Event Guidelines In support of Event-Led Tourism Produced by Barry Chamber of Trade May 2003   CONTENTS   Foreword 1. Introduction 2. Aims and Objectives 3. Definition of Events 4. Critical Success Factors 5. Potential Events & Themes 6. Delivery Strategy 7. Useful Contact Points Appendix 1 - Extract from "Barry Beyond 2000" Appendix 2 - Event Priority Scoring Sheet

Contents Foreword This Event Guideline was produced by Barry Chamber of Trade with the intent of setting out how to achieve the maximum benefits from events-led tourism for the Greater Barry region. It draws heavily from another Chamber document - "Barry Beyond 2000 - An Opinion" issued in March 2001 - that set out views on the future economic development and environmental regeneration strategy for Barry. "Event-led tourism, particularly for Barry Island would be a powerful tool in putting Barry back on the map and help drive visitor figures up." Para 8.30 The Vale of Glamorgan Council wholeheartedly endorses this statement and has underpinned this with the necessary funding. This Event Guideline can therefore be construed as a true Partnership Document, resulting from the number of meetings held in recent years to agree and move the case forward for event-led initiatives. The opportunity is now here for a major events programme and for wider community participation, as a business sponsor, event organiser, event steward, participant, and willing helper. We therefore are now at the start of a major drive to market a positive image of the Town. This Event Guideline offers constructive advice for an event strategy, setting out definitions, objectives, critical success factors, potential themes, delivery strategy, and advice for event organisers, and useful contact points. This should offer drive, direction and focus to the campaign to "Build a Brighter Barry" - the slogan aimed at reinforcing the positive regeneration message to win hearts and minds of those who live, work, visit, and invest in Barry. The challenge begins! Paul Haley President 21 May 2003

Contents Introduction 1.1. This document sets out the broad aims and objectives that event organisers should bear in mind when planning an event.

Contents 2. Aims and Objectives 2.1. The purpose of an event is to encourage people to attend. This is a very simplistic statement in itself, but when the event is part of an event-led tourism programme, it takes on greater significance as it then becomes part of a strategy to change people's behaviour and perceptions. 2.2. In this case, the change is to show how the Town has improved through regeneration, and how reality is different allowing misconceptions to be indirectly challenged through careful placing of strategic messages. 2.3. Behavioural change will come about through visitors' direct experience of Barry as a great place to visit. Over time, visitors should not need an event as a reason to visit, having been influenced by their previous visits. It is therefore paramount that great care is taken to ensure that the reputation of the Town is established and built upon. 2.4. The objectives of an Events Programme is to encourage more spending visitors to Barry through a long-term strategy of developing themes and identities which will associate events with Barry. 2.5. The objective of an event is to; 2.5.1. provide a positive reason for someone to visit through a quality entertainment experience; 2.5.2. provide facilities to meet and exceed the visitors expectations; 2.5.3. ensure high standards of health, safety and welfare for all participants. 2.6. The aim of an event is to maximise the opportunities of; 2.6.1. Increasing the number of visitors; 2.6.2. Increase the spend per visitor; 2.6.3. Increase the length of stay ; 2.6.4. Increase the potential repeat visits; 2.6.5. Build an event that can be sustained, repeated, and extended over a longer time period.

Contents 3. Definition of Events 3.1. In the context of this guideline, we have not differentiated between types of events, and defined what actually constitutes the difference between an event and a small localised "jumble sale". We believe that some work needs to be done in this area, but see no reason why a Major and Minor Events Programme cannot run in tandem, and be complimentary. 3.2. Definitions are needed to classify and assist in distinguishing the following; 3.2.1. An event; 3.2.2. Local, Regional, National, International events; 3.2.3. Minor and major events.

Contents 4. Critical Success Factors 4.1. We believe that there are a number of key factors crucial to the success of an event, which event organisers need to address. 4.1.1. Quality of the event must be paramount; 4.1.2. Control of events must meet health and safety legislation, and be planned with full support of the appropriate authorities, including Emergency Services and Local Authority; 4.1.3. Branding to build a good reputation, through brand building and enhancement. Key messages need to be strategically placed, such as the "Building a Better Barry" logo and strap line to sell the message that Barry is a great place to live, to work in, and to visit; 4.1.4. Information delivery to potential visitors must be excellent. This needs to be through proper bonafide channels, and we see a large role here for the barrywales website www.barrywales.co.uk, and an events programme brochure. We would discourage flypostering which ultimately causes blight on the attractiveness of the Town we are trying to market; 4.1.5. Long-term programme linkages between events need establishing and operating as a matter of course. For example, on leaving an event, visitors need information leaflets on the next event; 4.1.6. Management information recording systems need to be put in place to record statistics on number of visitors and participants, and spend, and feedback on the event.

Contents 5. Potential Events & Themes 5.1. We need to retain and enhance existing events, and to encourage the identification of new events. We list the following that are either taking place or have taken place in recent years, and would record that there may well be more that we have missed; 5.1.1. Easter at High Street, 5.1.2. Fireworks Night at Barry Island, 5.1.3. Christmas Lights at Holton Road & High Street, 5.1.4. Lifeguard Competition at Barry Island, 5.1.5. Annual Long Distance 40 mile race at Jenner Park, 5.1.6. Round The Island Road Race, 5.1.7. Ty Hafan 5k Waterfront Race, 5.1.8. Boxing Day Swim at Barry Island, 5.1.9. Barry Carnival, 5.1.10. Steam Train Events, 5.1.11. Tall Ships at Waterfront 5.2. Many other towns also encourage their local clubs to run competitions, which can also take place over a weekend, allowing heats to take place, but which encourages overnight stays. For example, ballroom dancing, sailing, football, rugby, windsurfing, bmx biking, etc. Brighton offers a good example of a Summer programme, and competitors can be found accommodation in the empty University Halls. 5.3. We suggest that there is potential to develop themes to the event programme. For instance, a number of years ago, work was done by the Vale Council on identifying "Transport - Trains, Boats, & Planes" as a theme which would pull together a number of events. 5.4. With the Vale of Glamorgan Steam Railway now in operation, the Waterfront now in a much more developed condition and having better linkages, and visits of Tall Ships, there is a great opportunity to revisit this theme and use it as a basis for development. 5.5. We would also put forward the following; 5.5.1. Barry Festival - a local festival to celebrate all the very best in art, music, drama, literature, & speech. This should be inclusive of all generational talent, to include schools and pupils, art clubs, drama clubs, pensioners clubs etc. It could be centralised around the Memorial Hall, with recitals on the main stage, exhibitions in the Annexes. A kind of localised Eisteddfod; 5.5.2. Barry International Festival - build on the twin town approach, and also facilitate the celebration of identities and roots of townspeople. Could encourage cross-sharing of International music, foods, and cultures. This is done well at the Swansea Show, which has several large marquees - the Indian tent, Chinese tent etc - each has traditional dancing and displays, as well as appropriate on-site cooking and tasting of traditional foods. Could include a German tent for Rheinfelden, French for Fecamp, etc. Lots of potential for participation, as local shops could theme their shop or trading street, and pubs etc.; 5.5.3. Barry Island Rock - a music festival, led by local bands, giving them the opportunity to play and entertain local audiences. This would be relatively cheap to set up as most bands would play with little payment and plenty of goodwill (already a high level of interest has been indicated) just to support the setting up of this event. The success of the Galaxy Radio Roadshow proved that there is potential for building an association with music, and utilisation of the Barry Island brand.

Contents 6. Delivery Strategy 6.1. The delivery of an Events Programme year on year requires a clear strategy, and we set out our preferred method here. 6.2. There are a number of elements within our preferred strategy; 6.2.1. How to determine which events receive priority. We favour a scoring mechanism where potential events are scored against the objectives and criteria already stated above in paragraph's 2.5, 2.6 and 4.1. We set out a score sheet in Appendix 2; 6.2.2. In year events - Operations. Event organisers shall be encouraged to work with a regular event organiser, so as to build experience that can be used by all. This will introduce a commonality, and reduce costs over a longer period, as similar planning documents and templates can be used, stewards can be trained and then used for several events. This should keep standards to a set quality threshold. A committee should be established a year ahead, and take the programme from the Forward Planning and solely be responsible for the operational year programme; 6.2.3. Forward planning events - Strategy. A separate body needs to be planning the longer term events programme strategy, in order to look at attracting and bidding for a variety of bigger, established events, such as Tall Ships Race in 2008, Britain's Strongest Man etc. They will not be involved in the finite detail nearer the event date, but will coordinate and hand over to the In year events; 6.2.4. Events Co-ordination - Executive. This is the executive role that is responsible for co-ordination between strategy and operations, event organisers, Vale Council departments, Chamber of Trade, businesses, sponsors, emergency services, press etc. We think this role is a key post and requiring a person of the right calibre, who is commercially and financially astute, has a proven track record at organising large public events, has exceptional organisational abilities, is at ease dealing with people of all levels within organisations, has exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, and can command the respect of all market sectors; We are genuinely concerned that the right person is appointed to this role, and would respectfully demand the right to be involved in the appointment process. 6.2.5. Liaison committee with emergency services and contingency planning. Again, this is a specialist role which requires the right kind of relationships to be built and fostered, and an events co-ordination executive combined with an operational event organiser would offer the continuity, and build expertise and competences; 6.2.6. Sponsorship targets for levering in private sector funds. It is not, in our opinion, wholly the duty of the Vale Council to fully fund an events programme. There is a role for business and others to play, and opportunities must be made available and created to take advantage of other funds. We do, however, recognise that the Vale Council does have to take the early lead to "pump-prime" the event-led tourism initiative. We would recommend that targets are set for the executive to meet as regards achieving sponsorship, and benefits in kind. These targets should be progressively increased and therefore need to be set for a number of years, with annual reviews. 6.3. We indicated in our Chamber document (see Appendix A, paragraph 8.50) that further work was required to address and identify the most effective delivery method; "A marketing and event plan is needed to give strategic direction and focus. The key question is how the marketing of Barry can be delivered most effectively. At present, marketing is carried out piecemeal by business operators, the Vale Council and the Wales Tourist Board through its regional companies. The messages are often mixed and disjointed. A study should be undertaken to examine the benefits of out-sourcing the marketing of Barry to a specialist private company or creating a partnership marketing vehicle. e.g. Cardiff Marketing Ltd." 6.4. We still believe this requires careful consideration, and would encourage the Vale Council not to take the quick and easy option of establishing a post, or part of a post within its offices. All options should be appraised, which should include examining the benefits of outsourcing to a private company or creating a partnership marketing vehicle.

Contents 7. Useful Contact Points Paul Haley - Barry Chamber of Trade - 01446 404694 www.barrywales.co.uk

Contents Appendix 1 - Extract from "Barry - Beyond 2000 - An Opinion" MARKETING 8.10 Barry must promote a positive image if it is to encourage investment and growth. An effective marketing strategy is essential to the success of the town's regeneration aspirations. The Vale Council must pursue an aggressive campaign to promote the opportunities for development and business presented by the regeneration programme. 8.20 As economic and urban regeneration progresses an increasing emphasis will need to be placed on marketing Barry as a major leisure destination and a place to live and work. Out of date, negative perceptions of the town will need to be challenged. 8.30 Event-led tourism, particularly for Barry Island would be a powerful tool in putting Barry back on the map and help drive visitor figures up. To be effective, events would need to be many and varied ranging from small local activities to larger national events that could develop over a number of years into multi-day festivals to encourage visitors to stay in the town. 8.40 Barry's association with boats, planes and trains provides an opportunity for the town to be linked with events based on a transport theme. Jersey, Hay-on-Wye, Brecon and Glastonbury are known respectively for their flower, book, jazz and pop festivals. Barry could equally benefit from event-led tourism. 8.50 A marketing and event plan is needed to give strategic direction and focus. The key question is how the marketing of Barry can be delivered most effectively. At present, marketing is carried out piecemeal by business operators, the Vale Council and the Wales Tourist Board through its regional companies. The messages are often mixed and disjointed. A study should be undertaken to examine the benefits of out-sourcing the marketing of Barry to a specialist private company or creating a partnership marketing vehicle. e.g. Cardiff Marketing Ltd.

Contents Appendix 2 - Event Priority Scoring Sheet   Name of Event: Date of Event: Event Organiser: 1 2 3 4 5 6 Please score the proposal against the criteria listed below on a Rating between 1 and 6: 1 being low and 6 being excellent             Does the proposal give you confidence that the event will:             provide a positive reason for someone to visit through a quality entertainment experience;             provide facilities to meet and exceed the visitors expectations;             ensure high standards of health, safety and welfare for all participants.             Increasing the number of visitors;             Increasing the number of visitors;             Increase the spend per visitor;             Increase the length of stay;             Increase the potential repeat visits.             Build an event that can be sustained, repeated, and extended over a longer time period.             Quality of the event must be paramount;             Control of events must meet health and safety legislation, and be planned with full support of the appropriate authorities, including Emergency Services and Local Authority.             Branding to build a good reputation, through brand building and enhancement. Key messages need to be strategically placed, such as the "Building a Better Barry" logo and strap line to sell the message that Barry is a great place to live, to work in, and to visit.             Information delivery to potential visitors must be excellent. This needs to be through proper bonafide channels, and we see a large role here for the barrywales website, and an events programme brochure.             Long-term programme linkages between events need establishing and operating as a matter of course. For example, on leaving an event, visitors need information leaflets on the next event             Management information recording systems need to be put in place to record statistics on number of visitors and participants, and spend, and feedback on the event.