managing-resources-at-live-music-events

Managing resources

1. Human resources

• This means managing people — including staff, volunteers, security teams, cleaners, and artist support workers

  • Hiring temporary staff and volunteers

    • Live events often need hundreds or even thousands of temporary workers. These may include ticket scanners, stewards, bar staff, and backstage crew

    • Volunteers are often given free tickets in return for their time. Charities like Oxfam run stewarding teams at events like Latitude and WOMAD

  • Training in safety and customer service

    • Staff must know how to help people in an emergency, deal with crowd control, and speak politely to customers

    • Showsec provides training for security staff working at events like Wireless Festival and BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend

  • Example: Glastonbury Festival

    • Glastonbury uses over 30,000 staff and volunteers to help manage everything from ticketing and security to recycling and artist management

2. Physical resources

• This includes all the equipment and materials needed to build and run the event.

  • Staging, lighting, and sound

    • Companies like PRG and Stageco provide huge custom-built stages, lighting rigs and sound systems

    • Smaller stages are often used for DJs, workshops or comedy acts

  • Toilets, fencing, and accommodation

    • Events need portable toilets, fencing to manage crowd movement, bins, hand-washing stations and sometimes tents or cabins for staff and performers

    • Power and water also have to be supplied, often using generators

  • Example: Boomtown Festival

    • Boomtown builds an entire themed village with film-style sets, stages, and props. It remains of the most complex physical builds in the UK festival scene

3. Financial resources

• This involves planning, budgeting, and managing money before, during, and after the event

  • Budget planning

    • Key costs include: artist fees, infrastructure (stages, toilets, fencing), security, staff wages, marketing, insurance and licences

    • Headline artists can charge £100,000–£1 million+, depending on their fame

  • Income from tickets, sponsors, and extras

    • Events earn money from ticket sales, VIP upgrades, parking, food and drink sales and sponsorship

    • Many festivals offer tiered pricing – where early bird tickets are cheaper and prices go up over time

  • Example: Y Not Festival

    • This small-to-medium UK festival uses tiered ticket pricing to help spread income across the year and manage cash flow

4. Information resources

• This includes software, data, and digital tools used to organise the event and keep things running smoothly

  • Ticketing and artist schedules

    • Systems like Ticketmaster, Eventbrite, or Event Genius track who’s attending, when acts are performing and where staff are based

    • Artist riders (special requests for dressing rooms, etc.) are also tracked

  • Communication and coordination

    • Walkie-talkies, mobile phones, and event apps are used to share updates with staff and festivalgoers

    • Some events use live messaging systems for emergencies or weather warnings

  • Example: Reading & Leeds Festivals

    • They use a mobile app with real-time updates, stage times, interactive maps and notifications for schedule changes or weather issues

5. Risk and contingency management

• Festivals must prepare for things that could go wrong and have back-up plans ready

  • Common risks

    • Bad weather, artist no-shows, technical problems, medical emergencies or overcrowding

    • Wet weather can damage stages and delay performances

  • Insurance and back-up suppliers

    • Most events take out event cancellation insurance and have back-up suppliers for power, fencing or sound

    • Schedules often include buffer times in case of delays

  • Example: Camp Bestival (2023)

    • High winds damaged part of the main stage. Organisers had to quickly rework the schedule, moving performances to other areas and keeping fans informed

6. Sustainability and compliance

• Festivals must follow the law and try to reduce their impact on the environment

  • Legal compliance

    • This includes licences for music, alcohol sales, safety inspections and noise limits

  • Eco-friendly actions

    • Many events now offer recycling points, compost toilets and encourage public transport or carbon offsetting

    • Plastic bottle bans and reusable cups are now common

  • Example: Green Man Festival

    • This Welsh festival is known for its low-waste policy, solar-powered areas and local food sourcing. It has won awards for its environmental efforts

Case study: When things go right

• Green Man Festival is a four-day music and arts event held in the Brecon Beacons, Wales

• It attracts around 25,000 people each year and is praised for its peaceful atmosphere and focus on sustainability

Case study: When things go wrong

• Boardmasters is a popular five-day festival in Cornwall, UK, combining live music with surfing and beach events

• It normally attracts around 50,000 people and features top acts like Florence + The Machine and Foals

• But in 2019, just 12 hours before gates were due to open, the organisers cancelled the entire festival due to safety concerns over extreme weather

• While safety was the main reason, the cancellation exposed problems across several areas

Lessons learned

• Boardmasters 2019 shows how even well-established festivals can face serious problems if risk planning and resource management are not strong enough

• In particular:

  • Events must have clear communication plans for staff and customers

  • Contingency plans should be tested in advance, especially for weather

  • Information systems need to be able to cope with emergencies and high demand.

  • Even if an event is cancelled, organisers must consider the financial and environmental impact