Online festival experiences, eventscapes and cultural value: insights on the dilemmas faced by two South African festivals during COVID-19

ABSTRACTAs in many countries, lockdown measures to control the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa resulted in the large-scale cancellation of cultural festivals. To preserve business continuity, many festivals shifted to online events to continue providing value for audiences, sponsors and artists. This paper focuses on the experiences of two of the oldest and largest mixed festivals in the country: The National Arts Festival and the Klein Karoo Nationale Kunstefees. Both festivals adapted by shifting online, necessitating significant programme, business model, and management innovation. Using the framework provided by the literature on visitor leisure experiences and e-eventscapes, the paper questions how arts festivals have achieved new e-eventscapes alongside providing online cultural programming. The paper uses a mixed methods research approach to analyse the experiences of festival managers and audiences in the differing approaches developed by the two festivals. Theoretical and practical implications from the study are discussed in the conclusions.KEYWORDS: FestivalsCOVID-19onlineeventscapeadaptationexperiences Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1 Using an average exchange rate for 2019 of R14.45 to the US$.2 Using an average exchange rate for 2018 of R13.25 to the US$.3 Living Standards Measures (LSMs) is an index based on household income, facilities and ownership of certain consumer goods. It was developed by the South African Advertising Research Foundation (SAARF) and is used extensively for market segmentation. A full description of what it includes is available here: http://www.saarf.co.za/lsm/lsms.asp.4 The average South African Rand (ZAR) to US Dollar exchange rate in 2020 was 16.47 which is what is used here to translate Rands into Dollar amounts.Additional informationFundingThis research was funded by a grant from the Arts and Humanities Research Council, UK, for a project entitled ‘Future Festivals South Africa: Possibilities for the Age of COVID-19’ [Grant Ref: AH/V008307/1].