Future of the arts festivals: do the views of managers and attendees match?

Abstract

PurposeTo make sense of the relationship between the festival attendance and the aims in arts festival management, the purpose of this paper is to explore the key characteristics for success and analyze the perceptions of the future in arts festival productions.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative study uses interviews with festival managers and empathy-based stories (MEBS) written by members of festival audience. Discourse analysis is employed for answering the questions: What are the characteristics of a successful festival, and what could ruin it?FindingsThe paper highlights the importance of interaction with the audience orchestrated by the festival organization. Such interaction co-constructs a more holistic festival experience valued by both parties, which supports the sustainability and future success.Research limitations/implicationsThe research data are limited to one country, and music festivals dominate the data.Practical implicationsAmong managers, there is a need to consider audiences as consumers and as producers in the current competitive climate in the arts and cultural field and clarify the role of the audience as a partner in the networked festival production by placing the attendee at the core of the strategic planning process of arts festivals.Originality/valueThe research combines the views of the demand-and-supply side. It adds to the knowledge in arts and festival management by exploring the relationship between attendance and the aims of arts festival management in general, and the key characteristics of success in the arts festival context in particular. MEBS offers new interesting opportunities for future research in qualitative festival research.