How can small cities compete?

Smaller places are often in the shadow of global cities such as London, Paris and New York. Big cities have big marketing budgets,...

Festival Management: From ravers to refugees

Festivals are in the news at the moment, and not just because of the music. Following on from scenes of abandoned tents and other...

Major events and house prices

Major events and festivals can have a marked influence on house prices. The question is whether your house will be worth more or less. I...

Vermeer: How to create a blockbuster exhibition

The BBC4 documentary Close to Vermeer follows the development of the most successful blockbuster exhibition ever staged at the...

Festival rebound after the pandemic: visible and invisible growth

The festival and event industry was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2020 there were only 155 festivals held – only 14% of the...

Event inflation: Shrinking anniversaries and pseudo-events

Celebrations are an important part of social life. So important in fact, that it seems we are less and less inclined to wait for...

Cities and festivals: A lasting relationship?

Festivals and the cities that host them have close and dynamic relationships. In many cases the festival becomes the city, and vice...

Blockbuster art exhibitions: From ‘first time ever’ to ‘last of its kind’ in a few short years

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has just announced a ‘first and last’ exhibition of all the paintings by the Dutch master Vermeer for 2023....

How sustainable is a World Expo in the desert?

This was the question posed by the Dutch NOS at the recent opening of Expo 2020 in Dubai. This question is particularly poignant given...

Carnival was cancelled…..long live Carnival?

Carnival was very different this year. Instead of the world’s biggest party spilling out onto the streets of Rio and New Orleans,...

Platforms, networks, communities - what difference do events make?

Events are multidimensional tools. They can be used to celebrate, negotiate, highlight, frame and promote a wide range of content, from...

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