Greg Richards

Why events are central to strategies forchange in cities

The Challenges for Cities

• Growing competition – need to attract attention• Need for distinctiveness• Governance• Cohesion• Direction• Sustainability

Evolving models of the city

Preindustrial cityIndustrial cityManaged cityThe postmodern cityThe entrepreneurial cityThe creative cityThe eventful city

The city has shaped events, and events have shaped the city

The Eventful City

Richards and Palmer (2010)• Increasing use of events as policy tools in

postmodern cities• Events have become catalysts for urban

transformation and regeneration• Events have become more significant with the

rise of the ‘network society’

Eventful city definition

• An eventful city purposefully uses a programme of events to strategically and sustainably support long-term policy agendas that enhance the quality of life for all.

Eventful cities

Aims of the city

Quality of life

Programming the city

Event outcomes

Management of the event

Aims of the event

Event managementEvent management is the process by which an event is planned, prepared and produced. it encompasses the assessment, definition, acquisition, allocation, direction, control, and analysis of time, finances, personnel, products, services and other resources to achieve objectives.

Managing the eventful cityManaging resources and stakeholders to achieve the objectives of a city or region as a whole

Major festivals per city

ShanghaiMumbai

Hong KongBerlin

JohannesburgBuenos Aires

IstanbulMontreal

TorontoLondon

Los AngelesAmsterdam

SeoulNew York

SydneyBogata

ParisRio de Janeiro

Tokyo

0 100 200 300 400 500 600

Management tasks in the eventful city

• Coordinating a programme of events.• Dealing with a wide range of event stakeholders, both

direct and indirect.• Creating structures for accountability.• Increasing the accessibility of events.• Ensuring equitability in event organization and

participation.• Ensuring event sustainability.• Ensuring compatibility between the objectives of

individual events and the objectives of the city.

Strategic options in eventful city development

• Event focussed

• Sector focussed

• Network focussed

Event focus

• Events unit/department• Service provision for event organisers• Bidding for events• Event stakeholders• Government

• Edinburgh Festivals

Sector focus

• Leading sectors – econòmic, cultural, social• Broad mix of stakeholder groups, centred

around leading sectors• Governance

• Antwerp• Rotterdam

Network focus

• Positioning the city in global networks• Developing field configuring events• City as ‘switcher’

• Den Bosch• Barcelona

Event focus

• The City of Edinburgh Council’s Festivals Strategy• Economic Impact Evaluation of Edinburgh’s key Festivals• Thundering Hooves Report (2006)• 2012 evaluation• Thundering Hooves 2.0 (in progress)

Organisation created in 2007 by the 12 major festivals to lead a joint strategy and maintain their global competitive edge.

Mission

• to act on behalf of and represent the collective strengths of the Edinburgh Festivals

• to develop and deliver collaborative projects and initiatives which support growth, product development, leadership and audiences

• to help sustain the Festivals and Edinburgh and Scotland’s pre-eminence as the world’s leading festival destination.

•

OUR MAJOR FUNDERS

City of Edinburgh CouncilCreative ScotlandEventScotlandMissions Models MoneyScottish EnterpriseScottish GovernmentVisitScotland Growth Fund

Making Edinburgh a distinctive city

Support for culture

1990 1996 2005 20100

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

Economic impact – number of FTE’s

Eventfulness in Edinburgh

Events-led, public sector supported

Collaborative action can be successful

Research is important to make the case

Events have a wide range of effects – important to build up a portfolio of different types of events

Rotterdam – festival city?

Role of Rotterdam Festivals

• Arms length organisation• Support to events• One stop shop for organisers (except for sport)• Events calendar• Events knowledge centre

Mission and vision• Mission

Rotterdam Festivals coordinates event policy in Rotterdam and stimulates cultural participation by Rotterdammers. We provide a characteristic festival offer and a broad public for culture in Rotterdam

•Vision and ambitionRotterdam is a city with a distinctive, varied supply of internationally renowned events. Events supported by Rotterdammers, deeply rooted in the city and which profile Rotterdam nationally and internationally as a city with its own identity with a high quality of life. The city and its inhabitants form the most important inspiration for evetns in Rotterdam. These events together tell the story of Rotterdam.

Policy – deeper in the city, further in the world (2009)

• Underlying policies – quality of life, internationalisation

• Higher return on festivals• Stronger base, more focus – an attractive city

with a clear identity• Stronger international profile

Educ

ation

leve

l

Age

Festivals subsidies (million euros)

2007 2009 20110

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Linking sectors together

• Space – street food, waterfronts

• Time - events• Icons - markets

Den Bosch

The art city without pictures

The search for meaning

Bosch as creative inspiration

500th anniversary of Bosch’s death in 2016

Cultural production

Peter Greenaway film

JHERONIMUS opera

Bosch Requiem

Developing experiences for visitors and residents

Different cultural activities aimed at different target groups

Gastronomy – low access threshold

Contemporary art – select target group of makers

Bosch Parade – linking the city via the water, bringing art into public space, stimulating creative participation.

Merchandising

Bosch Cities Network

From events to placemaking

• Events and eventfulness are tools for the city• Events help to make the relationships possible

that underpin growth in the knowledge economy

• Effective collaboration requires a combination of the basic elements of placemaking: Materials, Meaning and Experience.

Thirdspace/Place

Materials Meanings

Experiences

Thirdspace(Soja)

Placemaking

Spacing Placing

Timing

Conclusions: Shaping the eventful city

Politicalwill

Culture

StrategyStakeholders

Economy

Space

What makes a successful eventful city?

Taking risks

Being innovative

Linking the local and the global

Making creative spaces

Creating new rituals

More sources

https://independent.academia.edu/gregrichards

Email

greg@tram-research.com

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