Festival risks – pigs can fly
8 May 2008
After Pink Floyd’s famous giant inflatable pig floated away during a Roger Waters concert in California recently, Coachella arts festival spokeswoman Marcee Rondan told the world’s media: "It wasn't really supposed to happen that way."
The Pink Floyd pig, which measured the width of two buses, was found in tatters by two families on their driveways in the nearby town of La Quinta days later. The families said they will share the $10,000 (£5,090) cash reward offered by the festival organiser, plus four life tickets, between them.
Rock festival organisers find that their events don’t always go according to plan. In fact, the Pink Floyd pig has gone AWOL before. Back in 1977, it floated away on the second day of a photo shoot at the Battersea Power Station in London and was later recovered and used for an album cover.
But festival promoters can cover themselves against all kinds of contingency, and Lloyd’s is a focus for this valuable type of insurance.
Cancellation cover is popular with promoters. The main peril is weather, which either prevents set-up or means it is too dangerous to proceed with the event. Organisers can also opt for other risks, such as agricultural exposures like foot and mouth or avian flu.
Non-appearance can be a vital - covering ticket refunds if an act cancels or does not appear. The protection would be harder to buy for some artists more than others, mentioning no names. It is more usual for a festival to buy cover when the loss of an act would not necessarily cancel the whole event.
Other policies available from Lloyd’s underwriters include liability insurance, equipment cover (inflatable pigs for example) and cash policies for the takings.
“In our opinion, the biggest risk facing festivals is the weather,” says John Silcock, Managing Director of Lloyd’s broker Robertson Taylor Insurance. “Often festival organisers don’t appreciate that the decision to cancel may not be their own but the council or other public body who insists on cancelling because of health & safety concerns,” he explains.
Last year the Truck Festival was cancelled when the village of Steventon, Oxfordshire was flooded. The site could not be accessed by road or by rail. The organisers had no choice but to cancel although the council did assist by providing indoor venues for the booked acts.
“However, the organisers were only able to use the venues if they were able to obtain the necessary insurances,” Mr Silcock remembers. “We were pleased to help and were able to arrange cover on a Saturday morning. The event was held two months later with 90% of acts supporting the new dates.”
Robertson Taylor has over 30 years experience in the festivals business and has seen the sector grow rapidly. One hundred and forty two outdoor live music events were licensed by English councils in 2006. Between April and October 2007, 352 live concerts and outdoor festivals were planned. Isle of Wight-based Bestival has seen attendance grow from 6,000 in 2003 to 30,000 in 2007. Glastonbury has grown from 70,000 to 180,000 in the past ten years.
Robertson Taylor is doing its bit to reduce the environmental impact of festivals, however. It offers a 10% discount on premiums if festival organisers sign up to at least five environmentally friendly actions from a list of sixteen. The list includes initiatives such as using eco-friendly cleaning products on site; the provision of recycling points and installing composting toilets.
Last updated on 21 May 2008
