Revitalise a neglected part of a country – The Vieilles Charrues Festival

Created in 1992, the Vieilles Charrues festival (or Festival des Vieilles Charrues in French) is one of the famous music festivals organised in France. Its name means “festival of old ploughs” in English and this highlights its rural, original location. The first ‘event organisers’ wanted to have some entertainment in the countryside and simply chose a field as the main festival venue.

Nowadays, the festival has kept this tradition by keeping the same name and the location – in the countryside. It is held every year, at the end of July, near Cahaix, situated in the middle of Brittany.

Being often associated to the Glastonbury Festival (by being cheaper and more accessible for French event goers for example), it represents the fun and crazy aspect of summer holidays and attracts around 250,000 visitors each year [number from the official website].

The schedule usually plans live music for 4 days (Thursday-Sunday), from the afternoon until late. The artists are a mix of international stars (such as Elton John for the 2014 edition) but also local ones.

One of its goals is to revitalize this remote part of France, considered as having the worst weather and being quite far from the capital and touristic areas. The tourism activity created by this music festival influences the surrounding cities which can benefit from the visitors’ comings. It also enables to promote local economic activity in terms of professionals and suppliers, as well as revitalizing the countryside and rural areas in Brittany.

More than being a music festival, the values it represents also engage the participants to create a more sustainable world, with a focus on reducing waste (the organisers created a contest with great prices to be won, like gift boxes!) and on charity institutions.

This event is now a real ‘booster’ of the Brittany economy and tourism and will surely keep growing as its popularity seems not to be decreasing!

Here’s a quick video in order to see how it looks like (probably, very similar to Glastonbury… but with a French touch?)

Source: Zissu, 2014.

Official website (in French) : Vielles Charrues, 2014.

Official article (in English) : France.

SOURCES

Cartes 2 France (2015) Mairie de Carhaix-Plouguer. Available from: http://www.cartes-2-france.com/mairies/29024-mairie-carhaix-plouguer.php [Accessed 20 November 2014].

France (no date) The Festival des Vielles Charrues. Available from : http://www.france.fr/en/celebrations-and-festivals/festival-des-vieilles-charrues.html [Accessed 20 November 2014].

Vielles Charrues (2014) Les Vielles Charrues 2014. Available from: http://www.vieillescharrues.asso.fr/2014/ [Accessed 20 November 2014].

Zissu, S. (2014) Vielles Charrues 2014. Vimeo. Available from: http://vimeo.com/105871921 [Accessed 20 November 2014].

Event risk – when basic risks are underestimated

Description of the event:

A recent outdoor concert in October 2014, near Seoul in South Korea caused the death of 16 people and injured 9. During a live performance, the ventilation grate where some people were standing up, collapsed and fell in an underground parking, causing death and injuring some of the attendees.

According to witnesses and media reporting the accident, the context was as following : many people attended the outdoor concert but some of them behind the main audience, wanted to see the stage better and climbed up the ventilation grate. In their enthusiasm, they probably didn’t realize the risk or unconsciously minimized it perhaps. No fences or security guards were present to warn the goers and prevent them to climb up and risk their lives.

Following this terrible incident, it became very controversial in the Korean press. The Korean official safety representative unfortunately committed suicide, unable to handle the feeling of shame and dishonour, this being reinforced by the Korean society’s principles. The terrible consequence of the first incident makes this event even more tragic.

The National Post article (2014) suggests that safety issues seem to weaken the country once again, especially after the ferry disaster in April 2014.

(Source: National Post, 2014)

Reflection – What to learn:

As an event organiser in training, I believe that basic risks assessment are actually the most important. During events and especially music concerts, where enthusiasm, and chanting are monopolizing the attender’s mind, risks can be easily undertaken : people change their behaviours when they are in the middle of euphoria and do things they would avoid or would have considered before, if they were not preoccupied by something else (here the concert). Fences or security guards are basic requirements for concert venues, in order to control crowds, monitor and act if needed, and therefore secure the participants’ lives. A sufficient number of them should be estimated, with an extra to anticipate any amplification of the event.

This also implies a careful study of the venue beforehand: here the outdoor venue makes the surrounding constructions, such as the ventilation grate, be a place where spectators could potentially stand. Security guards, fences, safety signs and other indications should have been placed to prevent and avoid any incident of this sort.

Also, as an event manager, there is a need to consider the attendees’ behaviours, from a psychological point of view. For instance, here, this concert was welcoming a famous Korean pop group and fans are expected to come and support the group. However, with the excitement, they might also attempt dangerous things, like climbing unsecured platforms. I believe event managers should therefore try to think from the attendees’ point of view and anticipate how they might behave during the event, in order to prevent any serious incidents.

SOURCES

I24 News (2014) Corée du Sud: accident lors d’un concert; 16 morts. Available from: http://www.i24news.tv/app.php/fr/actu/international/asie-pacifique/47607-141017-coree-du-sud-accident-lors-d-un-concert-16-morts [Accessed 11 November 2014].

National Post (2014) Sixteen fall to their deaths at girl-band concert after ventilation grate collapses under crowd. Available from: http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/10/17/fourteen-fall-to-their-deaths-at-girl-band-concert-after-ventilation-grate-collapses-under-crowd/ [Accessed 11 November 2014].

NBC News (2014) Grate collapses at 4Minute pop concert in South Korea, killing 16. Available from: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/grate-collapses-4minute-pop-concert-south-korea-killing-16-n228001 [Accessed 11 November 2014].

Telegraph (2014) South Korean safety official commits suicide after 16 die in concert accident. Available from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/southkorea/11171288/South-Korean-safety-official-commits-suicide-after-16-die-in-concert-accident.html [Accessed 11 November 2014].

A piece of creative work about the future of events ….

Here’s my attempt to draw the future of events! I actually took inspiration from my own imagination, what I would like to attend and what is not yet possible in our world! It was quite amusing, yet difficult, to forget the boundaries of our technology and world, and think about beyond all of that… Events and festivals keep evolving with technology and I will always be amazed by the creativity and imagination of some people who manage to give life to their imagination…

Below is a postcard who could be sent virtually to a friend, maybe on another planet, who knows?

A life-changing event : the Japan Expo

An event that changed my life or my

way of living was the Japan Expo in Paris.

Held every year at the beginning of July, this exposition gathers all fans of Asian cultures, who want to discover more about mangas, animes, dramas, cinemas, fashion etc, in short about Asian lifestyles. The first event held in Paris was focusing on Japanese culture, but it gradually expanded to other Asian cultures.

(Image source : Partyearth, 2014)

The introduction of the Japan Expo became one of the biggest events in France, Europe and worldwide around Asian interest. It was immediately popular and now, every year, it becomes bigger and greater. Spread over 4-5 days, you could find thousands of activities and mini-events about Asian entertainment.

From video games to cooking, from mangas to fashion, there are so many interests and different things to discover that 4 days are not enough to experience all of them. Concerts are scheduled with Asian artists coming all the way from Asia; workshops on Asian sports are offered; various contests about who could dress up like theirs favourite characters in a manga are organised, as well as meetings with Asian artists or authors etc.

(Image source: Noveir, 2014)

I remember attending one of the first editions : me and my friends were fans of Asian cultures but there weren’t many events about it and apart from the internet, there were no real places where we could gather and share experiences with other fans. When we discovered this event, we were really excited. It was one of the first things we were going ‘without parents’, just between friends. We had the possibility to approach our passion and have an opportunity to meet a real community of people, gathering for the same passion.

Going to the event was a bit of a journey but that also contributed to the building of the ‘liminal’ aspects. Indeed, I was living in the South suburbs of Paris and the event was held in the North-East of Paris. Taking the train for around 2 hours to reach our destination made this event even more exceptional, because we haven’t been ‘that’ far in Paris and it was like crossing a border, going to a new ‘land’, almost going on an adventure !

When finally reaching the event, it was like entering in a new world since the venue, the participants, the atmosphere were completely different from what we knew and were a first experience of this kind for us. Everything we were discovering or recognising (like traditional clothing or movie we knew about) was a source of wonder, enthusiasm and sharing between us or with people we were meeting and interacting with. During the two days we attended the event, the excitement, joy and curiosity accompanied us and we came back home, delighted and full of memories.

Afterwards, I remembered feeling completely different because I had experienced something new, which had reached me deeply. Being able to ‘live a passion’ is something very particular to experience, which touched me emotionally. It can hardly be expressed by words but it was like ‘living a dream’, being amazed by everything and having difficulty to realise what was happening, as it was wonderful. This event was unique for me and something had changed compared to before, by being part of a new community, with people sharing the same interests. Me and my friends had the feeling to be part of a bigger group and this helped us to develop our identity and personality. It also enabled to strengthen our relationships as friends, it brought us closer because we were all experiencing a new and unique event.I also discovered the impact of such culture in an European country and how it was terribly popular. From this moment on, me and my friends managed to find some spots in Paris where there were Asian shops or meeting between fans. Those kinds of events and the Japan Expo accompanied me during my teenage years and I keep wonderful memories from this period!

Official website (in English): Japan Expo (2014)

Some photos : Mcm (2014)

SOURCES

Japan Expo (2014) Welcome – Japan Expo. Available from: http://www.japan-expo.com/en/ [Accessed 28 December 2014].

Noveir (2014) Japan Expo 2014. Available from: http://www.noveir.com/expo-and-convention/japan-expo-2014/ [Accessed 28 December 2014].

Mcm (2014) Welcome – Japan Expo. Available from: http://www.mcm.fr/japan-expo-2014-les-photos-des-stands-et-du-salon-exclu-a304105.html [Accessed 28 December 2014].

Partyearth (2014) Japan Expo 2014. Available from: http://www.partyearth.com/paris/special-events/japan-expo-1/japan-expo-2014-1/ [Accessed 28 December 2014].

Mobility in events

In class, we decided to go for the “Bristol Half Marathon“. The different forms of mobility are quite interesting here, because it entails different types of audience and therefore different levels of involvement.

We have first, the physical mobility : the people running, the ones encouraging, the staff (organisers, volunteers, charities, security), using the means of transport (by walking, taking the train / bus / plane etc), as well as the various objects involved (food, drinks, the equipment and infrastructures).

Then, there is the ‘abstract’ mobility, if I may call it that way, which corresponds to the ideas and information related to the marathon that circulate using the communication networks (available also on social media such as photos, results, videos, news and updates etc) and other characteristics, such as the sponsorship, the advertising and marketing, the job opportunities etc : things that are not always material but are definitely present and important for that event.

For more details, here is a photo of the map which details the different forms of mobility (please click on the image in order to have a clearer photo).

The organisation of the space is also interesting because the mobility of this event follows a particular current : the current of the participants, running in one same direction (the finish line), following a special itinerary already installed. And everything else is organised, according to that current. The staff and the security are placed at strategic points along that line of runners, as well as the supporters who are all along that same line. The current that follows the line, also passes through the social media and the communication networks. This current is represented with the red colour on the map above.

Why studying a Masters Degree in events management

My main motivation for studying events management at a master degree is the diploma that I will get at the end. It may seem straightforward but in my situation, it is quite relevant. Indeed, I would like to work in cultural institutions and promote culture and arts ; but I haven’t any experience in festivals or events management, so how could I justify my intention to work in this kind of institutions with no proper master degree and no relevant experience ? Nowadays, getting a job without a masters degree diploma is quite difficult, and if your professional network is weak, even non-existent, there is hardly a chance the job will be yours.

Studying events management enables me to understand the background of events management, the ‘basic rules’ of events, what it involves and what the impacts are at a broader level. With the help of high-level university staff, I have the chance to understand the essence of events management within one year and have a real awareness of this complex and industry.

Also, from my point of view, one of the most important things is the possibility to work in real projects throughout the year. The university is this wonderful place where you learn the theory you need and where you have the opportunity to apply it in real working conditions. The mixture of theory and practice is the best combination to explore what you’ve learned and make it concrete. It also enables you to witness a specific view of events management, the one from the company you are working with. Since it’s a temporary contract, it can be a good experience and enrich yourself with new skills but also precise your professional prospects.

A masters degree in events management may seem pointless for some, but in the labour market, a degree is essential to justify your start into active life but also equips you both the theoretical and practical skills in order to stand out from the rest.