Hitting the Right (Memorable Experience) Notes: A Typology of Performers at the World Choir Games

Abstract

Tourism destinations actively pursue hosting a portfolio of events regularly, aiming to establish themselves as distinct host destinations. All of these events take place in unique contexts; offering diverse experiences to participant groups. Music festivals and concerts have attracted the interest of researchers given the diversity of musical styles and target audiences. Although being a globally popular musical style, choir events are however, underrepresented. This article describes participant segments of the World Choir Games held in South Africa; a first for the African continent. A post-event online survey was used to collect data from 384 performers. Psychographic variables were used to segment the groups (perceived event experiences, motivations, level of involvement and attachment, host city perceptions). Exploratory factor analysis identified two involvement, four motivational and five event experience dimensions. Hierarchical cluster analysis distinguished between three groups labelled as Choristers,Exploring aficionados and Followers. Across all segments, hedonia (enjoyment) remained the main motivator for participation. The first two segments had the same levels of involvement and attachment, as well as the desire to experience triumph and prestige associated with this worldclass competition. However, participants who had a greater interest in enjoyment, destination exploration, mastery and communitas, reported greater perceived experiences across alldimensions, and more positive host city perceptions. The third segment displayed significantly lower levels of motivation, experiences and host city perceptions. The results highlight experience dimensions that warrant further investigation in the context of performers as opposed to audiences. This knowledge assists event organizers to adapt event marketing and programmecontent for similar events.