Power, Construction and Meaning in Festivals

Whether through education, sport or festivity, events form the basis on which we attribute cultural meaning, significance and value to our lives. In this light, community events have the potential to create positive and negative social, cultural, economic and environmental impacts within the community across a wide variety of genres and platforms.

This book offers a deeper and more critical insight into the relationships, dynamics and planning processes of festivals and events and the impact this has upon authenticity, cultural consumption and the local communities they serve. It does so by looking at a range of key debates in power theory, event planning and design, event construction, experience and meaning, authenticity, sustainability, social inclusion, accessibility and sponsorship engagement. International case studies are embedded within the chapters, examining the role of stakeholders, local communities, organisers, local governments and infrastructure.

This critical event studies text is interdisciplinary and will make valuable reading for students and researchers who are interested in the relationships and dynamics involved in the construction and planning of festivals and events, their immediate impact and their significance for the future.

Allan Jepson, PhD, is an ex festival practitioner, A Nottingham Forest supporter and currently a senior lecturer and researcher in critical event studies (CES) at the University of Hertfordshire, UK. Allan has contributed widely to critical event studies literature within the realm of community festivals and events and has two key texts in this area (Exploring Community Festivals and Events and Managing and Developing Communities, Festivals and Events, both with Alan Clarke, University of Pannonia, Hungary). Allan’s current research interests include the role of inclusive / exclusive and sub-cultures within festivals and events, the cultural relationships of festival stakeholders and in particular local community(ies), the role of stakeholders in event production / construction and how these impact upon the consumption of cultural events and festivals, power, hegemony and decision making in local community festivals and events, the role of festivals and events as a catalyst for integrating culturally diverse communities, psychology and events; self and group efficacy and how this effects community engagement in event planning and consumption, knowledge management in events, community festivals and events and their impact on the quality of life (QOL) of individuals and families; and more recently arts participation and memory creation amongst the over 70s. Allan is currently collaborating in research with colleagues from AUT University, New Zealand and Leeds Beckett University, UK. Email: a.s.jepson@herts.ac.uk.

Alan Clarke works at the University of Pannonia in the Tourism Department of the Faculty of Business and Economics. He is a co-director of the Balaton Tourism Research Institute (known as BATUKI in Hungary) and works with stakeholder groups around the Lake and in the Balaton Highlands to promote the development of sustainable tourism in the region. He continues to work on critical events studies and hospitality. He is delighted that he has the Veszprem International Festival on his doorstep, which keeps him in touch with world-class organisation and world-class performers. He is also a visiting professor at the University of Derby in the UK and continues working on European projects, having just joined the launch of ‘The Wine Lab’ with partners from both the study of and the production of wine throughout Europe. Alan continues to publish widely, developing long-standing interests in sustainability and community development. He has contributed to many journals but is now taking on the responsibility of editor in chief for the recently launched International Journal of Spa and Wellness. His love of Sheffield Wednesday continues and confidence is at a new high as his subscription to a Hungarian channel showing Premiership Football demonstrates. But the true loves of his life, Ruth, Jamie, Dan and Alex, continue to delight and amaze as they grow older. Email: alanhungary@hotmail.com.