What lessons can be taken from the Hay Festival's response to the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, a case study.
Author
Jowett, Katherine Anne
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2020
Submitted on
2020-10-02
Pages
63
Abstract
COVID-19 forced organizations worldwide to rethink how they operate. Tourism was among the hardest hit, with UNWTO projecting up to a 78% decline in international tourism in 2020. The Hay Festival Foundation, an annual arts, culture, and literature festival in Wales, faced severe financial risk and potential administration if it cancelled, with knock-on effects for the tourism ecosystem of Hay-on-Wye. In response, the festival moved entirely online in 2020, supported by corporate donations, sponsorships, and ticket-linked contributions. This shift reduced scope and operating costs, kept the festival visible to its target audiences, and created opportunities to offset some losses. This study investigates what can be learned from the 2020 Hay Festival to build a resilient festival—one that can adapt to and survive shocks—while supporting a thriving local tourism ecosystem. It examines: (1) how the festival’s pandemic response differed from business as usual; (2) the value created before 2020 compared with the 2020 online programme; and (3) the economic, cultural, social, and environmental impacts of this response. Guided by a theoretical framework from festival studies and a mixed-methods approach suited to studying cultural phenomena in tourism, the study assesses the festival’s value and impacts across economic, environmental, social, and cultural dimensions. Using a festival life cycle model, it considers how the event can progress to its next stage of maturity. The aim is to clarify the festival’s role in the public sphere (public life and debate), evaluate the consequences of its 2020 response, and understand its place within Hay-on-Wye’s tourism ecosystem. Overall, the study seeks to inform the future of arts and culture events and contribute to festival studies on how festivals may evolve as sources of tourism.
COVID-19 tvang organisationer verden over til at gentænke deres drift. Turismen blev blandt de hårdest ramte, og UNWTO forudså i 2020 et fald i international turisme på op til 78 %. Hay Festival Foundation, en årlig kunst-, kultur- og litteraturfestival i Wales, stod over for alvorlig økonomisk risiko og risikoen for at gå i "administration", hvis festivalen blev aflyst, med afledte konsekvenser for turismeøkosystemet i Hay-on-Wye. Som svar flyttede festivalen i 2020 hele programmet online, støttet af virksomhedsdonationer, sponsorater og donationer knyttet til billetter. Dette reducerede omfang og driftsomkostninger, holdt festivalen i målgruppens bevidsthed og skabte muligheder for at indhente en del af tabene. Dette studie undersøger, hvad vi kan lære af Hay Festival 2020 for at udvikle en robust festival – altså en, der kan tilpasse sig og overleve chok – samtidig med at den understøtter et velfungerende lokalt turismeøkosystem. Det belyser: (1) hvordan festivalens pandemisvar adskilte sig fra den normale drift; (2) hvilken værdi der blev skabt før 2020 sammenlignet med onlineprogrammet i 2020; og (3) de økonomiske, kulturelle, sociale og miljømæssige konsekvenser af dette svar. Med udgangspunkt i en teoretisk ramme fra festivalstudier og en mixed methods-tilgang, der egner sig til at undersøge kulturelle fænomener i turisme, vurderer studiet festivalens værdi og påvirkninger på tværs af økonomiske, miljømæssige, sociale og kulturelle dimensioner. En model for festivalers livscyklus bruges til at overveje, hvordan begivenheden kan bevæge sig ind i næste modenhedsfase. Målet er at tydeliggøre festivalens rolle i den offentlige sfære (offentligt liv og debat), vurdere konsekvenserne af responsen i 2020 og forstå dens betydning i Hay-on-Wyes turismeøkosystem. Studiet sigter mod at give input til fremtidige kunst- og kulturarrangementer og bidrage til festivalstudier om, hvordan festivaler kan udvikle sig som kilder til turisme.
[This apstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]