Just in time for Carnival 2026, our latest article about "Experiencing Carnival in Brazil: participation, motivations and outcomes" analyses the experience of Carnival Goers in Brazil in the post-Covid era. This is the fruit of a longitudinal research project on Carnival supported by ATLAS , and initiated by Lenia Marques over a decade ago. Over the last three years we surveyed over 1500 Carnival participants to find out how they experienced Carnival and and how this varied b

It was a great pleasure to attend the Citymakers’ Day organised by Breda Marketing recently. This brought together around 140 participants from the public and private sector, from voluntary and cultural organisations and other actors involved in culture, placemaking and events. My presentation dealt with the contribution of events to the city, and the ways in which the city can support events. All too often events are seen purely as a means of attracting visitors and generat

The accommodation sector in the Netherlands is trying to come to terms with the effects of an increase in Value Added Tax (BTW) from 9% to 21%.  The impact of this change is even sharper because neighbouring Germany (7%) and Belgium (6%) have kept their tax rates for hotels at a low level. Estimates of the impact of the tax increase  suggest an increase in hotel prices of over 8%, leading to decreased demand, and an 8% drop in turnover for hotels. There are already early sign

More than a year ago we charted the rise of immersive exhibitions around the world, noting that: It is almost impossible these days to visit a major city without seeing at least one immersive exhibition by Dali, Van Gogh or Picasso. The Van Gogh Immersive Experience in Shoreditch, London, features two-storey projections of his greatest works with  ‘ethereal soundscapes’ to accompany your journey. It seems that the growth in immersive exhibitions is now beginning to have an