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The durational nature of temporary events: An international comparison of legacy and sustainability practices in festivals and events

par Eshuis, Jasper;Pel, Bonno ;Coca-Stefaniak, Andres
Référence Interpretive Policy Analysis conference (03-05/07/2014: Wageningen (NL))
Publication Non publié, 2014-07-03

Communication à un colloque

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Résumé :

Festivals typically take place over limited periods over time, but they have longer lasting impacts on the environment and the community. This paper explores the durational nature of temporary events through two related but different theoretical lenses: ‘Sustainability’, which is often understood as a matter of reducing negative environmental impacts, and ‘legacy’, which involves the fostering of positive socio-economical impacts. Both these lenses help to understand the relationship between temporary events and longer term policy objectives, such as ecological efficiency, community involvement, and maintenance of cultural values. In the context of multi-stakeholder governance networks, actors interpret sustainability and legacy in miscellaneous ways. Taking this interpretive flexibility as a starting point, the paper analyses how the durational nature of events is interpreted in 7 festivals across Europe (Italy, Greece, Spain, Latvia, Wales and Romania). It charts the discourses and associated activities of event organizers, stakeholders and policy makers, on the basis of document analysis, observations and 42 interviews that were conducted for an EU knowledge exchange program. The paper identifies the interpretive dimensions of events and their longer-term legacies and sustainability impacts. This analysis highlights how translations made between the governance of temporary events on the one hand, and the more permanent local policy context on the other hand shape the legacy and sustainability of events. The paper brings forward conceptual questions regarding the temporal nature of the concepts ‘sustainability’ and ‘legacy’. It also discusses, considering the observed interpretive flexibility of both these concepts, what is the scope for using the concepts as guidelines for concrete practices (such as the organization of events and festivals)?