MLLSM01

EVENTS POLICY

LECTURE 1

Events policy in a global marketplace

Module outline

This module reflects upon local, national and international policy contexts.  Students will be expected to reflect upon the use of events for urban imaging, economic regeneration, enterprise and inclusion purposes and also as part of local, national and global identity construction.  The module will also review ways of evaluating the impact of event policies on the host community, particularly their economic, social, cultural and political outcomes.  Finally, the module considers the regulatory framework (s) within which events and festivals operate. These will include consideration of issues of governance, risk, public order and safety. 

Central to this module is the demonstration of links between the development of events in policy-making and the theoretical exploration of the role of events as policy in a globalising world

Global Events Policy: A Context

Local, national and international events provide rationale for global marketing

International events can contribute to a global public culture (Roche, 2000)

Socio-cultural networks changing rapidly with the increased speed of technological communications and pressure to compete on global scale:

Danger of homogenised forms of cultural production and consumption

But ‘local’ nature of events can work as an antidote to global standardisation

Global Events Policy

Events as tools of image enhancement, identity construction economic and social regenerators

These spectacles allow cities to express their personalities in global place wars (Essex & Chalkley, 1998; Short and Kim, 1999: 100)

Major cultural and sporting events attract visitors locations and increase length of stay:

Globalisation and homogenization of experiences help transcend the physical landscape more quickly and effectively

However, concern that events move from local identification to a global economic vehicle

Theory of events as strategy

Roche’s (2000) three dimensional typology for analysing mega events: Dramatological Contextual (medium-term Macro-contextual (long-term:

Taking the macro-contextual perspective, sustainable cultural development has to be part of long-term govt strategy

Perhaps this is more easily realised with ‘mega events’ that are also hallmark events rather than the scarce resource of the one-off four-yearly mega events

Theory of events as strategy cont.

Despite intense international competition for the right to host large scale (mega) events, debate reigns over their real worth

The ‘irrational’ or ‘intangible’ (Roche, 2000) political and symbolic significance continues to be stressed by supporters

Shoval (2002) indicates that major cities bid because they have to

Produces competition to create larger and better spectacles – but danger of what Rojek (1995) calls ‘universal cultural space’ and Harvey (1989) calls ‘serial monotony’

Greater spectacle remains the key element for differentiation and success of global events-led policy

Outcomes of Globalising events

The outcome of the globalising tendency is an increase in inter-urban competition for international events and festivals

The proliferation of global events demands expert private-public alliances to bid and deliver outcomes

International competition also drives national and local political actors to resource events policy instead of other policy priorities

National Events Policy: An overview

Nationally, events and festivals credited with economic, social and cultural development

Public body formed to attract, develop and create a portfolio of sporting and cultural events

Emphasises tourist intention of events policy – specialisation strategy

Unclear whether integration between spectacular and local community representation

Hall (2006) suggests that the normal democratic process circumvented in bidding for events

National Events Policy: contd

Decision to bid for an event is a political oneThe product of govt involvement; the

structure of agencies involved in bidding, development, management, MPR; extent of community involvement

They involve the values of actors in the struggle for power

National decision to bid involves cross-sectoral interests

Growth coalitions increasingly drive bids, impacting on the political process

Local Events Policy

Locally, cities support place marketing strategies using vehicle of events

Events and festivals used to strengthen or revise economic development and wealth creation, position cities in the global marketplace, and provide a community focus

The events strategy often aligns with the wider ‘cultural strategy’ to promote a specific place identity

Hall (2006) argues that place-marketing strategies can leave locales in a vicious cycle of ongoing investment for fewer public benefits

Where from here?

Consider each of the events domains using the ideas of Bourdieu on ‘capital’: Events and Political Capital Events and Economic Capital Events and Cultural Capital Events and Cultural Capital

Then onto a focus on specific elements of events policy: Governance and Identity Public Order and Public Safety Evaluating Events

References

Judd, D.R & Fainstein, S.S. (eds) The Tourist City, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press

Roche, M (2000) Mega Events, London, Routledge (Chapter 1)

Ritzer, G (1999) The McDonaldization of Society, Pine Forge Hubbard, Phil and Hall, Tim (1998): “The Entrepreneurial

City and the ‘New Urban Politics’” in Hall, Tim and Hubbard, Phil (eds.): The Entrepreneurial City (New York: John Wiley & Sons) pp. 1-23. 

Hall, C.M. (2006) Urban entrepreneurship, corporate interests, and sports mega-events: The thin policies of competitiveness within the hard outcomes of neo-liberalism”, The Sociological Review, 54(2): 59-70. 

Henry, I.P. (2001) The Politics of Leisure Policy.  Basingstoke: Palgrave (Chapter 1)