Appendix PRE2020 1 Group2
A: User Survey 1
In the early stages of the project a survey was held towards visitors of the events. Most questions were aimed towards determining user interests for a different product, the corona beeper. Some questions however were still useful even for the current solution. Here the full survey and the responses can be viewed.
1. How often, in a normal year, do you attend an event?
| Answers | Percentage | Number reactions |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0% | 0 |
| 1 to 2 | 22.22% | 8 |
| 2 to 5 | 41,67% | 15 |
| 6 + | 36.11% | 13 |
| Total | 100% | 36 |
This question’s purpose was to get to know the respondents. Our respondents usually go to an event in a normal year. This is good news because those people are our target group. So, all the data that is gathered in this survey is relevant for our user study.
2. How many events did you attend this year?
| Answers | Percentage | Number reactions |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 33,33% | 12 |
| 1 to 2 | 47.22% | 17 |
| 2 to 5 | 13,89% | 5 |
| 6 + | 5.56% | 2 |
| Total | 100% | 36 |
Here a shift is noticed. Some respondents did not go to any event this year. Still most of the users did go to an event this year. The follow up question was what kind of measurements the event took to maintain the distance and safety of the attendees.
3. If you went to an event this year. What measurements did they take regarding Covid-19?
Here an error was found in the question. Three respondents answered the question with the fact that the events were before the outbreak of covid-19. So those answers were not useful. The most notable answers are that the events are a lot smaller, users had to stick to a fixed table with 4 people. One extreme was that the temperature was measured before entering the event. Almost every answer contained disinfection.
4. If you went to an event this year. Could you keep enough distance to the other attendees? And did you actively pay attention to keeping distance?
For the first question of 21 respondents 17 said yes to this question. So, keeping distance was possible due to their being enough space. The remaining respondents said that there was not enough space. Some noted that in the room there was enough space but when entering the toilet this was impossible to do. To the second question 5 respondents said that they actively paid attention to the distance. The remaining respondents noted that after some alcohol consumption they did care less about the distance. This resulted in not paying attention and violating the rule of keeping 1.5 meters distance.
5. Would you wear a device which measures your distance to others to attend an event?
| Answers | Percentage | Number reactions |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 72,22% | 26 |
| No | 27.78% | 10 |
| Total | 100% | 36 |
Surprisingly most of the respondents would wear a device that would measure the distance. This gives room to design such devices.
6. May this wearable give you warnings, via vibrations, when you come to close?
| Answers | Percentage | Number reactions |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 72,22% | 26 |
| No | 27.78% | 10 |
| Total | 100% | 36 |
Same results as with question 5. This seems logical due to the fact that the same respondents find it a good idea.
7. Can you think of other feedback systems you would like?
This question was added to get some feedback from the respondents. It is possible that they have a good idea that was not accounted for by the research team. Most of the respondents answered no to this question.
8. After receiving three warnings the security will come and will ask why you are not adhering to the rules, without a good reason you will be removed from the festival. Would you as an attendee agree with these terms?
| Answers | Percentage | Number reactions |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 56,56% | 20 |
| No | 44.44% | 16 |
| Total | 100% | 36 |
9. When answered no. Why not?
A lot of respondents said that this is too harsh. It is very error sensitive in the sense that if someone else comes close to you are you then to blame for his or her mistake. So, how can this problem be solved that it is fair to every user. The respondents said it is fair when this is accounted for but otherwise most of them would not support such a system. This is something the research time should think about. 3 people did not support it at all, this because of the money lost.
10. Would you prefer such a system over standing in a given spot which you cannot leave? Why?
| Answers | Percentage | Number reactions |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 70,97% | 22 |
| No | 29.03% | 9 |
| Total | 100% | 31 |
The main reason was the feeling of more freedom at a festival. The remaining respondents liked the fixed spot because of the safety advantages they thought it had. It cannot go wrong when your spot is fixed.
Raw data: [1]
B: Emails to event organizers
To find out what the exact problem is in the event sector, it could be the lower number of customers, the social distancing, the hygiene, et cetera. Some event agencies, festival organizers and concert halls were contacted. This is a summary of the received answers to the questions via mail.
In this project we are focusing on big events out in the open air with a larger number of people. If adhering to the social distancing and hygiene rules, what is/are the problem(s) that make(s) the organization of these events so hard? Is this for instance the social distancing at the entrance/exit or the bar or at the stages. Or is it something else?
An employee of an event agency says that he doesn't believe in 1.5 meter-events. At a festival you ought to be able to freely dance, sing and drink. He refers to a research of Mojo concerts, in which the main conclusion was that events without keeping distance out in the open air are not as dangerous as is being thought. It states that more than 96% of the infections happen inside and those super spreading events also always happen inside. He argues that festivals and concerts should be allowed without social distancing, as the chance of getting ill is very little if you're younger than 45 years. Everybody has to take responsibility and when in doubt: stay home.
The organizer of a festival confirms that organizing events with 1.5 meters distance is almost impossible. He also mentions another problem: standing is not allowed. Furthermore, capacity drops drastically. Another problem is alcohol consumption: during the day the 1.5 meters is mostly respected. However, when it gets dark and the alcohol kicks in, visitors are having a harder time respecting the distance.
Do you have any ideas about how to control the crowd in order to make sure the 1.5 meter distance is being respected? You can think of cameras, an app or other sorts of gadgets.
The organizer says that they haven't thought of crowd control. They use security to make the visitors aware of the social distancing rules and motivate visitors to adhere to these. He says that this is a cheaper way than using electronics for crowd control.
Do you consider the following gadget desirable at a festival? All customers get a gadget when they enter the festival. This gadget continuously tracks the distance to other gadgets of other people. If two (or more) gadgets come within a radius of 1.5 meter an alarming signal will go off. Too many warnings for violating the social distancing rules means exclusion from the festival. Another function of this gadget could be that we would program it in such a way that people from the same household do not have to keep 1.5 meter distance. What do you think?
The employee of the event agency worries about friends: they are not from the same household, but probably do not want to keep 1.5 meter distance.
Do you have any other ideas how we could possibly help the event branch?
The employee of the event agency mentions a quick corona test. Everyone has to undergo a corona test, of which the result is known in two minutes. Everyone that tests negatively is allowed to enter, the rest has to go home.
The organizer of a festival also thinks of a scan that can detect whether a visitor has (had) the corona virus and/or has been vaccinated. Another idea is a 'body wash' that every customer has to do before entering the terrain.
C: Interview with organizer
What do you consider to be the biggest problem for organizing events in the current covid-19 situation?
In short, the following measures and its consequences are killing for the Effenaar:
First of all, the 1.5 meter distance rule drastically brings down capacity. In their biggest hall they can normally receive 1300 guests. The government now has the policy that indoor locations can receive as many people as possible provided that enough distance is kept. For the Effenaar, this means that they can sell 50 duo-tickets. Obviously, this makes shows far from profitable. They need at least 900 guests to be cost-effective. The cancelling of shows and the lower capacity has led to the dismissal of more than half of the staff.
Secondly, the 1.5 meter has to be respected at all times, also at the entrance, exit, bar and bathrooms. The Effenaar has introduced walking routes and signing. However, guests are having a hard time following these routes. The Effenaar also organized some outdoor events on 1.5 meters with a larger number of people. This raises one more challenge: crowd control. How do you boost the flow of guests?
Furthermore, at all events guests have to sit. It is not allowed to stand, because violation of the social distancing is more likely when standing. Although these sitconcerts might not be the biggest problem for singer-songwriters, a dance-, house- or hardstyle-concert without being able to dance is almost unimaginable.
We also talked about the tracking device (first idea). This is the feedback we received on that:
Just beeping or lightening up is not enough. The lightning can be ignored easily and the beeping might not be heard because of the music. Therefore, vibrating is the better option.
How to make sure that people do not take off the bracelet? On the other side, making sure that the bracelet can't be taken off might give an anxious feeling. Do guests have a choice?
About the idea of this device, she said the following: guests book a ticket for entertainment, relaxation. Continuously being buzzed because you accidently pass someone in the toilets is far from relaxing. Also when extra features are added such as only alarming the person that is responsible for violating the distance rule (by tracking movements) and raising the threshold of seconds for receiving a warning visitors will still have an uncomfortable feeling continuously being tracked. A better alternative would be to send the warnings to security, who can approach the guests and remind him or her of the rules.
Last but not least, it is useful to design this tool? It is now possible to organize events with the current measures. Such a tool would only be useful if it would enable the Effenaar to scale up capacity or when standing concerts would be allowed. This device will probably not have an added value at this moment.
An alternative she came up with is to make this tracking device not for the audience but for the artists. They also have to maintain 1.5 meter distance at the stage. Moreover, the distance between the singer and the audience must always exceed 3 meters.
In conclusion, the most pressing issue is the downfall of the capacity, which is unfortunately something we can not solve as long als the social distancing rules are in effect. Moreover, the sit concerts are 'okay' right now. This can be regulated satisfactorily. However, thinking ahead and making dancing events possible again would absolutely make a difference for event organizers! Together we came up with the following idea:
In order to enable dancing at a distance stationary dance-islands can be created. This means that every guest gets a circle in which he or she can freely move. Those circles will of course be 1.5 meters apart from each other. In the middle of the circle will be a reference point and the customer will wear a tool that continuously tracks the distance to the reference point. If this distance exceeds the maximum radius of the circle a warning will be given. As light and sound can be easily missed/ignored at a festival, another way needs to be found to make sure that the behaviour of the user is influenced. To this end, headphones will be introduced (just like they are used now in silent disco's). When exceeding the radius of your circle an annoying sound will disturb your music or the music will even be paused compeletely. When going to the bar or toilet, you can take off your headphones and security knows that you are heading to the bar or toilet. The annoying sound/pausing the music discourages leaving your island. It is also possible to make the radii of the islands a bit bigger and allow more people of one household in one circle. This way you can scale up and make it more fun for visitors.
D: User Survey 2
After having shifted to the dance island idea, another survey between the users was held with the following responses.
When attending events. Do you usually walk around a lot or do you stay more at a fixed location at the stage? Choose the option according to your normal behaviour that resembles you the most.
| Answers | Percentage | Number reactions |
|---|---|---|
| Walk around | 51,6% | 16 |
| Stay at a fixed location | 48,4% | 15 |
| Total | 100% | 31 |
The results are slightly curved to the walking around option. Desirable for us would be that the attendees would like to stay at a fixed location. Although this result was expected, a festival is an experience so getting food, drinks and sitting somewhere with your friends is all part of the experience. However, it is almost fifty-fifty.
Would you like to attend an event where you have to stay in your predefined area in which you can freely move?
| Answers | Percentage | Number reactions |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 83,9% | 26 |
| No | 16,1% | 5 |
| Total | 100% | 31 |
Surprisingly most respondents answered yes to this question. This shows that the respondents are open for a different kind of event.
Would you like to attend an event where you have to wear headphones that monitors your movement?
| Answers | Percentage | Number reactions |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 77,4% | 24 |
| No | 22,6% | 7 |
| Total | 100% | 31 |
As can be seen 7 people did not like the idea of being monitored. When asked why not they responded that they do not like the feeling of being monitored. One person did not like the idea that there will be no interaction with others.
When leaving the given spot the music, via your headphones, will stop playing. Would this encourage you to stay in your spot?
| Answers | Percentage | Number reactions |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 73,3% | 22 |
| No | 26.7% | 8 |
| Total | 100% | 31 |
22 people out of the 31 answered yes to this question. The biggest problem was that some wanted to stop listening to the music. When, for example, getting beer or talking to other people. This needs to be looked at. It is undesirable for the organization that everybody puts off their headphones to just talk with other attendees.
How would you experience an island which you cannot leave? With exception to going to the toilet or the bar
| Answers | Percentage | Number reactions |
|---|---|---|
| The feeling of it being a good solution | 41,9% | 13 |
| The feeling of being mildly restricted | 32,3% | 10 |
| The feeling of being in a cage | 25,8% | 8 |
| Total | 100% | 31 |
As can be seen most respondents think it is a good idea. Although it is a small majority. Some have the feeling of being mildly restricted. And 8 of the 31 respondents have the feeling of being in a cage. This last group is undesirable. Attendees should never have the feeling of being caged. The responses vary. Some say that the attendees have no choice. It is this kind of festival or nothing. Another one responded that he or she gets very anxious if he or she needs to stay at a fixed location. So two groups can be seen here. On the one hand there is the group that just accepts the fact there are no other options. The other group does not like the feeling of being restricted in their movement behaviour. These are things to consider. The organization should be clear on the amount of tracking that is done and make the attendees feel comfortable with the idea.
Are you willing to pay an extra 5 to 10 euros to make such events happen?
| Answers | Percentage | Number reactions |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 70% | 21 |
| No | 30% | 9 |
| Total | 100% | 30 |
21 of the 30 respondents responded yes to this question. The reasons why some would not pay the extra 5 to 10 euros were that these restrictions do not benefit towards the fun factor. Some claimed that events are already expensive enough and this would mean paying extra for a worse event.
With how many people would you like to attend such events? (including yourself)
| Answers | Percentage | Number reactions |
|---|---|---|
| 2 people | 6,7% | 2 |
| 4 people | 26,7% | 8 |
| 6 people | 66,7% | 20 |
| Total | 100% | 30 |
Most respondents answered that they would like to go with 6 people. This would be the best option for the festival organizers too. This way the festival ground can be arranged most efficiently.
What is your general idea about this solution?
Most respondents said they liked the idea. Some respondents were skeptical about if it really was going to work. Others totally disagreed with the idea. At last some have pitched other ideas to make the event more fun. For example, making the cost of the ticket higher because of the costs of the tracker but in return offer a free beer. Attendees will have more eye for the free beer.
E: Second interview with organizer
Consequences of new measures (28-9-2020): it is no longer allowed to receive more than 30 guests inside. And because they are a horeca-place they have to close the door at 10 pm. They are in consultation with the local authorities to try to get permission for receiving 100 guests and closing the door at 10 pm.
First of all, we explained our overall goal and our concrete plan. We told Tinka that we want to go to the local authorities with a concrete plan to hear their opinion on it. She came with some very helpful tips on how we should approach the municipality and who we should contact before doing so.
First some general remarks on the concrete plan: work with an app such as Airchip. This is an app for ordering drinks at a distance to avoid queues at the bar. This way you can minimize time outside the islands! Moreover, make sure that the reference point is not easily removed or replaced! About our target group: our gadget is not suitable for all sorts of music. If attendees want to do a mosh pit, our tool is of course worthless.
Some practical things: it is possible to do a live concert with headphones. Furthermore, attendees are not allowed to sing or yell. Obviously, the only thing that could be done about this is to ask people to adhere to the rules. This is not a problem that this project can solve.
Although Tinka liked the idea, she remarked justly that organizing the dancing-festivals outdoors would solve two problems instead of one. Indoors, the problem of sitting is the only thing that could be solved. However, outdoors, not only solving the problem of not being able to dance but maximizing capacity by arranging a bigger terrain is possible.
Before contacting the local authorities it would be useful to also contact organizers of corona-proof events, such as the StadsOase in Eindhoven, but also other pop podia, such as 013. StadsOase is an outdoors horeca-place, where you can book a table with your household and have drinks while enjoying music. This resembles the atmosphere of a festival, while sitting at a table. How do they justify households that are friends pretending to be a household? What are the deals they made with the local authorities? And contact other festival organizations that are still organizing festivals in times of COVID-19. What do they think of our idea?
If setting next summer as a target for organizing dancing events, there is enough time for finding investors, talking with the stakeholders and getting permission
On our concrete plan for the municipality Eindhoven: Substantiate why people need this tool to respect the rules. The local authorities might argue: ‘why is this tool needed when you draw islands on the ground? People can use their common sense right?’ Describing precisely what would go wrong if you do not monitor this is required.
On the financial aspect. We expressed our concern on not being certain that working with our tool will be profitable for festival organizations. We asked Tinka what she thinks of this and whether de Effenaar would be willing to organize an event without profit.
For de Effenaar there is no benefit in organizing an event that is not profitable for them. The only reason they did not completely sweep their calendar is for retaining the subsidies from the municipality. Organizing an event with our tool would require more working hours for staff, which makes the preparations more expensive. However Tinka was enthusiastic and said she was willing to consider organizing a dancing event if they would not make a bigger loss on it than they are doing at the moment, be it for fun.
More on the financial aspect: contact organizations that help young entrepreneurs with finding investors, such as Young Creators and the start-up challenges of the local authorities. They can also give us advice on contacting other stakeholders and how to approach the municipality.
F: Rental Companies Correspondence
To research the feasibility of a solution the companies that rent out silent disco systems have also been interviewed, as our product is a modification of a silent disco system these companies offer a good insight as to the feasibility of our product. This information is obtained from phone interviews with two rental companies and email correspondence with another company.
All three rental companies have been significantly hit by the corona crisis, with the business to business market grinding to a halt. This is of course a direct result of the impact of corona on the event sector itself. There have been some creative solutions to keep business going throughout the COVID-19 crisis, using the headphones for drive-in cinemas for example. The business to customer market has also seen an increase during the corona crisis, people rent the headphones for a garden party together with neighbors for example. The loss of the business to the business market however is greater than the gains, getting the business to business market going again would be very important for this stakeholder.
Our proposed solution would come with an increased cost, an additional cost almost doubling the price of the base headphones. Even with this cost however our modification is still generally seen as worth it, this depends however on if our product will be necessary to hold dancing events during the corona crisis. If these modified headphones are completely necessary and widely accepted by both users and stakeholders the demand for the headphones would be significant enough to make the additional cost worth it. Some of this additional cost must however be carried over into an increased rental cost for the event organizers. For reference: the current rental cost is around €3.50 to €5.00 depending on the size of the order.
It would also help greatly if our modification of the headphones could be undone after the corona crisis is over. If headphones could be restored to their original functionality the risk would be far smaller for the rental companies. This could also relieve the financial strain due to the sensors used in our solution still keeping a percentage of their value.
Therefore, if governments would be more willing to let events happen if our headphones are used and if a significant demand would be created for the headphones due to this, then headphone companies definitely view our product as feasible.