The Woodstock Music Festival’s Organizational Challenges Essay

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The Woodstock Music Festival’s success in 1969 led to three attempts to revive its spirit. However, every time the organizers faced challenges while preparing for such a global event. The first Woodstock was the most popular, although not the most profitable. The targeted audience were supporters of pacifism, which made them peaceful attendees and allowed the managers to economize on safety. There were around a dozen police officers to keep an eye on 500,000 people (Cahn, 2019). However, if the managers had a more elaborate security plan, it would restrain the flood of visitors unwilling to pay. Moreover, they failed to provide enough medical and food supplies, so it is another topic to consider.

For the next Woodstock in 1994, the organizers decided to review their strategies, setting the $135 ticket price. They prioritized security by establishing a fence and prohibiting alcohol and drugs but missed on other risks, such as the rain causing big amounts of mud. However, the visitors enjoyed it instead of trashing the venue or getting outraged and leaving, so it became an advantage (Wiederhorn, 2019). The organizers’ choice of music also determines the project’s success. Including the favorite singers from Woodstock 1969 and new stars, for instance, Bob Dylan was a wise strategy that helped attract the audience’s attention.

Unlike the two previous festivals, the Woodstock in 1999 acquired notoriety and showed changes in culture. This social experiment led to riots, looting, and numerous assaults (Hyden, 2019). One of the reasons for this failure is the wrong music choice. Many think that “aggressive music on stage fueled the aggressive behavior in the audience” (Hyden, 2019). Subsequently, the promoters’ hope of capitalizing on the festival waned because the media represented them as greedy tradesmen who created a violent environment (Hyden, 2019). Probably, a more thoughtful approach to the music program would allow the organizers to avoid this problem.

After such a disaster, the festival’s project in 2019 was doomed to fail. Many bands expected to be the participants abandoned the event, and financial backing was lost (Lewry, 2019). It seems like the organizers should pay more attention to a clever promotion strategy. Reminding the potential audience of the original Woodstock’s idea and its importance in the unstable modern world would reinforce the project’s position. Evoking the older generation’s sense of nostalgia and attracting the young people’s attention to the simple pleasures of life would also gain support for the festival.

References

Cahn, Lauren (2019). 50 things you didn’t know about Woodstock on its 50th anniversary. Reader’s Digest. Web.

Hyden, Steven (2019). Does Woodstock ’99 say anything about its generation, or was it just pure chaos? The Ringer. Web.

Lewry, Fraser (2019). Woodstock 50 officially cancelled. Louder Sound. Web.

Wiederhorn Jon (2019). Woodstock ’94: inside the craziest festival of the 90s. Louder Sound. Web.

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IvyPanda. 2022. "The Woodstock Music Festival's Organizational Challenges." September 29, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-woodstock-music-festivals-organizational-challenges/.

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