ABSTRACT
Cultural festivals and events are often seen by local authorities as a means of promoting social cohesion and celebrating cultural diversity. The aim of this chapter is to contribute to a better understanding of the local cultural festival sector in terms of accessibility, diversity, and inclusion and is based on the opinions of 20 cultural festival organisers from Sibiu, Romania. This chapter intends to identify whether festivals can be seen as inclusive spaces where all people can equally participate in culture. Findings show that factors such as financial resources, areas of living, and lack of education contribute to unequal access to local cultural festivals, but the intersectional nature of factors such as ethnicity, economic deprivation, and living in rural areas exacerbate discrimination against vulnerable groups. In terms of access for people with disabilities, discussions have focused mainly on physical barriers, considering only the needs of people with locomotor disabilities and ignoring other types of disabilities. While opinions are divided between those who believe that women are underrepresented in public spaces and those who believe that gender is not a relevant criterion, most festival organisers consider that the Roma minority, unlike other ethnic minorities such as the Saxons and Hungarians, is underrepresented in festivals and other cultural events held in Sibiu.
