How wellness came to dominate Ireland's festival industry
Vogue Williams, Joe Wicks and Dr Hazel Wallace aka the Food Medic energise audiences at day one of WellFest 2024.
Ireland’s festival season is just around the corner, but it will not only be about the music.
This year’s biggest festivals will not revolve entirely around the usual variety of acts such as Oasis, Snow Patrol, Charlie XCX and Sabrina Carpenter. While music fans will be well catered to at events like Greenfields, Forbidden Fruit and Electric Picnic, another burgeoning entertainment industry devoted to health and wellness is also carving out a significant share of the leisure market. Europe's largest outdoor fitness and wellness festival, WellFest, returns for its tenth year in May, with a line-up likely to see the ‘sold out’ sign erected early.
From sex expert Jenny Keane to social media star Get Better with Chris, and Kardashian trainer DB Donamatrix, the grounds of Royal Hospital Kilmainham will be transformed into a health and wellness domain for thousands on May 10th and 11th. “From stories of resilience, transformation to reclaiming personal power, we’re opening up space for raw and necessary discussions, ones that go beyond wellness trends and get to the heart of what it means to live well,” said head of WellFest, Sarah King.
“These conversations are designed to inform, empower, and inspire because wellness isn’t just about the body, it’s about the mind, emotions, relationships, and the way we navigate the world around us.” The varied event will offer 15 stages, including the WellFood, WellFit, WellYoga, WellTalk, WellMind and WellKid areas, added to with regular live workouts during the weekend.
Earlier this year, Ireland Active welcomed the new draft programme for government which includes a commitment to encourage gym membership and active participation in sport and exercise. “On behalf of the leisure, health and fitness industry, I am thrilled that the new Programme for Government includes a commitment to introduce a tax credit aimed at encouraging gym memberships and active participation in sports and exercise,” said Karl Dunne, chief executive of Ireland Active.
Last year Ireland Active proposed the introduction of a personal tax relief for gym and swimming pool memberships, with the key finding that nearly three in 10 of adults surveyed indicated they would likely take up gym or swimming pool memberships if tax relief were available. This amounts to 851,000 Irish adults who currently don’t exercise in gyms or swimming pools who could benefit from this initiative.
A recent survey by telecoms provider Pure Telecom found that adults in Ireland are spending €562m on online fitness and wellbeing annually. The research showed that people are turning to mobile apps to support their physical and mental health, while online gaming platforms are also playing a role in supporting the nation’s fitness.
The average adult spent €143 on online fitness and wellbeing over a 12-month period, with a significant difference in spending between genders. Men reported spending €213 annually, compared to €122 spent by women. In addition, the research found that 71% of adults had used an online fitness tracking app over the previous 12 months, and the same proportion have used a nutrition or food tracking app.
Mindfulness and mental health apps were similarly popular with 67% of adults. Reflecting the popularity of physical and mental health apps, and with many of them connecting to wearable devices, more than four in five (81%) of the adult population had used a connected health or fitness tracking device in the last 12 months. Other online tools used by Irish adults included video workouts by 71%, and online gaming platforms by 50%. In addition, 39% of adults have paid for an online personal training session.
“The digital world is transforming the way we do everything, including how we look after our minds and bodies,” said Paul Connell, Pure Telecom CEO. “People are drawing inspiration and advice from a truly global fitness community, which is available at their fingertips. As the number and variety of wearable devices being produced by tech companies increases, so too will our reliance on the internet to achieve our fitness and wellbeing goals.”
