EAST AYRSHIRE COUNCIL
DEVELOPMENT SERVICES COMMITTEE – 22 OCTOBER 2002
BURNS FESTIVAL 2002- EVALUATION REPORT
Report by Director of Development Services
1 PURPOSE OF REPORT
1.1 To provide feedback from an independent evaluation of the Burns Festival held in May 2002 and to consider a funding request for events within East Ayrshire in 2003.
2 BACKGROUND
2.1 In accordance with the wide range of initiatives promoted by the Ayrshire and Arran Tourist Board (AATB) to bring more visitors to Ayrshire a festival promoting the life and works of Robert Burns was organised earlier this year. It was felt that given Burns' international recognition there was merit in promoting an annual festival celebrating his achievements.
2.2 Independent research was carried out by the AATB in 2001 which demonstrated that the concept was sound and if planned well could be one of the key ways of bringing more visitors in Ayrshire and in turn adding financial benefit to the local economy.
2.3 Independent promoters Unique Events, who also manage a number of high quality events, such as Edinburgh’s very successful Hogmanay Party, were appointed by the AATB to manage the Festival.
2.4 Peter Irvine, Unique Event’s Managing Director, who personally managed the development and delivery of the programme, advised that for the first year of the Festival it was vital not to be over ambitious and not to stretch too far geographically in order to make sure the festival was well managed and quality was achieved. Most of the events were concentrated in Ayr.
2.5 Following suggestions put forward by East Ayrshire Council, however, it was accepted that a linked Fringe programme of events in other communities would add interest for visitors, present a fuller picture of the Burns' heritage and engage the wider Ayrshire community.
2.6 The total cost of the core programme was £500,000, which included significant contributions from the Scottish Executive and VisitScotland reflecting national recognition of the Festival.
3 EVENTS PROGRAMME 3.1 The principal Festival locations were :
27 - 28 April Mauchline Town Centre/Kirk 3 - 5 May Wellington Square, Ayr 3 May Culzean Castle 27 April – 5 May Burns National Heritage Park (BNHP)
3.2 Whilst the Mauchline events were billed as ‘Fringe’ events, they proved to be an enormous success with a wide level of community participation taking advantage of the historic surroundings and the excellent work of the Local Mauchline Burns Club. The fact that the Council previously provided funding through the Community Services Committee to acquire the property proved to be money well spent.
3.3 Funding support of £9,500 for various local events was provided by Development Services Committee on April 2002. This was given to the AATB and was dispersed by them to local groups across the East Ayrshire area to promote local events. Staff from the Community Services Department played a key role in assisting groups to devise and stage events.
4 EVALUATIONS
4.1 An evaluation of the Festival's impact on the local economy was carried out by the Moffat Centre for travel and tourism at Glasgow Caledonian University.
4.2 From an analysis of visitor numbers for the Festival shows the following breakdown:
Fringe Events 8,500 Fall from Light 1,750 Culzean Castle 2,000 Wellington Square: - Saturday 2,000 - Sunday 2,000 Fireworks 3,000 Street Theatre 2,000 21,250
4.3 A geographical analysis of source of visitors found the following:
From % Ayr 32 Ayrshire 32 Scotland 25 Elsewhere 11 100
4.4 Points of interest which may be drawn out of this analysis include: § The large number attending the 'Fringe' programme showing this was in the event one of the most successful features of the Festival
§ The 25% attendance from Scotland outwith Ayrshire, showing that the Festival was successful in projecting itself as a national event
§ The promotion of visitors from outwith Scotland was lower. But the event was not promoted beyond Scotland in its first year for the reasons set out at 2.4 above.
4.5 Other points include:
§ Attendance was well spread across all age groups § A significant number of visitors stayed up to 3 nights § 56% of those staying overnight stayed in a hotel or bed & breakfast § 59% rated the Festival 1 or 2 on a grading of 1 to 7
4.6 It is estimated that the Festival brought £½m into the local economy, despite the fact that it was a first year and was deliberately not promoted beyond Scotland (see para 2.4).
5 GENERAL COMMENTS ON EVALUATION
5.1 Given that this was the first year of the Festival, it is widely recognised that operationally it proved to be a major success.
5.2 The measurable impact on the local economy was about equal to direct costs. This does not allow for significant other benefits including national media coverage of Ayrshire (valued at £900,000) and the value of community participation. The analysis suggests that if the Festival is repeated in a way which builds up its reputation and is promoted more extensively outside Ayrshire it should bring increasingly valuable net benefits to the economy.
5.3 The Holy Fair in Mauchline proved particularly successful and should be built upon for 2003.
5.4 The policy of tight control over the number and geographic spread of events was effective in ensuring good quality and co-ordination.
6 WAY FORWARD 2003
6.1 It is intended to promote a further event in 2003. A substantial amount of funding has already been secured for the event in 2003, with funding support being pledged by the Scottish Executive, VisitScotland, South Ayrshire Council and Scottish Enterprise Ayrshire, similar to that secured in 2002.
6.2 Given the success of the Mauchline event there are plans to increase its scale. There are also plans for a key event at Dean Castle and Country Park in Kilmarnock. In addition, with a longer lead time, local groups will be encouraged and assisted to promote a wider range of events.
6.3 Enquiries have been made and a submission lodged with Strathclyde European Partnership for matched European Regional Development Fund Programme in respect of partner’s contributions. A decision will be known in December on the outcome of the bid.
6.4 The Council has been asked for a contribution of £40,000 for various East Ayrshire events. This will, if approved, be matched by ERDF grants, making the pool of Festival funds for East Ayrshire around £60,000-£70,000. All funding approved by East Ayrshire will be ringfenced for our area.
6.5 The full details of events are being worked upon at present. East Ayrshire will have representation on the events steering group which will promote and manage the Mauchline and Dean Castle events, in close co-operation with officers from the Community Services Department.
7 POLICY IMPLICATIONS
7.1 Nil
8 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
8.1 Consideration is currently being given to the level of contribution which can be met from existing budgets.
9 LEGAL IMPLICAITONS
9.1 There are no legal implications arising directly from this report.
10 RECOMMENDATIONS
10.1 That the Committee:
a) agree in principle to support the Festival for 2003 and note the positive independent evaluation of the 2002 Burns Festival; and
b) note that a further report will be submitted to the Committee on the proposed programme for 2003.
Stephen Chorley Director of Development Services SC/JR 15 October 2002 BACKGROUND PAPERS
Nil
For further information on this report, please contact Robert Paton, Head of Economic Development (ext. 6142)
Implementation Officer: Robert Paton, Head of Economic Development
AGENDA