ABSTRACT
Events have been an important part of society since time immemorial. However, over the last few decades, the volume, range, meaning and significance of events and festivals around the world has grown particularly rapidly. Every year, a number of large-scale events of international significance take place, attracting large numbers of participants and spectators, along with their associated entourages, huge media interest and ‘armchair’ spectators: one only has to think of roving mass sporting events (such as the Olympic and Commonwealth Games, the World Cup); one-off celebratory events (such as Millennium Night across the world (1999/2000) and the Queen’s Golden Jubilee (2002) held in London); and annual sporting, artistic, musical, cultural or other events (such as the Tour de France, European City of Culture and the Edinburgh Military Tattoo). Such events are designed to be of great importance to the destinations within which they take place, and the competitive bidding processes that governments enter into in order to secure a global event for their nation clearly indicates the growing credence attached to hosting events on the international stage. In parallel to these events of global significance has been a marked growth in niche events, such as local and/or themed festivals, often initiated at the community level and sometimes with the support of the public sector in an attempt to pump-prime such activity, leveraging it as a potential economic development tool. This array of event phenomena makes its study and analysis fascinating, relevant and a marker of not just changing political and economic agendas but also a changing consumer society. Accordingly, research on events has been embraced by social science and developed into a
distinct, multifarious and innovative area of intellectual inquiry. The emergence and expansion of academic interests in event-related themes, in part, reflects the transformations occurring across global society and the relationship, role and meaning of events within the processes of social, cultural, political and economic development and change. The various rationales developed for global, large or ‘mega’ events are multi-faceted, often complex and frequently controversial, creating openings for applied and academic research activity to assist the understanding of processes, relationships and impacts. What is also frequently overlooked is that events are not a new phenomenon in society, since their development for mass audiences and to achieve different political and social objectives is evident from mega-events such as the Great Exhibition
of 1851 and the hosting of the Olympic Games in the late nineteenth century (see Plates 1.1 and 1.2) Therefore, while events research is comparatively recent, the interest and development of events is far from a new phenomenon. The burgeoning events research agenda has grown in relation to the emphasis placed on global processes that continue to stimulate interests in event bidding, development, hosting and staging. At local levels, concerns about conserving and celebrating traditions, culture and customs, and developing sustainable forms of tourism and leisure, are strong features in both developing competitive destinations and strengthening community relations, all of which are key areas for those engaged in the social sciences. Clearly, events have become a major theme within Tourism, Sport, Leisure and Hospitality research
Plate 1.1 Poster advertising travel from York to the Great Exhibition in London in 1851
Plate 1.2 Extract from the Thomas Cook Excursionist monthly brochure advertising travel to the 1896 Olympic Games in Athens
literature, and as an area of curriculum and programme development for universities and other education providers globally, with a burgeoning cohort of graduates, post-graduates and event professionals with event-specific qualifications. The purpose of this introductory chapter is threefold: first, to set out the role of The Handbook of
Events and to outline its contribution to the understanding of events in an academic research perspective; second, to establish the broad context for academic research in the events field, particularly in relation to understanding the role, diversity, role and significance of events in contemporary society; and third, to outline the chapters that form the basis of the Handbook, highlighting the subjects covered and the significance of each to academic research and progression of Event Studies. So, first, a brief explanation of what this new Handbook seeks to achieve now follows.
