Event Management Field Report: Experiencing UK Events

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EXPERIENCING EVENTS
FIELD REPORT

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................. 2
ST PATRICK'S DAY.......................................................................................................................... 2
EAT AND DRINK FESTIVAL..............................................................................................................5
LONDON MARATHON.................................................................................................................... 7
REFLECTION ON THE EVENTS.........................................................................................................9
REFERENCES.................................................................................................................................11
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INTRODUCTION
Managing an event may include a variety of challenges and to understand the complexity of
these events, observing and experiencing different facets of event management is an
interesting method to expand one’s knowledge base and gain new experiences. This report will
provide a detailed account of three major events in the UK which are Saint Patrick’s Day,
Meatopia food and drink festival and London Marathon.
Below discussed are some research questions which will help in guiding the whole observation
process and the final reflection on the experiences gained during this observation process:
 What are the facts associated with the history and the cultural importance of the event?
 Since how long this festival is celebrated and at present at which time of the year the
festival is organised?
 What is the way to celebrate this event?
 What are the unique aspects of the festival which makes it popular among the
population?
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ST PATRICK'S DAY
Saint Patrick day is an annual event held in Ireland and many other parts of the world. It is a
celebration in the honour of Saint Patrick who was a patron sent of Ireland. The event is
celebrated on the day of 17th of March every year; this day is observed to celebrate the arrival
of the great saint into Christianity (Pehrson et al., 2014). The celebration first started in Ireland
but later, in the 17th century, the event was declared as a public event by the Catholic church.
The festival is generally celebrated by wearing green attire, public parades, and Irish traditional
music session.
FIGURE 1: ST PATRICK'S DAY
[SOURCE: IRELAND.COM, 2019]
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The parade of Saint Patrick day is held all over Ireland in different forms. The largest St Patrick ’s
Day parade is held in Dublin. In Dingle, the parade starts from 6 am in the morning and at
Armagh, the parade runs for a whole week. This parade is organised to celebrate Christianity
and the people of Ireland feel great proud in participating in this festival. The festival represents
the heritage and culture of Ireland. The festival is ideally celebrated by the Irish community in
the United Kingdom, America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand (Ireland.com, 2019). The
participants in this event mostly wear green colours because this colour is associated with
Catholics in Ireland.
The day is usually celebrated by eating traditional food and dancing in the Irish style.
Consumption of food and drink is an integral part of the festival. Traditionally the day was
celebrated after a long restriction on food and drink called ‘Lenten Restriction’ and it is believed
that this is the reason this festival is always associated with consumerism, feast, food and
drinks.
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EAT AND DRINK FESTIVAL
‘Meatopia is one of the biggest food and drink festivals celebrated in the UK. The event started
in New York and later this festival was introduced in the UK by popular chef Richard Turner. It is
a three-day event organised in the month of September. In 2018, this event was held from 31
August-2 September. In this year's event, more than 40 celebrity chef participated in the food
joint. These chefs bring original meat recopies from around the world and make this festival
unique and interesting for the food lovers (Stogdon, The Telegraph, 2017). The tagline of the
event is ‘eat, sleep, meat, repeat’ which shows the spirit of this food and drink festival which is
based on serving the participants most unique variety of meat from different cultures of the
world.
Figure 2: Meatopia food and drink festival
[Source: Stogdon, The Telegraph, 2017]
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Different types of meat are prepared in this event and the cooking is done over charcoal and
wood which gives a unique flavour and identity to the food. The festival is slowly gaining
popularity in the UK and people for different countries of the world participate in this event.
The primary attraction of the food festival is the wide variety of meat items served by the
experts in the field. The meat used in the preparation of food items is ethically sourced and
barbecued in an exquisite manner by prolific chefs from different corner of the world.
6

LONDON MARATHON
London marathon is a running event started in 1981. Since 2010, the event is sponsored by
Virgin and the event called as Virgin Money London Marathon. The two Olympic medal holders
Chris Brasher and athlete John Disley started this event in 1981.
The route of the race passes around river Thames. Every course of the race is started at three
separate points which are located at Charlton way, St John’s Park and Shooter’s hill road.
London Marathon 2019 started form Blackheath and Greenwich Pary and finished at ‘The Mall'.
Different colour codes were allocated to the participants on a random basis. The participants
who have whatever colour on their number bathes, they have to start to form the same
coloured assembly area which can be green, red, blue and yellow (Bryant, 2010).
FIGURE 3: LONDON MARATHON
[SOURCE: RAMSAY, CNN, 2010]
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In the year 2019, the event was held on 28 April and the winners of the event were Eliud
Kipchoge in men’s race and Brigid Kosgei in women’s race. In this year’s London Olympic a
number of celebrities participated which include Chris Evans, Jenni Falconer, Nell Mc Andrew
and Kirsty Gallaher. The whole event was covered live by the BBC channel. The event is one of
the longest marathon events in the world running over a distance of 26 miles (Ramsay, CNN,
2010). London marathon also collects a large amount of money for charity by the help of
sponsorships. Since starting, the event, the charity of over £ 450 million is collected through this
sporting event. Some eye-catching moments of the event were the appearance of a pink short
wearing non-lite runner Richard Ollington who mixed up with the professional runners.
FIGURE 4: OLLIGGTON IN PINK SHORT WITH THE ELITE RUNNERS
[SOURCE: RAMSAY, CNN, 2010]
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REFLECTION ON THE EVENTS
Overall, the experience of this whole observation process helped me understand different
aspect of the event managed. By experiencing these events and gathering information about
the cultural importance of these events I was able to increase my knowledge base. My role in
this module was to observe different festivals and events organised in the UK. The first event
that I covered was Saint Patrick’s Day. This is the biggest public festival in Ireland which is
celebrated with great joy by the local residents, as well as tourists, from different regions of the
world.
On the day of 17th March, the celebration in the honour of great saint of Ireland Saint Patrick
starts in every city and town of Ireland. The celebration starts in the morning and continues till
late at night. Different varieties of food are the primary attraction in the event. Looking form
the perspective of Consumerism, the celebration involves preparing food and drink item in bulk.
At the end of celebration tonnes of food get wasted as the people order more than the
requirement in the festive mood. A large amount of garbage is also produced in these mega
events which are another form of consumerism. These large events need to be organised in a
sustainable manner so that the spirit of the festival is truly celebrated. The festival involves
wearing green colour dresses, hats, caps shoes and other accessories. All these accessories are
purchased to prepare for the holiday. Such large scale consumption of clothes needs to be
reduced so that the amount of waste generated can be reduced. The theory of consumerism
motivates the people to purchase more and more and this festival represents this spirit of
consumerism where people purchase new clothes every year.
I also observed the food and drink festival ‘Meatopia’ this festival is celebrated to offer the
people a new variety of meats which are prepared by renowned chefs from different countries.
The special attraction of this event is the preparation of food by using traditional charcoal and
wood. The items prepared by this process have a unique Smokey flavour and remind the
participants the countryside life in a new flavour. The wastage of food items at these events
should be avoided to keep the event environmentally sustainable. Some better food options
may also be introduced to make the people aware of the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.
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London Marathon is a mega event which is celebrated to make the people aware of sports,
health and fitness. Along with elite runners, a number of common residents also participate in
the marathon which represents the true spirit of the event. The theory of consumerism focuses
on increasing the average purchase per consumer. Linking this theory with the London
marathon it can be said that the London marathon supports the collaborative consumption
theory which focuses on sharing the resources and go green. When people are made aware of
the health benefits of sports they can also be encouraged to use consumer products in a more
responsible manner. Therefore it can be said that the event of London Marathon supports the
concept of collaborative consumption and circular economy.
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REFERENCES
1. Ramsay, G., 2019. CNN. London Marathon: The best tales from 2019. Online available
at: https://edition.cnn.com/2019/04/29/sport/london-marathon-2019-best-stories-spt-
intl/index.html [accessed on 2 May 2019]
2. Ireland. Com, 2019. Online available at: https://www.ireland.com/en-us/articles/st-
patricks-day/ [accessed on 2 May 2019]
3. Stogdon, C., 2019. Meatopia: A carnivores' carnival. Online available at:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/10219455/Meatopia-A-carnivores-
carnival.html [accessed on 1 May 2019]
4. Pehrson, S., Stevenson, C., Muldoon, O.T. and Reicher, S., 2014. Is everyone I rish on St
Patrick's Day? Divergent expectations and experiences of collective self objectification‐
at a multicultural parade. British Journal of Social Psychology, 53(2), pp.249-264.
5. Bryant, J., 2010. The London Marathon. Random House.
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