ABSTRACT
In the UK, leisure first became recognised as something that was worthy of state funding as part of the development of the Welfare State in the 1950s, increasing in importance and culminating in a white paper in 1975 suggesting the need for leisure for its own sake and the citizen's right to recreation. This chapter picks up on this theme of the changing approach to the value of festivals and events and focuses on how these activities are perceived at the level of local government. The discussion is supported by data gathered from three national (UK) surveys sent to identified local authority employees and taken at different points in time over the last eight years. The survey data, along with interviews with policy-makers and planners, explore these changes under four main themes: expectations and the perceived benefits of events; level of community and local government involvement; funding sources and models; and value and evaluation.
