Strategies for Managing Local Community Relations for Music Festival Organisers

For music festivals located on greenfield sites collaboration with local communities is essential for the smooth operation of events. Local communities can object to license applications for a multitude of reasons. What strategies can organisers employ to build good relations with communities to address all their concerns and focus on the benefits to everyone.

Local authorities provide numerous services to local communities and are therefore subject to scrutiny from those living within their local jurisdiction. It is the local authority who is usually responsible for approving and issuing the necessary permits that allow a music festival to take place and so they are obliged to consider the views of the local population. Festival organisers should reach out and engage with local communities, viewing them as key stakeholders to build long-term goodwill.

Consultation.
Most festival organisers will appoint someone to be responsible for local community liaison, usually a senior member of the festival entity's management team. Contact with local residents and authorities should commence early in the planning phase, up to a year in advance of the live dates. It is the responsible persons' duty to attend local council meetings and to hold town hall sessions or workshops with local residents. Festival organisers should have prepared comprehensive plans to present at meetings which should address likely concerns before they are raised. This can include planned dates and times of operation, plus how organisers will manage the impact on noise and traffic. It is also an opportunity to highlight the local economic benefits and to offer discounts for local resident attendance, for example. The purpose of the consultation process is to build trust where local residents are kept informed at all times with no surprises.

Economic Collaboration.
Collaborating with local business associations and hubs gives organisers opportunities to connect with local businesses where they can highlight the potential economic benefits of the festival. Partnerships with hotels, guesthouses, and transportation services are good examples of both parties benefiting. Organisers can also give preferential treatment to local contractors and vendors when reviewing applications, for example. If the organisers need temporary workers and volunteers, they can agree on a local hiring quota with local authorities to prioritise local residents. In some cases, it can be prudent to make a small surcharge on tickets sold with proceeds going to local charitable organisations. Festival organisers should pitch their event to local business communities as a local economic driver with close collaboration and mutually beneficial partnerships.

Traffic Management.
A key potential complaint from local residents in a remote festival location is often the potential traffic disruption caused by the site's load-in and load-out plus the thousands of festival-goers expected to descend on a small area over a short time. Organisers need to coordinate closely with local authorities, police and traffic management experts to fully plan a workable solution in advance of the live dates. These plans need to be made public at an early opportunity to demonstrate how organisers plan to manage potential traffic congestion. For enforced road closures and changed priority schemes, local residents should be issued with priority resident access passes in advance, so those responsible for traffic management can quickly and easily allow residents to gain access to their property. Organisers can plan to reduce on-site parking and enforce park and ride schemers where cars are parked in a convenient non disruptive location some distance away with festival-goers being shuttled to the site on buses. Where possible organisers should ensure the local traffic management measures do not feel like a local lockdown to nearby residents.

Noise Control.
A common concern raised by local residents close to a proposed music festival site is the possible noise pollution that will be emitted. Organisers can reduce the impact of noise by taking several measures which can appease concerned locals. Using directional audio (beamforming) parametric speaker arrays which can be set up to keep high decibel energy contained within a small area where there is a rapid drop off outside the festival site are common. Installation of real-time decibel monitors placed throughout local communities can feed data directly to sound engineers who can make volume adjustments if agreed levels are exceeded. Local authorities may also insist on a curfew time which is when all amplified audio performances must cease, typically 11pm or midnight for example.

Waste Management.
The volumes of all types of waste generated by a sizeable music festival can be huge, and organisers invest time and money in post event site cleanup operations. Local residents will always be concerned about the potential littering on streets and public spaces when so many festival-goers are in attendance. Organisers should implement their waste management protocols where the cleanup starts immediately once the event finishes, including the site, nearby streets, and public places. The festival site and local area should be left in good condition on the principle of ‘leave no trace’ and these policies should be communicated to local communities. It is helpful to demonstrate how organisers are promoting recycling and low waste initiatives for their event.

For festival organisers planning their next event 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, site planning, cashless payments and contactless ordering.

Image by Matheus Bertelli via Pexels

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