Eventful Cities: Cultural Management and Urban Revitalisation

Processes of globalisation, economic restructuring and urban redevelopment have placed events at the centre of strategies for change in cities. Events offer the potential to achieve economic, social, cultural and environmental outcomes within broader urban development strategies.

This volume:

• Analyses the process of cultural event development, management and marketing and links these processes to their wider cultural, social and economic context
• Provides a unique blend of practical and academic analysis, with a selection of major events and festivals in cities where 'eventfulness' has been an important element of development strategy
• Examines the reasons why different stakeholders should collaborate, as well as the reasons why cities succeed or fail to develop events and become eventful

Eventful Cities: cultural management and urban revitalization evaluates theoretical perspectives and links theory and practice through case studies of cities and events across the world. Critical success factors are identified which can help to guide cities and regions to develop event strategies. This book is essential reading for any undergraduate or graduate student and all practitioners and policy-makers involved in event management, cultural management, arts administration, urban studies, cultural studies and tourism.

• Analyzes the process of cultural event development, management and marketing and links these processes to their wider cultural, social and economic context
• Provides a unique blend of practical and academic analysis, with a selection of major festivals and cities where 'the event' has had an important element of development strategy
• Examines the reasons why different stakeholders should collaborate, as well as the reasons why partnerships succeed or fail

About the Authors

Robert Palmer is the Director of Culture and Cultural and Natural Heritage of the Council of Europe, based in Strasbourg, France. He has worked in the cultural sector for more than 30 years, directing festivals, managing cultural organisations and operating in key Director positions in local authorities and arts councils. He has been a consultant to various cities and national authorities, and has acted as an adviser to many European and international bodies in relation to cultural policy and strategy. In 2004, he directed the evaluation team which produced the Palmer Report on the ECOC for the European Commission. His experience as the Director of two ECOCs – Glasgow in 1990 and Brussels in 2000 – as well as his direct involvement as an adviser to more than 10 other Capitals of Culture in the conception, bidding and delivery phases of the event make him uniquely experienced. In Glasgow, he was appointed as the city’s first Director of Performing Arts and Venues, with additional responsibility for managing a process of arts-led regeneration for the city over a 10-year period, of which Glasgow’s designation as ECOC formed a part.

He is a member of the Boards of various arts institutions and international festivals, the Chair of European arts juries, and is asked regularly to be a speaker at international cultural conferences and workshops. Currently, he is also the Chair of Visiting Arts, UK. The main themes of his work concern creativity, cultural policy, cultural planning, cultural development in cities, intercultural projects, festivals and special events. He has undertaken projects throughout Europe, North America and South-East Asia. He has been given various awards in the UK, Belgium and France in recognition of his work.

Greg Richards is Professor of Leisure Studies at Tilburg University in the Netherlands. He has extensive experience in research and education, with previous posts at London Metropolitan University (UK); Universitat Rovira I Virgili, Tarragona (Spain); Fundaciò Interarts, Barcelona (Spain) and the University of the West of England, Bristol (UK). Greg is a founding Partner of Tourism Research and Marketing, an international consultancy in tourism and event development and marketing.

He has worked extensively on the analysis and development of cultural and creative tourism in cities such as Barcelona and Burgos (ES), London, Newcastle, Manchester and Edinburgh (UK), Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Den Bosch (NL), Sibiu (RO), Amman (Jordan) and Macau (China). His major publications include Cultural Tourism in Europe (1996); Cultural Attractions and European Tourism (2001); Tourism and Gastronomy (2002); The Global Nomad: Backpacker Travel in Theory and Practice (2004); Cultural Tourism – Global and Local Perspectives (2007) and Tourism, Creativity and Development (2007).

He was a member of the Palmer Report team evaluating the impact of the ECOC for the European Commission, an international jury member for the selection of the Hungarian Capital of Culture in 2010, a contributor to the European Travel Commission study of City Tourism and Culture and the author of the OECD report on The Impact of Tourism on Culture (2009). He has advised the Dutch city of Den Bosch on the development of multi-annual cultural events programme to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the painter Hieronymus Bosch. He has conducted evaluation research for many ECOCs, and has advised others on their bidding strategies.