ABSTRACT
This chapter examines commercial aspects of managing and leveraging events. Predominant focus is on event sponsorship management, including sponsorship objectives, partner compatibility and brand image transfer, sponsorship activation, and relationship management. We then move to debate the tensions between commercialisation and event authenticity. We define authenticity in the context of events and consider sincerity of commercial partnerships and the risk of event overcommercialisation. This chapter also looks at the influence of digital technologies and the impact of global issues, such as COVID-19, on commercial event activity.
