ABSTRACT
The Jubilee, which had aroused huge public curiosity before the event, triggered even keener interest afterwards. Clearly much sets Stratford-upon-Avon apart as a centre for staging festivals but, equally, aspects of this town’s experience are amply replicated elsewhere. The growing interest in festivals of all types as ingredients in urban life has frequently led to allusions to ‘festivalization’ when referring to ‘the role and influence of festivals on the societies that host and stage them – both direct and indirect, and in both the short and longer term’. Dealing first with culture, the archaeological record shows that festivals have occupied an important niche in cultural organization since the dawn of human civilization. Although many organizers routinely express reluctance when confronted by processes that seem to commodify culture, the commercial dimension is never far from the surface for some types of festival. The chapter also presents an overview on the key concepts discussed in this book.
