Abstract
The objective of this thesis is to find out how music festivals in Norway communicate environmental awareness to their audience. Through the use of mixed methods for collecting data, I measure the impact that the music festivals, Hove and Øya, have on their attendees regarding environmental sustainability. The methods I use are primary sources including in-depth interviews, surveys and literary review as a secondary source. The results of the survey are analyzed and compared to the main themes gathered from the interviews. These data sets are then contrasted with the existing literature to bring together an overall understanding of the topic. The research for this thesis is mainly exploratory, since there is little literature on the topic; however, it does use a model for event greening created by Mair and Jago to assess the strategies used by the festivals (2010). Additionally, I provide a suggested application of the Mair and Jago model to the local Norwegian festival event sector. Throughout the thesis I explore the hypothesis that festivals can impact sustainable behavior. First, I introduce the involvement of music and music festivals in environmental awareness. Then, I explain the reasons why festivals decide on being environmentally friendly and through the application of the Mair and Jago model, I focus on the different drivers and catalysts towards sustainability that affect the festivals in question (2010). I also explore the attitudes that the festival organizers have towards sustainable event management contrasting it with that of the attendees. Finally, I offer a chapter that suggests the possible improvements festivals can make to be more sustainable and how other sectors can apply them. I conclude that music festivals can be a tool for communicating environmental awareness when planned strategically.