Search results

The purpose of this paper is to identify and examine emerging trends in event and festival research and also in the themes and topics being studied in this area.

Taking an innovative approach, this paper used an abridged version of Q methodology to seek the opinions of events experts on the topics and themes that will underpin the future development of an events and festivals research agenda.

The results of this research revealed that events experts feel that there are several areas that have been comprehensively researched and where further research is unlikely to provide any new information. These include definitions and types of events, and events logistics and staging. Directions for future events and festivals research include the need for studies on the socio‐cultural and environmental impacts of events along with a better understanding of the relationship between events and public policy agendas. This research has also highlighted a lack of research in the area of Indigenous events.

The identification of these gaps in our current knowledge provide opportunity for further development of a research agenda for events and festivals, which will have substantial implications both for academia and for the events and festivals industry. Limitations include a relatively small sample size, and the resulting abridgement of the full Q methodology.

This paper represents a comprehensive overview of existing studies, providing vital information for events researchers in all areas of the field. Further, the research highlights research gaps that would benefit from future study, and also identifies those areas where further study is unlikely to provide new knowledge.

The purpose of this paper is to consider some of the issues of vulnerability and risk, mitigation, adaptation and the adaptive capacity of events. Given the significance of events to community, society and the economy, it seems imperative that the risks of any potential negative effects of climate change on this sector are understood, and that the capacity of events to adapt to and mitigate climate change is identified.

This exploratory conceptual paper considers some of the issues of vulnerability and risk, mitigation, adaptation and the adaptive capacity of events, and highlights the fact that different types of events are likely to be affected unequally by climate change.

The paper finds that different types of events are likely to be impacted in different ways by climate change. It also concludes that smaller, community events and larger hallmark events are likely to be most seriously affected by climate change, as they are types of events which rely on specific locations and venues.

The limitations are those of a conceptual paper – although the empirical research on climate change and tourism may reflect the situation for the events industry, this has not yet been tested. Future research should test the propositions in this paper.

The paper suggests strongly that the events industry should incorporate strategies for adapting to climate change impacts into its policy and planning. Some of the likely climate change impacts are identified in the paper, along with potential adaptation solutions.

This topic has not yet been addressed in the academic literature and therefore the paper represents an important step in the understanding of climate change. The paper has academic value as a platform to underpin future research and practical value for event organisers planning for an uncertain future.

The purpose of this paper is to review the techniques involved in participant observation and to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the method as related to event research.

A review of the literature examines applications of the research method and discusses the steps of the research cycle. Using the example of the Swell Sculpture Festival, participant observation is demonstrated to be a highly appropriate method to gather data on interactions and relationships through the recording of behaviour, conversation and experience in situ.

Participant observation has been used to inform the development of management strategies, including management of crowd behavior, public risk and safety.

The paper suggests that methods of participant observation can be used to gain a deeper understanding of social dynamics of audiences and the affective dimensions of their behaviour. It is suggested that the method is highly appropriate to the context of event environments, where the use of surveys can interrupt the flow of the event experience for audiences, or be made impossible by the structure of the event.

The case study demonstrates the application of the methodology by event managers to gaining a better understanding of audience behaviour and expectations.

The methods of participant observation, as part of the broader qualitative research paradigm, are somewhat neglected by event researchers, despite their utility in other disciplines such as retail, education and tourism. This paper highlights the potential of the method for use in future studies of events and their audiences.