Morecambe's Pretty Vacant: resort revitalisation through punk rock

festivals

Dr. Philip Long and Prof. Mike RobinsonCentre for Tourism and Cultural Change

Sheffield Hallam University

What does 'Punk' bring to mind?

Pogoing Spitting Safety pins and fishnet tights Swastikas and violence Heroin chic Mohican hairstyles Loud and discordant music Anarchy and nihilism

"Actually we're not into music, we're into chaos"Steve Jones, The Sex Pistols 1976

Folk Devils and Moral Panics

Media Events, Bans and Outrage

Punks as welcome guests

'once again we can be proud of an excellent summer season that saw thousands of visitors come to the area to enjoy the vast array of events. For the next summer we have even more to offer. We are particularly delighted to welcome the Punk Festival back to Morecambe'

Lancaster City Council, Leader's Review of 2002

Welcoming Youth Sub-Cultures to the Seaside in the 1960s ('Mods and Rockers')

The Case of the Morecambe Punk Rock Festival

Location and attractions:

- views across the Bay

- 'city, coast and countryside'

- a regenerating resort

- a well resourced and diverse festival programme

Morecambe's heyday: The 'Taj Mahal of the North'

Morecambe's heyday: a fine promenade

Morecambe's heyday: a mass tourist destination

Morecambe's heyday: a family resort

Morecambe's heyday: guided walks across the sands

Morecambe's decline: landmarks in crisis

Morecambe's decline: loss of accommodation

Morecambe's decline: loss of attractions

Morecambe's decline: the end of the illuminations

Morecambe's decline: The Curse of Mr. Blobby

Morecambe's decline: the 'third worst place to live in the UK'

'Poor old Morecambe. The seaside town they should never have opened. Where a silent and grey day comes as a blessed relief from the gales of black depression that generally batter its desolate promenade...The town would be almost entirely empty if it wasn't for the fact that the DHSS has put its Bed and Breakfasts to good use in housing the Northwest's homeless and hopelessly addicted' (Jordison, S. and Kieran, D. (2003) The Idler Book of Crap Towns: The 50 Worst Places to Live in the UK. London: Boxtree: 142)

Morecambe's revival: new festival venues

Morecambe's revival: continuing value for money

Morecambe's revival: landscaping and environmental improvements

Morecambe's revival: celebrating an icon

Morecambe's revival: a Punk Festival for the 21st Century

Punk Rock, So What?Research Questions on Sub-cultural

Festivals Venue selection – why Morecambe? (International) audience characteristics and changes and

how the audience communicates Changes to festival formats over the years How sub-cultural visitors are received by local residents;

youth; politicians; business people; the police; the local media; the local tourism sector (pubs, cafes etc.)

How sub-cultural visitors perceive and experience the destination and the festival

Why the sub-cultural phenomenon persists and in what variations.