Introduction
The organisation of events for the general public plays an important role in forming social opinions on some pivotal issues and raising awareness about tentative problems. That is why it might be used to make an impact on a local or even global scale by educating the public and disseminating information about concerns that predetermine the well-being of the global community (Ali-Knight et al., 2008). One of such tentative issues is environmental protection and a sustainable economy. In order to address this issue in general and concentrate on the necessity of a sustainable fashion industry in particular, an eco-friendly carnival is proposed to be launched in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
The event will be held locally in the Town Centre and attract the general public, charitable organisations, political figures, environmental activists, public figures, and some influential decision-makers working in the environmental protection sphere. The core goal of the event will be to educate the general public on the importance of sustainable living, the necessity to use eco-friendly products and goods and to be environmentally conscious in their daily life. The form of a carnival is chosen to enhance the illustrative purposes of the clothes made of eco-friendly materials that the participants of the carnival would wear. The guests of the event will have an opportunity to experience several aspects of sustainability-directed practices to advance their environmental concerns. In particular, the use of sustainable materials for carnival costumes, workshops and presentations on the adherence to eco-friendly materials, food courts with ecological food, and other elements will help accomplish the event’s goals. Moreover, the hosts of the event will ensure environmental sensibility, the duty of care, and green policies when arranging the carnival. Electronic tickets, non-polluting transportation, rechargeable batteries, led lights, tree protection and recycling bins will be used at the event.
The choice of the country for the carnival to be held in was validated by the compatibility of a country with the decisive factors of touristic attractiveness, transportation ease, infrastructure, and national environmental policies. Bulgaria and its city of Plovdiv were chosen since they fit the requirements of the event. Over the past decades, Bulgaria “has changed from a highly centralised, planned economy to an open, market-based, upper-middle-income country securely anchored in the European Union” (The World Bank, 2021, para. 2). Indeed, its structural changes have allowed for a significant advancement toward its global presence in the touristic market. The country is particularly concerned with the advancement of sustainable consumerism, eco-friendly economy and environmental protection, which is why the proposed event will provide benefits for the state and the city. This report is designed to analyse the impact of the eco-friendly carnival in Plovdiv on political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal aspects in Bulgaria to validate its feasibility using the PESTEL method. Moreover, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the proposed event will be analysed using SWOT analysis to generate recommendations for strengths enhancement and weaknesses elimination.
PESTEL Analysis of the Event’s Impact in Bulgaria
In order to ensure the feasibility of an event, one should consider the variety of factors that play a decisive role in arranging and implementing the project. PESTEL (political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal aspects) analysis is one of the most effective methods to use for this purpose. According to Kara (2018), PESTEL analysis is “widely accepted as a comprehensive method used for industry and market assessment” (p. 599). Figure 1 demonstrates the PESTEL analysis results with the impact of the event within the six dimensions.
Figure 1. PESTEL Analysis
Political Aspects
From a political perspective, Bulgaria is a country with a stable political climate with more policies advancing towards sustainability and environmental protection. In this regard, the proposed event is likely to advance the discussion of ecology-related issues and contribute to the political agenda of sustainability in the economy. Firstly, one of the aspects of the event’s impact is the promotion of urban politics aimed at the development of modern cities, which would benefit the country’s international profile and attract tourists (Burbanks, Andranobich and Heying, 2001). Secondly, the country’s political agenda in tourism will be advanced due to the attraction of visitors to the event and the anticipated long-term impact on the country’s popularity in the hospitality industry. Thirdly, the political agenda in sustainable development will be attributed to eco-friendly production promotion and the overall national sustainability policies. Fourthly, the environmental aspect of national politics will be advanced due to the awareness raised among the stakeholders involved in the carnival for more environmental protection policies. Finally, Bulgaria’s international recognition will be enhanced on the background of a successfully held environmental event (Ritchie, 1984).
Economic Aspects
There is an obvious economic gain for the country and the city due to the event being held here. Overall, as indicated by Madden (2002), the example of large events like the Olympic Games shows that the launching and implementation of such events allow for obtaining profit due to visitors’ expenditures. In particular, the attraction of tourists’ flow to the location will ensure income for the local hospitality industry. The fashion industry will also be advanced due to the particular interest of the organisers in the promotion of eco-friendly fabric and clothes manufacturing methods.
Additionally, the research in the field of special events indicates that they are “generally seen as leading to increased economic activity and creating new jobs through the net increase in demand for goods and services that they are assumed to generate” (Dwyer, Forsyth and Spurr, 2005, p. 351). Economic gains from Bulgarian culture popularisation are evident since the country will promote its image as a progressive and sustainability-driven nation with rich culture and history. In addition, complementary activities’ contribution to the local economy is of significant importance. Indeed, such spheres and activities as food, transportation, sightseeing, accommodation, and other secondary aspects of the event will also advance the economy of the community (Daniels and Norman, 2003). Thus, the proposed eco-friendly carnival will have significant economic benefits on Plovdiv and Bulgaria in general.
Social Aspects
The event is anticipated to have a significant impact on society due to its participatory experiences and observation of activities. Overall, “sustainability communication aims to bring the principles of sustainable development into social discourse and to shape a critical awareness among the public towards the (negative) impacts of a human-environment relationship” (Tolkes and Butzmann, 2018, p. 2). Firstly, the public’s sustainability awareness will be enhanced for a more conscious living in an environment-friendly community. Secondly, eco-friendly consumerism will be promoted through non-pollution transportation use, waste sorting, and sustainable fashion presentation. Lastly, the event will have a positive effect on social connectivity by bringing people together to demonstrate the role of environmental issues in modern life (Picard and Robinson, 2006).
Technological Aspects
From a technological perspective, the carnival will have a favourable impact on the development of the digital sphere in Bulgaria. In particular, the advancement of tourism digitalisation through the use of electronic tickets to reduce paper waste will be possible. Moreover, sustainable technology-driven fashion decisions will be boosted. Finally, the attraction of multiple visitors to the city will induce the updating of its digital infrastructure, which will ultimately further promote the concept of a smart city popular today.
Environmental Aspects
Given the specifics of the event predetermined by the environmental and sustainability theme, the environmental aspects of the carnival obtain the central role among other elements in the PESTEL analysis. Sustainable economy promotion, environment protection advancement at national and international levels, pollution reduction, sustainable consumerism and resource management are the environmental aspects of the eco-friendly carnival. The promotion of eco-friendly sights and places in Plovdiv, such as The Post, Cat and Mouse in Capana and others, will also promote the environmental aspect of the carnival (Bankova, 2021).
In particular, the use of carnival with costumes made of eco-friendly materials allows for attracting guests and stakeholders’ attention to the sustainability issues in the fashion industry. Bulgarian Fashion Association (2019) presents an abundance of concerns related to sustainability in the fashion and apparel industries. Figure 2 illustrates the sustainability issues in fashion with the validation of their importance to the environment. They include CO2 management, waste management, water management, energy management, stakeholder engagement, sustainable procurement, recycling, craftsmanship and other methods of reducing environmental harm to the fashion industry (Bulgarian Fashion Association, 2019).
Figure 2. Sustainable fashion industry. Source: Bulgarian Fashion Association, 2019.
Legal Aspects
The legal sphere might also benefit from the organised event due to the participation of politicians and activists. In particular, governmental accountability will be promoted to enhance nation-level attention to environmental issues. In addition, the outcome of this event might be the environmental law promotion. Thus, the proposed eco-friendly carnival has many attributes and benefits to present within the scope of all the discussed spheres, with the largest share of advantages being directed at the environmental domain.
SWOT Analysis of the Eco-Friendly Carnival
The effectiveness and the success of the event implementation depend on the resources, project management, workforce and event-specific circumstances. Overall, to ensure that the anticipated outcomes will be achieved in the planned manner, a precise analysis of the characteristics of the planned event should be conducted. The best method for this purpose is the SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis. SWOT analysis allows for integrating both external (opportunities and threats) and internal (strengths and weaknesses) factors, labelling them as positive (opportunities and strengths) and negative (threats and weaknesses), into one comprehensive paradigm (Wozniak and Fill, 2018). Figure 3 presents the compilation of the factors within the SWOT framework for further discussion.
Figure 3. SWOT Analysis
Strengths
The proposed eco-friendly carnival has many strong features, which are manifested through the multitude of the affected spheres of life in Bulgaria and the city of Plovdiv in particular. Plovdiv’s developed infrastructure and the availability of the international airport in the city will allow visitors to obtain a comfortable commute and accommodation when attending the event. On the other hand, the historical and cultural attractions will ensure guests’ entertainment outside the event. Additionally, Bulgaria’s national sustainability policies provide a strong background for involving the stakeholders in the event for raising awareness about environmental issues (Bachev, 2021). Finally, as the goals of the carnival demonstrate, the event is anticipated to have strong environmental change implications, which makes it a beneficial endeavour.
Weaknesses
Despite the feasibility of the event and an array of strengths, it still has some weaknesses. In particular, due to the relatively limited event promotion opportunities, the attraction of visitors might be poor. Moreover, scarcity of resources might hinder the organisation of the event. Finally, the overall implementation uncertainty derived from the previously mentioned weaknesses burdens the project’s success. Thus, the weaknesses need to be addressed strategically to ensure that they do not impede the launching of the carnival.
Opportunities
There are multiple opportunities that the event is likely to induce in the country and on the international level. Namely, strong social impact is anticipated due to the visitor-friendly infrastructure and event planning. Economic gains as the aftermath of visitors’ expenditures are also considered a significant opportunity for Bulgaria. Moreover, the magnitude of the environmental change implies a long-term positive change in political, social, legal, and economic domains. Similarly, job creation, sustainable economic advancement, technological development, and charity are considered favourable opportunities induced by the carnival.
Threats
Some of the threats associated with the arrangement of the even are related to COVID-19 outbreak limitation, which might hinder the holding of the carnival as planned. Moreover, unfavourable weather conditions and competition with a similar event might also be considered threats. Given the scope of the discussed opportunities and strengths, they will be used to eliminate the impact of threats and weaknesses. The recommendations for the events’ arrangers’ actions based on this information will be presented in the recommendation section of the report.
Conclusion and Recommendations
Conclusions
The event that is proposed to be held in the city of Plovdiv in Bulgaria is an eco-friendly carnival with the use of costumes made of recyclable ecological materials and using sustainable manufacturing methods. The goal of the event is to promote a sustainable economy and environmental protection among the general public by demonstrating and engaging the guests and stakeholders of the carnival in main and complementary activities. The ultimate outcome is anticipated to be associated with the shift in consumerism behaviour and daily life toward more sustainable practices and choices on national and international levels. The conducted PESTEL analysis revealed that the planned carnival has an abundance of positive impacts on the political, economic, social, environmental, technological, and legal spheres of Bulgaria and the city of Plovdiv in particular. Similarly, the SWOT analysis that has been undertaken in the context of this report has vividly demonstrated the spectrum of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the carnival.
Recommendations
The weaknesses and threats identified at the stage of planning serve a good improvement purpose since they allow for proactive change implementation for the most favourable event outcomes. The following are the recommended activities and approaches to handling the identified uncertainties and drawbacks in the carnival organisation aimed at facilitating the strengths and opportunities. Firstly, to eliminate the weakness of limited promotion opportunities, the duty of care, green policy, and environmental sensitivity should be used in the promotion and advertising campaigns to attract potential guests’ attention. In addition, the attention might be attracted by means of inviting celebrities to the event. The presence of a celebrity with a highly recognisable image might enhance the opportunities for a successful charitable activity due to the evidence demonstrating the power of influence of celebrities on the masses decision-making (McIntosh, 2021). Importantly, the event might benefit from popularising charity which might be launched in collaboration with such environmental organisations as Friends of Earth or Earthjustice. The infrastructure convenience, accommodation, tourism attractions, and the benefits of the events should also be used as arguments for visitors’ attendance.
Secondly, the issue of resource scarcity might be resolved by means of political and public figures’ advocacy in fund-raising and sponsorship in exchange for advertisement and product use at the carnival. Thirdly, the weakness of the overall implementation uncertainty will be eliminated by means of the application of the previous two recommendations. However, it might also be eliminated by means of in-depth research into the best practices of similar events to plan and organise the festival in the best way possible.
When addressing the threats, anti-epidemic measures should be implemented to eliminate the risks of contamination. In case of the event rescheduling, the arrangers should communicate the rescheduling information with the guests in a timely and transparent manner. As for the addressing of the unfavourable weather conditions, the event’s location should be indoors or partially indoors. Finally, to eliminate the threat of competition, a conceptualisation approach should be enhanced through the diversification of sustainability-directed attributes and activities at the carnival. These measures should include the creation of an event app and map and the use of electronic tickets to reduce paper use. Also, water fountains should be created to refill water bottles. All the leftover food that will not be consumed during the event should be donated to promote food waste management. Similarly, the use of biofuel, rechargeable batteries, led lights, recycling bins and sustainable transportation should be demonstrated and promoted. It might be implemented through the launching of shuttled bus transportation services and encouragement of people to take scenic train routes instead of flights. All these recommendations will allow for a strong competitive advantage of the event and its overall successful implementation.
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