Samfunnets Grand Prix
Samfunnets Grand Prix;
What went wrong?
When Samfunnet’s Grand Prix was held in November of 2023, a lot didn’t go as planned. Mistakes were made which resulted in hundreds of students not being able to watch the show they paid for. Did Samfunnet have control? If so, how could this happen?
Journalist: Marie Tjelta
Photo: Samfunnet, Sara Blomsø
Translator: Eva Weston Szemes
Web-distributor: Martha Ingeborg Evensen
Choice by tradition
We got in touch with Samfunnet, and asked why it went so wrong that November night and got a well-rounded answer from the board. They start by explaining the choice of using Festsalen. Historically speaking, Samfunnet’s Grand Prix has gone down in Festsalen. The autumn of 2022 was an exception, it was held in Aud. Max. as a farewell before it was renovated (That has not happened, due to the increasing prices on electricity).
The choice of using Festsalen for Grand Prix 2023 has its roots in tradition. But the saying goes “traditions should be broken”. This could have been a good piece of advice in this situation, as Samfunnet saw that Grand Prix in Aud. Max. was possible. But what stopped them from repeating this success?
It seems Samfunnet had two options: organise it in Aud. Max. with capacity for 600 students or sell less tickets and use Festsalen. Samfunnet explains that there is a lot of work behind deciding how many tickets to sell for an event. It is based on an analysis of how many tickets were sold for previous events. In the case of Grand Prix, the number of tickets sold doubled from 350 in 2022.
The Board of Samfunnet points out that this is an important comparison to make. This does not, however, explain why they sold three times as many tickets as the capacity of the room. Why did they sell so many tickets? The board defends this by saying that the number of tickets is based on the house’s total capacity. Guests rarely stay put in one room; they move around the house. This might be true for a regular night, but Grand Prix is a special event where most people plan on watching the show rather than sitting in the Bodega.
The board accepts this criticism and says that at events that are in high demand and put pressure on certain rooms like Festsalen, they have to look at different solutions so that it doesn’t affect the guests or the people working negatively. They end by saying that they always appreciate feedback and constructive criticism.
If you attended the Grand Prix this autumn, it was maybe a dissapointing experience; when you preformed without your friends in the audience, when you couldn’t cheer for your association, when you worked and had to handle way too many people or when you just didn’t get to enjoy the more unique shows at Samfunnet.
Maybe this situation shows that Samfunnet needs a bigger version of Festsalen, maybe they need to use Aud. Max. more for their events or maybe they just need better routines for what kind of adjustments and calculations must be made for such events. But one thing is for certain, this was a miscalculation, and the flood could have been prevented.
