JOIN THE IIFX Virtual Town
Hall ABOUT Fan Behavior
As we come upon the end of another year, it’s hard to imagine that December marks the end of two years of Covid-19 in the world. After a year of almost no fans at sports and entertainment events, we are witnessing near-capacity crowds at almost all festivals and events around the world. But, something seems different about the fans and how some are behaving.
On 15 December 2021 at 11 AM Central Time, IIFX host a free Virtual Town Hall event, What’s Going on with Fan Behavior? Challenges and Solutions.
The Virtual Town Hall is sponsored by Respondology, a company of 20+ year digital veterans dedicated to making a positive impact through technology by “doing something about the hate and damage produced by people hiding behind the anonymity of social media.”
Register here for free to join nine sports and entertainment industry thought leaders and experts as they discuss fans and their behavior at major events. Leading executives who are successfully producing live events will answer questions and share their best processes and technology practices. Learn how they are creating a safe and secure experience resulting in increased fan participation and revenue.
We know artist, player, staff, and fan behavior can affect the overall fan experience of sports and entertainment events. The various 2021 sports seasons have shown us fans throwing things at players, fighting each other, engaging in partisan attacks against fans of opposing teams, and using vulgar and racist language and chants to humiliate players and artists.
We have seen ticketless fans crashing the gates at Wembley stadium and the Travis Scott Astroworld Festival, damaging security equipment and fighting security.
In the case of the Astroworld Festival, 10 fans died, and dozens were injured. From homophobic and racist chants and social media postings to fighting and crowd crushes, we wonder what has changed to cause the proliferation of poor fan behavior at sports and entertainment events?
In my view, we should continue asking some tough questions and consider what is happening and why. Attributing everything to the pandemic is too easy and convenient. We need to look deeper and challenge conventional wisdom.
What lessons from the past have we forgotten? Are the fans in 2021 different from those in the pre-Covid era? Are more fans purchasing tickets and attending events for the first time and are unfamiliar with how to behave in sports and entertainment venues? Are fans unfamiliar with Codes of Conduct? Does social media play a positive or negative role? Is there something more that we only beginning to understand?
While some fans engage in anti-social behavior and violence, other fans are trying to “police” those who are misbehaving or engaging in vulgar or anti-social behavior. Many fans take pride in their teams and artists; they are not tolerating those who misbehave and ruin the experience for all fans.
In my view, fan-related incidents at the Astroworld Festival, EUROS 2020, and a myriad of college and professional sporting events are challenging the best event plans. Nine leading executives who are successfully producing, securing, and managing live events will answer questions and share their best processes and technology practices. Learn how they are creating safe and secure experiences resulting in increased fan participation and revenue.