Sonaritmo (Barcelona's Sonar festival 2001)

A usability analysis of Sonar

I don’t get out of London much, but I have been to enough music festivals to know that Sonar provides something for its audience of which promoters, in the UK especially, should take notice.

Those who attend are treated with civility.

From the first point of contact with the event, perhaps via the website when checking the line up, or buying a ticket, right through to leaving the last nights party at 7am on the Sunday morning, the customer has been considered in great detail. <*>

On entry to the CCCB (daytime venue), which is in the centre of the city, you are provided with a pocket sized booklet detailing the running order for the entire three-day event, maps of the locality and information regarding the many alternatives to the music which are within the site, which you can exit and re-enter at any time.

This is the crucial difference, resulting in an unparalleled situation for the festival fan. You are armed with the right to control your own destiny, to see whichever artists suit, filling the rest of your time however you want. You can visit the beach between John Peel playing records in the Sonarlab and Matmos playing live in the Macba, content in the knowledge that you are not missing anything. You can also eat and drink away from the site if you choose, a result of which is on-site refreshments are reasonably priced.

Does anyone know of any festival that offers these small yet significant differences?

80,000 people passed through during the 3 days, the only fault I could find was the lack of ladies toilets during the day and the price of drinks and transport problems at the nighttime venue. It’s not perfect of course, but a good indication of the quality of the event is that the organisers learn and attempt to improve the experience for the following year. For example, compared to 2000, the night venue was larger in order to keep the ticket price for the enire event as low as possible. A three-day all-inclusive pass costs approximately £45. Compare that with the £50 charge for one day at Homelandsª. The night venue was, understably, also moved for access and safety reasons.

It won’t be perfect next year, when perhaps 100,000 people attend, but I trust Sonar to have improved the experience for me, so I will be there.

<*>(Yes, I know that the free buses were completely jammed, but attendances were 50% up on last year, that is more than 20,000 extra people to cater for, without notice).

Simon Russell <simon AT roughtrade.com>www.roughtrade.com

Sonar - Barcelona International Festival of Advanced Music and Multimedia Arts June 13 • 16, 2001.