a study into the industry, it has been claimed. UK Music says its immediate goal should be to increase overseas visitor numbers to festivals and events after research found that although just five per cent of all music tourists come from abroad, they contribute 18 per cent of the total spending. Destination: Music is the first study of its kind to look at the economic contribution of music festivals and major concerts to tourism in the country, and was carried out by Bournemouth University’s International Centre for Hospitality and Tourism Research. UK Music chief executive Feargal Sharkey said he is excited by the findings of the research. He added: “Its message is crystal clear: music provides a huge boost to UK tourism, it drives growth, it sustains thousands of jobs across all regions and it enhances our lives. I am optimistic that policy-makers will view this data and acknowledge there is even more we could achieve, especially when it comes to attracting overseas visitors. The rest of the world clearly recog-
nises the importance of music to the UK. It is time we did similar.” The study of more than 2.5m anonymised ticketing transactions also found that large-scale live music events across the UK attracted at least 7.7m attendances by domestic and overseas music tourists, who collectively spent £1.4bn during the course of their trip. This is a positive contribution of £864m (GVA) to the national economy and equivalent to 19,700 full-time jobs. Claire O’Neill, general manager of the Association of Independent Festivals, added: “The UK Music research has set out and achieved filling a gap in knowledge as to what the economic and tourism impact of music festivals and concerts is in the UK. We are very happy to see the depth and detailed look into the impact festivals have regionally as well as nationally, and are very supportive of the work that UK Music are doing to represent this sector to Government. “What UK Music and Bournemouth University have also provided here is a great national benchmark for use by festivals and concerts to compare their own tourism and economic impacts.”
Carlisle Airport provided the setting for another successful Radio One Big Weekend – enjoyed by 40,000 people over an action-packed weekend. 20,000 fans per day were treated to performances from the likes of Lady Gaga, Foo Fighters, Nicole Scherzinger and The Black Eyed Peas, including singer Fergie (pictured). The Main Event spoke to Radio One’s head of live events Neil Wyatt about the challenges the team faced and why this year was one of the best ever. Full story, Pages 8&9
THE Isle of Man Bay Festival has been cancelled due to poor ticket sales, organisers have confirmed. The event was due to take place on the island in June, starring acts including Westlife and Tinie Tempah. But a statement on the event’s website said organisers had already spent over £100,000 on promotion – with the event itself costing over £1.5m to stage – and spending more would not produce any greater results. The statement added: “Although we have explored every avenue to keep the festival alive, we cannot see a sustainable way to make it commercially viable due to poor ticket sales. For that reason we have been forced to take the sad decision to cancel this year which was due to be held on 17th, 18th and 19th June 2011. “We are extremely sorry for disappointing those who have loyally supported the festival and we will be processing refunds for those who have purchased tickets.” It also said organisers hope to return with the festival next year and those who purchased tickets for this event would be given ‘a special reward’ next time.