The second weekend of June 2024 saw the return of Parklife Festival to Heaton Park, Manchester. Hosted by The Warehouse Project and Live Nation, this Manchester-based festival originally started life in Platt Fields Park before making the move to its current home of Heaton Park and growing to become the largest metropolitan festival in the UK, with a capacity of 60,000 people per day.
The year’s edition was as spectacular as ever, featuring headline performances from Doja Cat, Disclosure, Becky Hill, Peggy Gou, Four Tet and Kaytranada, alongside a full lineup bursting with talent.
The Challenge
The challenges facing festivals today are well documented. Skyrocketing costs are making the economic viability of events increasingly difficult to attain.
Bar sales are a key revenue driver for greenfield events yet at major festivals, beverage service is still defined by excessive queuing and long wait times. This results in unhappy fans, loss of sales and revenue and sadly, regular festival cancellations with at least 42 UK festivals having announced postponements, cancellations or complete closures this year alone.
In the lead up to their 2024 edition, Parklife highlighted maximising their festival bar operations as a key target and, following a successful debut at The Warehouse Project's autumn and winter events in 2023, turned again to Boxbar as a trusted partner.
Strategy & Implementation
Working together, we planned to bring something new and fresh to the festival for 2024 that would increase bar service speeds, reduce queues and provide draft beer and cider - not served at any other bar across the festival.
In the days leading up to the festival, our inhouse installation and construction teams worked tirelessly to bring the vision to life. With two self-service bar locations and 35 terminals, Parklife 2024 became the world’s biggest ever deployment of its kind. A landmark moment for both the festival and self-service bar technology industries.
An extensive menu of self-service drinks was available including draft beer and cider, spirits and mixers, Prosecco and Aperol Spritz cocktails across two fully branded festival locations. Parklife replaced an entire main bar with Boxbar’s self-service terminals as well as adding a dedicated Aperol Spritz installation in the festival’s VIP area.
The Results
FASTER: Boxbar increased serving speeds by up to 258%
RETURN ON INVESTMENT: Boxbar efficiencies reduce bar infrastructure, staffing and overhead costs. As a result, Parklife’s partnership with Boxbar generated a 145% return on investment.
HAPPY FANS: With faster service, reduced wait times and an extensive drinks menu to choose from (including the only draft beer and cider available at the festival), Boxbar was a hit with customers. But don't just take our word for it, see what the fans had to say for yourself in the videos below.
"With Boxbar, we feel like we’re ahead of the game," said Dan Pirie, Head of Bars at Parklife.
"We were keen to be the first festival to take the leap into replacing a high volume bar with self-serve terminals. The bar looked fantastic and it really feels like we have moved into the future with this installation. The queue was moving rapidly and the entire flow of the operation felt very smooth. There is real potential to significantly increase transaction speeds and make cost savings with Boxbar."
If you’d like to learn more about this record breaking festival delivery and how Boxbar can help reinvent your bar operations, get in touch today.
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