Irish Festivals, Irish Life: celebrating the wealth of Irelands festivals Fiona Goh Consulting 2003

Background Page 01 Why do we need the research? To evaluate the value and impact of Irish festivals To understand the needs and priorities of festivals better To explode myths about the festivals movement To share best practice in festival organisation and development To make the case for Irish festivals nationally and internationally Fiona Goh Consulting 2003

Background Page 02 The research objectives: To gather baseline data on the Irish festivals movement To analyse the data and provide a summary of key findings, together with a full report To explore the main issues in depth in a series of case studies To produce an appropriate research template for future use Fiona Goh Consulting 2003

Methodologies Page 03 Project overview: Consultation and literature review Survey research via a postal questionnaire Case studies via telephone interviews Database of 469 member and non-member festival organisers Republic of Ireland data only 103 eligible questionnaires returned - 22% response rate Fiona Goh Consulting 2003

Irish festivals: a picture of activity Page 04 Fiona Goh Consulting 2003

Irish festivals: a picture of activity Page 05 Fiona Goh Consulting 2003

Irish festivals: a picture of activity Page 06 Events: Each festival programmed a median of 23 events 90% of festival organisers programmed free events 85% of festivals promoted ticketed events No. of events programmed by the sample: 4,660 Total population - an estimated minimum of 10,600 events per year: equivalent to 30 events per day Fiona Goh Consulting 2003

Irish festivals: a picture of activity Page 07 Audiences: An estimated audience of 5 million saw free festival events At least 2 million tickets were sold for ticketed events Over 7.1 million attendances at festivals in 2002 (cf. population of Ireland million) Audience breakdown: 67% local, 33% visitors; 1/3 of the audience require overnight accommodation Fiona Goh Consulting 2003

Irish festivals: creating an impact Page 08 Finances: Sample spent 10.6 million - median expenditure of 28,000 Income of 10.4 million - median income of 33,000 67% recorded a surplus; the remaining 33% had a deficit Estimate of the total indirect economic impact of festivals spending on other areas of the Irish economy = 31.7 million Fiona Goh Consulting 2003

Irish festivals: creating an impact Page 09 Fiona Goh Consulting 2003

Irish festivals: creating an impact Page 10 Fiona Goh Consulting 2003

Irish festivals in context Page 11 National presence, local impact: Festivals primary objectives are artistic excellence, tourism and their local communities 55% undertake additional activity, including arts-related work, tourism initiatives and education programmes 66% use community venues - pubs, churches, outdoor public spaces, village, community or school halls 69% of income is spent in the local area - direct investment back into local economies of at least 8.9 million Fiona Goh Consulting 2003

Irish festivals in context Page 12 External relations: Good relations with key stakeholders is vital to festivals success 94% of festivals rated their relationship with the Gardai as good 77% of festivals have a website or other web presence 99% receive coverage of their events in a regional newspaper 30% receive coverage at an international level Fiona Goh Consulting 2003

Volunteering Page 13 Fiona Goh Consulting 2003

Volunteering Page 14 Volunteers - a key festivals resource: 98% of festivals use volunteers - 50% have no paid staff at all Support is given at all levels for a broad range of tasks An estimated 2,772 people work year round - plus 8,316 during festival time Total estimated support given by volunteers to Irish festivals = 185 Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) Value of volunteers time at the Minimum Wage = 2.2 million Fiona Goh Consulting 2003

Summary Page 15 In conclusion: Irish festivals are here to stay; they are a vibrant and growing sector providing a wealth of activities year-round Festivals have a significant impact on the cultural, social and economic fabric of Ireland Festivals support and develop active communities The research allows us to demonstrate the value of festivals, share best practice and make the case to key stakeholders Fiona Goh Consulting 2003

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