Written evidence submitted by Festival UK* 2022
DCMS Committee inquiry on Major cultural and sporting events
Submission by Festival UK* 2022
INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT
We recognise that this DCMS Select Committee inquiry has specific terms of reference but think it useful to reflect on the important role that public events in general – not just the major events mentioned by the inquiry – have in bringing people together, often from very different walks of life and backgrounds.
Public events have succeeded in this for decades. With so many events planned for 2020 and 2021 having to be cancelled their return in 2022 will contribute to the overall beneficial impact of a unique year, as we continue to emerge from the Covid pandemic, and the population gets used to mass public gatherings once again.
Event organisers always undertake detailed research and analysis on participation. Though a unified way to measure their social impact is still to be established1, it is proven that public events both large and small deliver local, national and international platforms for beneficial social connectivity. This might be through attraction to a common ground of shared interest, or reflective commemoration or attraction to a concept, or simply for personal pleasure of something different or unusual to collectively do. In doing so, public events represent spaces for people to share important moments in time and collective release. In 2022 this sense of release, and the prospect of something to look forward to, is likely to be even more keenly felt.
From weekly football matches, to music festivals, to the fabulous variety of events that celebrate the multitude of diverse communities throughout the UK, there are thousands of events, both large and small, creating opportunities for people to come together each year. These shared spaces help connect people and communities in ways that might not ordinarily happen in their daily lives. Through the many events that reflect the diversity of the UK, events open opportunities for interaction and greater understanding between communities.
So, while large-scale or ‘mega’ events may attract the most attention, they operate within an ecosystem that includes mid- and small-scale events staged daily in their thousands across the UK. One cannot exist without the other, so it is vital to support our world-beating events industry through education, skills and funding, and the ambition and innovation that is the bedrock of success.
Large-scale events can create several responses. The opening and closing ceremonies of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, for example, were a massive exercise in storytelling, presenting narratives about British history that were deftly contemporary. While reflecting on the past, it considered who “we” are, as fluid and diverse, with a range of perspectives.
At the same time, the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games also offered spectacle and excitement on the grandest scale. Not only were they presenting a multi-faceted vision of who we are as a country, they inspired an emotional response, with audiences in the London Stadium and watching globally on television connecting through the epic production, colour and energy.
An emotional response can also be observed at the end of the New Year’s Eve fireworks in London and Hogmanay in Edinburgh. It is noteworthy how quickly the spectators depart, as if several weeks of build-up and the night’s excited anticipation have been satisfied by a magical, few moments shared with thousands of strangers.
Other major events, such as the UK City of Culture and London Borough of Culture programmes both celebrate and explore places and the people who live in them. A key element of London’s first Borough of Culture in Waltham Forest in 2019 was presenting the multiplicity of different voices living there. Hull UK City of Culture in 2017 was an opportunity to put the city at the centre of the national cultural conversation, while retaining its distinct personality. Both projects aimed to support resident populations to tell their own stories, with artists and creatives responding to those places in unexpected ways, exploring the past and present, with an eye on the future. By all accounts, Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 will continue this vital place- based approach to major cultural events programming.
1 Martin Wallstam, Dimitri Ioannides & Robert Pettersson (2020) Evaluating the social impacts of events: in search of unified indicators for effective policymaking, Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events, 12:2, 122-141, DOI: 10.1080/19407963.2018.1515214 These and other examples, along with a desire to evolve what major events can be, have informed what Festival UK* 2022 (working title) will be. It seeks to underline our collective creativity by drawing together the fields of science, technology, engineering, arts and maths, conceiving how new digital tools, media and traditional live event practices can merge to create projects of ambitious creativity that reach far more people than could ever attend in person. The festival also accepts that for projects to truly engage and reflect all our identities they must be created through the bringing together of a diverse set of creatives from the outset. 500 individuals and organisations worked on the paid R&D Project for the festival, and hundreds more will be involved in its production. By investing in development (unlike in this festival, it is too often done without payment) we can ensure we make events for and with audiences, and also open up opportunities for emerging talent and under-represented voices. Crucially the festival uses the whole of the UK as its site and resists the natural magnetism of our metropolises to monopolise activities.
What does the UK public want from major cultural and sporting events, and how effectively is this being reflected in the planning and programming for events in 2022?
We believe that cultural activity attracts, engages and unites the public in unique and meaningful ways. Festival UK* 2022 plans to do this by focusing on two key acts - bringing people together and showcasing our creativity. We have done this by commissioning 10 large-scale projects designed collaboratively by creatives from the science, technology, engineering, arts and maths sectors. Project activity will be delivered at hundreds of urban, rural and coastal locations across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It will include significant educational and participatory opportunities and digital engagement (including traditional media) with the aspiration to reach 66 million globally. The Festival will be free of charge for everyone to enjoy, with the majority of the off-line programme taking place outdoors.
Evidence for events of this kind – such as the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, Hull’s UK City of Culture year in 2017 and the 14-18 NOW cultural programme – shows that this is a very successful model.
Total public engagement in the Cultural Olympiad UK-wide was 43.4 million, with 25.8 million outside London. Of these more than 43 million public experiences of Cultural Olympiad events, 5.9m involved active creative participation. Over 45,000 people volunteered, helping more than 177,000 events to take place in over 1,000 venues, from the Shetland Islands in the north of the UK to the Scilly Isles in the south.2 “The UK population were motivated to extend their engagement in culture as a result of their London 2012 experiences. This motivation was higher for people that took part in the Cultural Olympiad and the London 2012 Festival. The Cultural Olympiad and post-Olympiad activity also raised the profile of the UK’s cultural offer nationally and internationally. ...the scale and breadth of London 2012’s cultural achievements and should be seen as a key point of reference for major cultural programming for years to come.”3
In Hull, the UK City of Culture programme attracted a total audience of 5.3 million, who attended over 2,800 events, cultural activities, installations and exhibitions. Over half of the audiences were from Hull, with 9 out of 10 residents (i.e. over 95% of all residents) attending at least one cultural activity during the year. There was a strong sense of ownership amongst local residents: the evaluation reported a significant increase in participation among them, in a city that had historically recorded low participation in arts and culture. Residents also reported an increased sense of pride in their city.4
More than 50% of the UK population (35 million people), including eight million young people, experienced the 14-18 NOW projects, which took place in 220 locations across the UK, from Orkney to Plymouth, Norwich to Belfast, with many also touring internationally. Evaluation evidenced the programme of free events reached more diverse audiences than normally for the arts and heritage sectors and showed the value of public outdoor arts in engaging new audiences. In undertaking work across the UK and a diverse range of activity, 14-18 NOW succeeded in achieving reach and resonance at a local, national and international level. It also set a new benchmark for the arts and heritage sectors in commemorating national moments, in the UK and internationally 5
2 Garcia, B., London 2012 Cultural Olympiad Evaluation – Executive Summary, 2013, available online at http://iccliverpool.ac.uk/wp- content/uploads/2016/10/Garcia2013London2012COSummary-WEB.pdf 3 Olympic Games Impact Study – London 2012 Post-Games Report, A report compiled for the International Olympic Committee by the University of East London, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, December 2015,p.85, downloadable at http://www.uel.ac.uk/- /media/main/images/ace/cgis/postgames_ogi_report.ashx?la=en&hash=21A005DE002F7A05B6AA4838A3E7B55F4D160FBF 4 University of Hull reveals UK City of Culture 2017 evaluation: https://www.hull.ac.uk/work-with-us/more/media-centre/news/2018/city- of-culture-evaluation 5 14-18 NOW Overall summary of evaluation: https://issuu.com/1418now/docs/03560_1418now_jo_burns_report_v4_wr Research shows that audiences for outdoor arts are different from those experiencing arts and culture in venues and cultural organisations. “Unlike audiences for many other artforms and cultural activities, they tend to be representative of the demographics of the public in their area. The data shows that audiences for Outdoor Arts are local, drawn from their immediate hinterland. Profiles vary across the country, looking very different in coastal locations, rural settings, urban areas and so on. This evidence supports the idea that Outdoor Arts has the power to amplify a sense of community, and to change people’s perceptions of a place. […] Social factors are important reasons for attending, with the majority of people wanting “to be entertained” and attending in larger groups than is typical across the arts. Still, though, people rate the quality of their experience itself very highly.
“The Outdoor Arts events (…) attract high numbers of audiences, many of whom don’t often take part in other state-supported or commercial cultural activity. The festivals present a rich mixture of different experiences, created in a range of ways by artists from various disciplines. Many directly involve their community as volunteers and creative participants. This range and adaptability may help to explain why Outdoor Arts is particularly effective at engaging audiences in such diverse settings.”6
In summary, events like these have a broad appeal. They are especially attractive to young people, which data confirms are over-represented compared to traditional cultural sector audiences, while also drawing audiences across all age groups overall. They attract people with different levels of interest, not just ‘culture vultures’, who enjoy the opportunity to experience a variety and mixture of familiar and more experimental artforms. Reasons for attending are overwhelmingly social, with people enjoying being able to attend in groups with friends or family. The perceived quality of the experience and its entertainment value are also rated highly. Most importantly, they play a significant role in community building: audiences report an increased sense of social connection, of belonging and pride in their place.
Festival UK* 2022’s focus and content have been carefully considered; taking into account the lessons learned through these and other events, and the insights from their evaluations, particularly in regard to the needs and wants of the public. The festival has also been influenced and informed by the depth of knowledge and expertise in delivering public events that is held across members of the Board, the festival team, the Strategic Delivery Bodies (Belfast City Council, Creative Wales and EventScotland) and the 10 festival creative teams. The three key values that have led the evolution of Festival UK* 2022 are open, original and optimistic. The original brief to the over 500 individual creatives and organisations from the STEAM sectors that took part in the festival’s paid R&D Project was deliberately non-prescriptive; it asked them to imagine and design a concept for a large-scale public engagement project that is open, original and optimistic and will exist in places and spaces across the UK – real, virtual or both – seeking to reach millions of people globally.
While looking to the past to see what worked and what didn’t for previous major events, we should also avoid simply repeating successful formulas. Our audiences change; their views, identities and desires can evolve rapidly and so must the events we make and share with them. There is no better way to ensure these events resonate with the wide and diverse audiences and communities we want them to attract than to ensure their involvement from the very beginning.
A fundamental requirement for each Festival UK* 2022 creative team was for their makeup to be diverse. The 10 teams are made up of creatives from all backgrounds, ages and corners of the UK. They come from five different sectors (science, engineering, technology, arts and maths) and are at different stages in their careers: there are established names as well as emerging talent and too often lesser heard voices. Many of them are freelancers, others work for institutions of various sizes, including universities, theatres, disability arts and culture organisations, tech companies, research centres and museums.
The 10 Festival commissions currently being developed have their own distinct focus and personality and all include engagement and learning activities (with one specifically targeted to schools and youth groups), thus offering multiple access points for the public to connect with the festival maximising broad and high levels of participation.
The Festival programme is predicated on the plurality of ideas, voices and perspectives of the people that are creating it and a commitment to appealing to audiences from all backgrounds, and communities at a local, regional and national level, as well as to showcase and promote our creativity and innovation to audiences globally through digital channels and our partnerships with organisations such as the BBC and the British Council.
All 10 projects aim to have mainstream appeal while also introducing something new. We want them to be accessible and popular, but also to offer an opportunity for audiences to try and discover something that they may not yet know they like. The programme will feature events happening in the daytime as well as night-
6 The Audience Agency in partnership with Outdoor Arts UK, Outdoor Arts Audience Report - What Audience Finder says about audiences for the Outdoor Arts, July 2018. time, on land, on shore and online. These transformational experiences will deepen our understanding of different stories and perspectives and, ultimately, the world around us.
Particularly after almost two years which have seen us unable to come together with friends and strangers to experience live events and celebrations, the importance of major public events cannot be underestimated. They represent something to look forward to and offer an invaluable opportunity for human connection, reflection and collective release.
What needs to happen for major events to successfully bring people from all four nations of the UK together?
Past successes have shown that when events are delivered by independent expertly run organisations with clear creative vision and leadership they succeed. We know all too well how ‘design by committee’ or events with political agendas fail to engage mass audiences.
As research points out, variety is also key. We know that some of the most successful events of the last few decades have been those blending traditional and experimental art forms and reflecting the wide spectrum of identities and realities of various audiences and communities - celebrating a diversity and multiplicity of voices and perspectives as well as what we all have in common.
If we look at just two key events for next year (there are many more), the Commonwealth Games and Festival UK* 2022, each has distinctive content, but together, they present a UK and home nations of many identities and interests. Importantly, whilst having the active engagement of all four governments, both events are produced by arm’s length bodies.
How should the success of major cultural and sporting events be measured and what should their legacies be?
The UK has world-class monitoring and evaluation, particularly led by the university sector, which continues to innovate how we assess events and their value. At the festival moves are afoot to further develop assessment of data in a more immediate ‘in-flight’ way – rather than months after it has taken place, which will help inform stakeholder and public understanding of our reach and value.
Success for events should be evaluated on a broad range of benefits including economic impact, learning, value for money and the bricks and mortar left behind, but there is also mounting evidence on the benefits for physical and mental health. Research underlines the interrelationship of all factors and many events like Hull 2017 worked with health providers for example. Festival UK* 2022 will also measure the beneficial legacy of memory – those moments of release and connection – and its role in happiness, community building and civic pride.
As well as millions of free opportunities to experience Festival UK* 2022, we hope the unique R&D process, new cross-sector, cross-nation collaborations and paid opportunities for freelancers, emerging talent and under-represented voices will lead to a long-term legacy. The breadth opportunities to participate already described, plus the centring of creativity, collaboration and new ways of working at the heart of participation will underpin a good value investment.
Legacy should not solely be seen as a post event activity, it is an end to end process. This means ensuring there is a pipeline of talent to make events like this happen in the future, through creative education, skills development and investment in the wider creative ecology, including grassroots culture and smaller events and organisations.
What are the challenges facing the delivery of major cultural and sporting events in 2022, and the bid to host the World Cup 2030?
From the London 2012 Games to the Rugby World Cup, we have a great track record for sporting events, experience that can be built on. As always, there is never enough time, but event organisers will always endeavour to be as nimble as possible, while navigating complex multiple stakeholder relationships, public procurement and of course the continuing impact of Covid-19. How we navigate these and the success of next year’s unprecedented events programme will play an important role in the bid to host the World Cup in 2030. www.festival2022.uk