Events and Society Bridging Theory and Practice

Foreword

Shona McCarthy

Introduction

1 How festival encounters transform lives and landscapes – and why we should care

2 City festivals and social connection: post-plague lessons from 17th-century Naples

3 London 2012: did it inspire a generation?

4 What did London 2012 mean for the Paralympics and the lives of people with disabilities?

5 Has the London 2012 volunteering programme engendered a sustainable and wider volunteering legacy in the UK?

6 A critical review of the Paralympic Games’ potential to increase disabled people’s sport participation

7 How does hosting the Olympics benefit local communities? An examination of Tokyo 2020

8 Does Carnival still come first in Rio even when the Olympics come to town?

9 Creating queer spaces: small-town Prides grow in numbers and popularity

10 Olympics for whom? Winners and losers of mega-events

11 Who benefits when a city hosts the World Cup?

12 How hosting the Olympics can lead to displacement

13 Marginalization, displacement, and exclusion in Montreal’s cultural economy

14 The roar of the crowd: how fans create electric atmospheres

15 Could virtual reality change gigs forever?

16 Looking beyond the screen: smartphone effects on festival engagement

17 The need for live event security risk management practices in a post-COVID-19 world

18 Strategies for event managers to safeguard against deadly crowds

19 Black Pete: an annual tradition or a national embarrassment?

20 Contradictions and complexities: the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, LGBT tourism events and social reform

21 Events and social media: the #Euro2020 online firestorm

22 #genderequalOlympics? Critical analysis of gender equality and the Olympic Games as a major multi-sport event

23 Staging the African renaissance at Africa’s first Black cultural festival

24 Transformative events: a migrant narrative of identity and belonging at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

25 Chale, let’s go: the case of the Chale Wote Street Art Festival

26 Glastonbury and climate change: how the world’s most iconic music festival puts the spotlight on climate challenges and solutions

27 Concerns about the social implications of sporting events in natural areas

28 The good the bad and the noisy: the paradox(s) created by motorised events in green spaces

29 London 2012: what the Olympic Games’ legacy of sustainability means for events today

30 March Madness and the environmental impacts of sport events

Conclusion and recommendations

Biography

Mike Duignan is a Professor at the Sorbonne, University of Paris 1, France, and the Director of Research, Intelligence, and Education at Trivandi, UK. Since 2021, Mike has been the Editor-in-Chief of the leading peer-reviewed journal for the study and analysis of events, Event Management Journal. Formerly, he was a tenured Associate Professor at the University of Central Florida, USA; the Director of the UK Olympic Studies Centre; and a Reader and Head of Department at the University of Surrey, UK.

"This excellent collection of essays on diverse social issues pertaining to planned events is both timely and distinctive. The binding themes of events as transformative phenomena, within the frame of UN Sustainability Goals, shed light on critical topics including health, safety, equality, human rights and cultural identity. Students and practitioners will find the contributors' arguments to be thought-provoking and the practical implications highly relevant, while the quizzes are a valuable resource for teachers."

Donald Getz

Professor Emeritus, The University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

"This timely collection offers a thought-provoking and insightful look at those wider societal issues that impact the design, delivery, and legacy of staging events. International, interdisciplinary, and underpinned by theory, individual chapters provide rigorous scrutiny of the staging of events and their intentional, and unexpected, outcomes. Readers will be energized and challenged by the material which will serve as a catalyst for the continued growth of the study of events."

Alan Fyall

PhD, Visit Orlando Endowed Chair of Tourism Marketing, University of Central Florida, USA

"The book titled Events and Society is presenting a holistic approach to understanding the world of all types of events focusing primarily on sport events such as the Olympic Games but also cultural events. The book’s four sections focusing on how events transform people, places, experiences, identities and the environment offers intriguing insights from experts in the field. A must-read for academics and professionals working in the event space!"

Kyriaki (Kiki) Kaplanidou

PhD, Professor and Director of Graduate Sport Event Management certificate, Graduate Coordinator, College of Health and Human Performance, University of Florida

"This extensive book provides rich insights into the transformational role of events in society. It analyses important but often undiscussed topics affecting events from a community, grassroots level to mega events. Original and thought-provoking areas such as loneliness; diversity; displacement; identity and belonging are part of the narrative and supported with engaging case studies. A compelling read for anyone interested in the sociological impacts of festivals and events!"

Dr Jane Ali-Knight

Professor in Festival and Event Management, The Business School, Edinburgh Napier University, Scotland