When the Beach Beckons, You Must Answer
There was probably one place that, as a kid, you visited with the most fervor and longed to return to over and over. And we call it “the beach”.
Ocean sounds have been shown to activate the prefrontal cortex, a region of the brain associated with emotion and self-reflection. Researchers discovered this out through scanning the brains of people who were exposed to the sounds of both the ocean and of traffic. The stress hormone, cortisol, exists. This hormone can be triggered by exposure to certain sounds like traffic and airplanes. Problems with your health, such as ulcers and heart disease, can occur when this hormone is released. Cortisol levels can be lowered by listening to the soothing sounds of the ocean.
So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that we’re always excited about the prospect of a beach trip.
The beach serves more than one purpose for human beings. It’s also a hub for a wide range of amusements. The beach can also be used for different types of celebrations and parties, rallies, carnivals and festivals. It’s natural to feel overwhelmed if you’ve been tasked with planning a beach event on behalf of your friends, coworkers, or even the entire company. It’s a massive task, especially if you’re in charge of planning something like a “beach festival”.
Sirwiss works with event planners who have a diverse background and years of experience organizing large-scale events in Middle Eastern countries. This article outlines what it’s like to organize a large-scale event, such as a beach festival. Continue reading to get the information you need, and then you’re ready to go.
What Is a Beach Festival?
A festival, according to the International Dictionary of Event Management, is a “public celebration that conveys certain meanings to participants and spectators through a kaleidoscope of activities.” The diverse nature of festivals has resulted in the evolution of classification types. A beach festival is one such classification because the celebrations take place on the beach.
Organizing Any Festival Within the UAE
The United Arab Emirates has become an important meeting and convention destination. There are celebrations in each emirate at various times of the year. The United Arab Emirates plays host to major cultural and artistic events on a global scale. The UAE’s Ministry of Culture and Youth is responsible for boosting the country’s cultural sector. In addition, the United Arab Emirates plays host to a number of major international sporting and recreational events. This fact implies that you might need to get the necessary approvals for your planned event well in advance.
Your All-In-One Festival Planning Guide
If most of us can agree on one thing, it’s that festivals are a lot of fun! They bring people together, fostering a sense of belonging and celebration. However, planning a festival is vastly different from attending one. A successful event requires many working parts to come together. It takes a lot of effort to plan a festival, from setting goals to securing a workforce to making it all happen. This step-by-step festival planning guide should be an initial guide as you plan your upcoming festival.
Phase One – Planning Ahead of Five Months
In order to ensure that your event goes off without a hitch, you must first lay the necessary groundwork before getting down to the nitty-gritty details. As a festival event planner, you need to do everything you can to guarantee your own success. In any situation, there will be factors outside of your control. Even though you can’t predict the weather for an outdoor music festival, you can prepare for any eventuality by having a system, plan, or alternative ready to go well in advance. At least half a year before the festival, consider these factors:
1. Determine the Goals of Your Festival
Is it attempting to draw attention to a particular cause? Is your goal simply to attract as many people as possible? It is important to define what you want to accomplish with your festival before you begin making plans. These objectives are meant to guide your planning and help you make the best decisions possible.
2. Create Committees
To get things rolling, assemble a planning group for the festival. Sponsorship, communication, marketing, and event planning are just some of the many skills that should be represented. This is your primary squad. Subcommittees, similar to a volunteer committee, can be established from there. By setting up these committees, everyone involved will know their roles and responsibilities.
3. Projected Ticket Sales
Your next step is to calculate how many people you can expect to attend and decide on a strategy for selling tickets. It can be challenging to estimate how many people will attend your festival if it is in its inaugural year, but you can use the turnout at other festivals in the area as a benchmark. Do not be afraid to make a bold prediction. To be safe, it’s better to overestimate than to underestimate. In order to successfully plan ticket sales, you must first establish expected attendance. It’s a good idea to make some tickets available for direct purchase, such as at sponsor locations. Using an online ticketing system can simplify matters for both you and your guests. With this system in place, you can sell tickets online around the clock, and your customers can use digital tickets, eliminating the need for paper tickets and the associated risks of loss or theft.
4. Determine the Demographics of the Audience
Who do you hope to attract most to this celebration? If you know this, you can better organize your festival’s activities and create a successful advertising campaign. For instance, you may need to spend a lot of time and resources marketing for an event like a beach beer festival.
5. Setting the Budget
Assess the total amount you can expect to receive from all of your ticket sales, sponsors, fundraising, and donations, both now and in the future. All costs, such as personnel, location, stage rental, and special accommodations for performers, should be factored in. You can better plan and manage your expectations if you have all of these numbers at your disposal, even if they are estimates. In case of unforeseen costs, set aside a small portion of your budget.
6. Book the Venue and Work on Permits
The beach you pick should be large enough to house everyone attending the festival. Are there car parks for the festival? The venue’s availability should also be considered when deciding on a date for your festival. Find out if you need any special permission from the local authorities to host the event. Perhaps you’ll need a license to sell alcohol. If you need one of these permits, you should start the application process as soon as possible after learning what is required of you. Accessibility and restroom standards may be outlined in local ordinances; research this to be sure.
7. Plan Vendors and Entertainment
Start thinking about and making preparations for festival vendors, activities, and performers. You shouldn’t put off planning the festival’s “content” until the last minute. Incorporate these reservations into your advertising strategy. It’s important to get in touch with vendors and performers as soon as possible, especially if they’re particularly in demand.
8. Sponsorship Strategy
Working on your sponsorship plan early will pay off. Begin by forming a subcommittee to explore potential sponsors, develop a tiered sponsorship package, and initiate outreach. The more systematic and organized you can be, the better your chances of succeeding.
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Phase Two – Planning Ahead of Three Months
Planning for the festival should be well underway at this point, but it’s still a good idea to double-check to make sure everything is on track.
9. Suppliers and Performers: Now Is the Time to Get in Touch
Without music, a music festival would be pointless. Plus, any event wouldn’t be complete without the various food stands. Make sure the vendors and performers are still committed to showing up at your event, as their presence will have a significant impact on the quality of your guests’ experience. Find out if any special arrangements need to be made and set them in motion early.
10. Finalize Booths
Do you plan to have food booths and/or food trucks at your festival? Make sure you have enough room for these vendors, as well as any other supplies they might need.
11. Create an Event Website
As soon as you know the specifics of your event, you should set up a website for it. If you haven’t already, make a website and fill it with interesting details about your festival. Sponsors, your ticketing site, and the biographies of the performers are all good places to put links. Include information that your audience will find helpful, engaging, and pertinent. It might be helpful to include a “what to bring to the festival” checklist. Participants can use this document as a guide for what to bring and what to leave at home. No outside food or drink is permitted, but sunscreen, a hat, and a water bottle are encouraged. This will establish guidelines to guarantee a positive stay for visitors.
12. Start Marketing Your Festival
You can begin promoting your festival as soon as the details have been finalized, just like you can begin using your event website. Shoot, you can even start before if you want. Make social media teaser campaigns to get people excited and talking! Utilize print and social media channels to spread the word about your festival.
13. Sponsorship Confirmations
Many of your sponsors should be in place already, however, check in with your team. Check your progress, follow up with any potential sponsors who may need it, and ensure that you have all of the creative assets (such as logos and colors) you require from all of your sponsors. Again, most of this will be completed by now, but you’ll want to have it finished within the next month. Banners, stage wraps, main stage signage, and any other signage corresponding to your sponsorship levels can be printed once the design is finalized.
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Phase Three – Planning Ahead of One Month
Now that the big day is almost here, it’s time to start perfecting the last of the details and shoring the framework in place. Being well-organized is a must at any point in the festival planning process, but especially as the big day approaches.
14. Re Confirming the Timeline
Consider the schedule and timeline if you will be hosting something with a number of different performers on different stages. Plan for enough time for set up and tear down between acts and for people to move from stage to stage. Try to stick to this timeline as much as you can during your festival. If there will be exhibits, displays, or other “special events” during the day, ensure that the timing is appropriate. What time do gates open? Don’t forget to give your staff and volunteers enough time to get things right before guests arrive.
15. Prepare Goodie Bags for Attendees
It might be a good idea to gather some materials for people to take with them when they arrive at the festival. Provide attendees with a map showing where every vendor is, where the stages are, where the restrooms are, where the first aid tent is, etc. Consider branded swag like keychains or lanyards. It may also be a good idea to include a post-event survey or information on where attendees can find it online after the event.
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Phase Four – Planning Ahead of One Week
16. Finalizing
If you’re doing any sort of planning, you should be done by now. It’s as simple as double-checking with everyone involved to make sure that everything is still set to go. Spread the word about the setup time. Inquire once more if there is anything else you can do to help your merchants finish setting up. Provide them with power if they need it.
17. Have Meetings with Your Team
Assemble your committees with a plan in mind. Be sure that everyone knows how to reach you and who to talk to. It’s crucial that everyone be pumped and ready to go before the event begins, including the parking attendants, the gatekeepers, and the guests. Think ahead to the cleaning that will be required after the festival. Get the word out and have everyone meet at the designated time.
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Phase Five – On The Day of Your Festival
18. Any Remaining Set Up
If you weren’t given access to the venue in advance to set up, or if you weren’t able to have everything ready, you should get there early and finish up before the guests arrive.
19. Payments for Vendors
If you haven’t already done so, please pay any vendors and performers in advance. The funds from your customers’ purchases should be deposited promptly by your payment processor. That way, no one has to pay for supplies out of their own money.
20. Relax
Breathe in deeply. You’ve put in a lot of effort to get here, and you’re doing everything you can to possibly make everything go smoothly. Don’t forget that you’re entertaining people, so keep things fun and upbeat.
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After the Festival
21. Time to Say Thank You!
Make sure your amazing crew knows how much they contributed to your success. After the festival is over, you should think about throwing a thank-you party. To show your gratitude, you may also put together a gift basket. It could be as simple as a token of appreciation.
Remember to offer a genuine thank you to your sponsors in your final report. While providing them with the cold, hard facts about their sponsorship, make sure to also convey how much their support meant to you and your group. Say “thank you” when their help was crucial to the success of the occasion.