Surveys have already been carried out at this year’s event with festival goers and traders.  Students from the University of Reading conducted over 2000 face to face surveys with festival goers which explored demographic profile, festival attendance and spending patterns. A face to face survey with traders, suppliers and promoters on site at the festival was also conducted by Baker Associates to understand business types, expenditure, staffing levels and supply chains.

The next step of the assessment is to ask local businesses how Reading Festival affects them in terms of employment, trading and turnover. We have commissioned Bristol based consultants Baker Associates to assess the festival’s economic impact. 

The data derived from each of the above components will be fed into an economic impact model which estimates the impact of Reading Festival in terms of the investment it brings to the town and the jobs it helps to secure.  The results of the survey will be used to ensure the economic benefits of the Reading Festival are fully understood and capitalised on.

Baker Associates, Festival Republic and Reading UK CIC, the economic development company for Reading, are now inviting Reading businesses to take part in a short survey.  The more businesses that complete the short survey, the more accurate the results will be.  The survey only takes a few minutes to complete and businesses will also have the chance to win 2 race passes at Teamworks Karting.

Businesses can complete the survey by visiting: http://www.bakerassocs.com/reading_survey.php.  

The deadline for completing the survey is 9 November.