The Impact of the UKs Low Emission Zones on City Based Music Festivals.

The introduction of low emission zones (LEZ’s) in many European cities in recent years could have numerous implications for event organisers who choose to use city venues. Where are these LEZ’s and what should festival and event organisers know to minimise the financial impact of these changes.

Music festival and concert organisers have always been attracted to using city centre venues because they are close to essential infrastructure with easy access for visitors. Popular city-based venues include public parks and clubs or concert venues which can be great for multi-venue formats.

What are Low Emission Zones (LEZ) in the UK.
The UK low emission zone (LEZ) is a measure aimed at reducing air pollution caused by vehicles in urban areas. The general principle is the restriction of buses, coaches, and lorries that do not meet certain emissions standards to pay a daily charge to enter the zone. The LEZ sets emissions standards for nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM). The following UK cities now have (or are planning) designated LEZ’s  

• London LEZ covers most of the city and will be expanded over time to include areas up to the M25.
• Birmingham LEZ covers just a small area of the city centre.
• Leeds LEZ covers most of the city centre.
• Bath LEZ covers a small area of the city centre.
• Oxford LEZ is currently being planned and will most likely cover most of the city centre area.
  

Cost Implications.
A festival or event relies heavily on materials for stage construction and backline equipment for example, these usually have to be transported from elsewhere into the city location. This will inevitably increase the costs of transportation because vehicles that do not meet the standards may need to be replaced or retrofitted. These costs will ultimately lead to higher ticket costs as organisers face rising bills to put on their events. The same implications will be felt by mobile vendors who now pay more to enter the city leading to increased costs for food and beverages sold to visitors.

Negative Impact on Events.
The planning of city-based events will become more complex as logistics companies need to schedule deliveries using electric, hydrogen or hybrid powered vehicles that comply with LEZ requirements. In addition, the timing of vehicle movements can be critical so that fee charging times are avoided. There could be an impact of visitor attendance if there are restrictions on buses and coaches and the city is poorly served with alternative public transport. Visitors using their own transport may also be deterred because of the potential additional charges.

Benefits of LEZ’s.
Obviously, there are key benefits of having an LEZ as they are designed to reduce air pollution in urban areas, which should have a positive impact on the health and well-being of residents and visitors. For some festival and event organisers this can form part of the marketing messages to potential visitors. The LEZ can help improve the event’s sustainability because lower transport emissions can reduce their carbon footprint improving the environmental credentials of the event.

Festival and event organisers will need to make comprehensive assessments of the advantages and disadvantages of hosting their events in cities. If the impact on costs and visitor numbers is significant it may be time to consider an alternative city or venue.

For festival organisers planning their events using a software management platform like Festival Pro gives them all the functionality they need manage every aspect of their event logistics. The guys who are responsible for this software have been in the front line of event management for many years and the features are built from that experience and are performance artists themselves. The Festival Pro platform is easy to use and has comprehensive features with specific modules for managing artists, contractors, venues/stages, vendors, volunteers, sponsors, guestlists, ticketing, cashless payments and contactless ordering.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

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