ABSTRACT
The world of planned events is diverse and exciting, with almost unlimited scope for variety in form, function and event experiences. The meanings we attach to these events, and the importance they have always held in our personal and collective lives, make them fundamental components of culture, business and lifestyles. This chapter starts with basic definitions of ‘event’ and ‘planned events’, including a discussion of differences between planned and unplanned, and the question of scale (small versus large events). The inherent temporal and spatial dimensions of events are discussed, as this is fundamental to understanding much of the related theory.
