Event management in Melbourne, and around Australia, depends heavily on organisers making the correct calls. They have no shortage of elements to consider – everything from transport, to food, to accommodation is under their bailiwick, to say nothing of entertainment or presentations. It is one reason that your team at Solution Red is so excited for our event management app – it keeps all of these elements ready for you, in your pocket.
The stakes are high in this field. If things go awry, you can disappoint large groups of people. Unfortunately, history is rife with examples of what NOT to do when organising an event. And an epic one was added to the list quite recently.
The Fyre Festival was billed as an exclusive affair. Ticket prices were reflective of this, but there was no shortage of willing buyers, lured by the glamorous imagery of the marketing campaign and its star cast. But the event went awry very, very quickly when the turnstiles began to spin.
Organisers had little experience in event management, and faced the task of putting on an event on a remote island in the Bahamas, Grand Exuma. Every facet had to be flown in from Miami, and once there, faced an onslaught of poor weather and logistical problems. They had not properly anticipated the amount of manpower that was needed, and the ‘exclusive’ accommodation became a rush job, at the last second. Tents were still being erected when guests began to arrive.
Toilets were overburdened by the sheer numbers of guests. The so-called gourmet cuisine was missing completely. Exuma’s tiny airport was not prepared to deal with the enormous number of festival guests, and alerted to the impending disaster, most of the headline acts pulled the pin in the week prior week. Despite this, incredibly, organisers still went ahead and attempted to run the festival, despite mounting internal calls to cancel it.
From the ensuring disaster rose a ruined company, a great deal of ill-will, and a $100 million class action lawsuit. In total, Fyre Festival demonstrates exactly how wrong things can go when marketing skills exceed your logistical capabilities and knowledge. Event management in Melbourne, and throughout Australia, can take note of this boondoggle, and take steps to avoid a repeat performance.