Looking on with some jealousy music festivals in Australia are already taking place with close to normal visitor numbers. Whilst the reast of the world reels in coronavirus related lockdowns the Australian music festival industry has bounced back from a catastrophic 2020 to make its future look secure. 

With the music festival sector in much of Europe a bit of a crossroads it's likely that some of the larger events will be postponed yet again. This will leave a vastly reduced number of music festivals taking place in 2021. The result of this will be an overall drop in the number of vendor pitches available which means vendor management will be more important than ever. 

As the creation, production and distribution of music has progressed thanks to advances in technology musicians and other performance artists have had to move to live performances to earn revenue form their material. With live performances shut down for now what is the future for performance artists confined to home.  

Movement restrictions throughout Europe look uncertain to be lifted any time soon meaning that virtually all event organisers and their teams are forced to continue working from home. Organisers are hopeful to make their events happen in the latter part of 2021 but what are the effective strategies they can use to ensure planning logistics continue.  

Launched in 2020 by ‘Visit Britain’ in partnership with various UK tourist organisations, the ‘code’ aims to reassure event goers and visitors that the festival has been approved according to strict criteria. Is this approval a worthwhile investment of time and resources for Music Festival organisers in 2021? 

With the surge in coronavirus cases globally since Q4 2020 the prospect of returning to any sense of normalcy appears to be a moving target that’s difficult to nail down. What can event organisers in countries like the UK do to manage their decision making in such uncertain times. 

The incidence of credit card fraud has increased by as much as 35% in 2020 with fraud valued in excess of $10 billion a year. The coronavirus pandemic has seen a mass move to online shopping and payments and fraudsters are taking advantage of this trend. How can an event organiser ensure their ticket sales process is protected from fraud in 2021. 

As the whole events industry braces itself for another tough year that seems to be a continuation from 2020 which are the types of events likely to start first? From music festivals and indoor gigs to business conferences and exhibitions what are the likely timelines for reopening in 2021. 

When live events are planned for an outdoor venue the weather should always be considered particularly in milder climates prevalent in most of Europe, even in the summer months. With good planning allowances can be made for potential inclement weather and the effect on all aspects of a live event.  

Many music festivals rely on an army of more than 200 volunteers to help run their events each year. As the coronavirus pandemic still persists around the world what impact will this have on event organisers pushing ahead with their 2021 events on how they train and manage their volunteers. 

Historically the longest running and largest music festivals have been located on large open spaces in private ownership. When the land owner is closely involved in organising a festival the process is somewhat easier than trying to secure a public space controlled by a local authority or other private concern. 

With the largest music festivals having up to 75 stages the management and scheduling of performances can seem a little daunting. How can event organisers and stage managers go about managing so many shows and stages with limited resources to create a professional and seamless event delivery.      

With uncertainly hanging over many music festivals in the UK remaining what is the impact on the thousands of vendors that usually support music festivals? Vendors usually make booking applications to festival organisers well in advance but with many dates remaining tentative are vendors holding back in applying?

It will surely only be a matter of time before a new service industry emerges related to coronavirus infection prevention measures. Could such service companies really help in the live events sector or should event organisers continue to plan and organise everything themselves. 

In these troubling coronavirus times, the financial pressures on the independent music festivals have never been greater. There is likely to be some movement in the industry with acquisitions and bankruptcy entirely possible but with a successful festival season in 2021 this may be avoided.  

The logistics behind organising stage backlines for a music festival with multiple stages can be a huge challenge for festival organisers. What are the key considerations in organising stage backlines to ensure perfect live performances that stick to scheduled timetables without any technical issues?

All music festival fans are hopeful that a good number of festivals will return in the latter part of 2021 so now is a good time to start planning which festivals to go for. For those new to the festival scene there is an unwritten etiquette to follow that has been documented by regular festival goers over the years for festival newbies.

Whether it’s an artist on tour or music festival the many suppliers including lighting and sound technicians, equipment suppliers and providers of safety and site management for example have been faced with a dire 2020. What will be the impact of this on the live events sector if and when events and music festivals return in 2021. 

As so many events and music festivals were cancelled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic most organisers opted for postponing to 2021. The majority of event organisers gave ticket buyers the option to request a refund or carry over their ticket to a postponed date with most ticket holders opting for the latter.

Every event goer has their preference for live events and music festivals they would like to attend based on either previous experience or recommendations. How can event goers plan for their attendance at live events and music festivals this year when there is so much turmoil in the industry? 

With the cancellation of events in 2020 many organisers decided to reduce budgets and staff with the easiest areas to cut being the marketing spend and staff. This does have an immediate financial benefit of reduced operational costs but in some ways is short-sighted as event organisers should be overhauling their marketing activity not stopping it.

Almost all music festivals were postponed to 2021 and whilst the pandemic continues to cause disruption there is still hope that festivals can return in the second half of the year. There has been much progress made in recent years to make festivals more sustainable but can they maintain this progress and improve further once festivals return later this year.  

Something that has affected many over the last year are mental health issues whether it be as a result of lockdowns or other issues like being unable to work. It is those working in the events industry that have been particularly badly hit by this. With the prospects of strict lockdowns at the start of 2021 it doesn't look like this situation is going to improve. 

As event organisers grapple with getting their events up and running at some point in 2021 there is of course a knock-on effect on booking performance artists. Organisers are running multiple scenarios and looking at all their contingency plans in light of the coronavirus pandemic that persists in disrupting normal life around the world. 

Many event organisers are deep into their planning for events in 2021, most opting for dates in the latter part of the year. Such is the uncertainty over the future effect of the coronavirus pandemic that event organisers are taking on the role of risk manager, what are the typical steps required for this change in focus? 

Over the last decade the interest and popularity of music festival that focus on music from previous generations has flourished. There is now a wide choice of retro music festivals for those interested in older music genres. Catering for those wishing to relive their youth because the current crop of popular festivals only offers the latest musical artists.    

2020 has been a catastrophic year for anyone working on the live events industry throughout the world. For those in Europe the impact of the coronavirus pandemic has been further compounded by the BREXIT negotiations and the potential fallout from any agreement on freedom of travel throughout Europe in the future.  

In a year of chaos for the live events industry many music festival organising teams have been laid off or at best furloughed there are many organisers desperate to put on their festival in 2021. Due to cost reductions and squeezed schedules music festival organisers are currently working flat out on their planning. 

When live events resume in the UK sometime in 2021 event organisers are going to be faced with a whole host of new restrictions and measures that will most likely be mandatory. Estimates suggest these new measures could account for up to 20% of event running costs, what are the likely measures that have a cost, hidden or otherwise.     

The development and progress of technology that can be used in the music festival industry has not stopped with the coronavirus pandemic. Conversely numerous software companies have been busy developing technology and software that will improve event goer experience and make festival organisers life's easier.