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Porto and Rotterdam as European Capitals of Culture: Toward the festivalization of urban cultural policy

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... Along the same lines, had earlier identified 'festivalisation' as a process of supporting urban policies through the staging of mega-events. Hitters (2007) also considered that 'festivalisation' implies the continuous staging of festivals and a permanent event presence in the city. ...
... By trying to work out how public spaces are occupied by cultural events in Barcelona we have observed their distribution and identified cultural events typologies. We have taken into account a broader conception of cultural events that allows us to understand how Barcelona is not only an eventful city , but has also evolved into a 'festivalised' city, where space and time are resources that must be shared and negotiated, since currently festivals and cultural events constitute everyday urban life as a permanent setting (see Hitters 2007). As such, this study reveals three key reflections that may be considered by leaders and decision makers of cultural programming and urban planning. ...
Chapter
Music festivals have the potential to connect people, foster tolerance and are therefore often perceived as inclusive spaces. At the same time, previous research has shown that festival spaces can be exclusionary spaces, where social inequalities are aggravated. While festivals have dynamics of their own, they are organised on the basis of a specific vision (mission statement) which translates into the programming, staffing, organization and marketing of a festival. Festival organisers play an important role in the creation of festival spaces and the mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion. For positive encounters to occur within festivals and for people to share in the positive atmosphere of the festival, they must be planned and managed. This chapter therefore aims to explore to what extent and how music festival organisers deal with diversity in their everyday practices. We therefore investigate 1) discussing diversity: what meaning do festival organisers attach to the concept of diversity; 2) organising diversity: how they deal with diversity throughout the festival organisation process, and 3) implementing diversity: the difficulties and tensions perceived in making diverse festivals. This chapter is based on a study of ten music festivals in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. This city is often perceived as a festival city and a ‘superdiverse’ city, making it the perfect case to study dynamics of inclusion and exclusion as perceived by music festival organisers.
... Entrado el siglo XXI, esta tendencia se ha elevado a un nivel de hiperfestividad en el que toda institución política necesita organizar un evento para visibilizarse (Richards 2010). Si bien existe abundante bibliografía sobre la festivalización de las ciudades y la turistificación (Hitters 2007;Ramos 2022), hay cierto vacío en relación con el ámbito de lo político. Desde una visión «negativa» del fenómeno, principalmente se han abordado los efectos desmovilizadores de la festivalización y la consiguiente absorción de movimientos sociales en el marketing económico y mediático, con propuestas terminológicas como postfeminismo (Coyle y Platt 2019) e incluso pospolítica (Delgado 2013). ...
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El presente artículo narra una historia política de la fiesta del Much de Sineu, en Mallorca, un innovador ritual festivo explícitamente inventado en el que con un espíritu manifiestamente carnavalesco se parodian fiestas locales propias y ajenas. El análisis histórico de la génesis y desarrollo de esta celebración proporciona tres evidencias destacadas que nos ayudan a entender mejor la relación entre fiesta y política en las primeras décadas del siglo XXI: 1) El actual proceso de festivalización cultural no solamente tiene una naturaleza institucional de banalización política, también se producen fenómenos de contrafestivalización popular de abajo arriba de dimensión claramente política. 2) El carácter carnavalesco de muchas festividades actuales permite la integración de minorías políticas y la dramatización de sus utopías en el conjunto social, más allá de usos puramente instrumentales por parte de movimientos sociales o banalizaciones lúdicas por parte de instituciones locales. 3) En determinadas coyunturas de tensión social, la experiencia sensorial y la incorporación emocional de la heterotopía resultante de la práctica festiva puede conducir a una limitada transformación politizadora del conjunto de la comunidad celebrante.
... This is an indication of the more 'defensive' policy stance in respect of events, which has replaced the expansive 'festivalisation' strategies of the past 20 years, which were based on the generation of visitor flows, economic impact and atmosphere (Hitters, 2007). As the Rotterdam Spatial Vision (2021) states: ...
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Purpose: This paper considers the relationship between urban events and urban public space, asking whether cities have enough space for events, and whether events have enough space in cities. Design/methodology/approach: Policy analysis surrounding events and festivals in the Netherlands is used to understand the dynamics of urban events, supported by content analysis of policy documents. A vignette of event space struggles in Amsterdam illustrates the contradictions of the event/space relationship. Findings: The research identifies a policy shift in the Netherlands towards urban events from expansive, festivalisation strategies to defensive, NIMBYist policies. It exposes contradictions between protecting space as a living resource and the exploitation of space for regenerative purposes. Three future scenarios for urban events are outlined: conflict and competition, growth and harmony and digitalisation and virtualisation. Originality: Provides an analysis of the recursive spatial implications of the growth of the events sector for cities and the growth of cities for events.
... Hausserman and Siebel (1993) were among the first to study the strategic potential of festivals in terms of urban development. In their wake, scholars such asHitters (2007),Hitters and Mulder (2020),Wynn (2015) andWynn and Yetis- Bayraktar (2016) further developed what is understood about festivalisation in policies, strategies and marketing carried out by cities, providing evidence of the prominence acquired by festivals in 21 st century urban society. In the Netherlands -one of the most urbanised countries in the world -the supply of urban festivals has followed this trend. ...
... While emphasising the importance of co-operation, many festivals expressed beliefs that competition between festival organisers has increased during the last few years. As a part of a global festivalisation trend, the growing share of cultural production, delivery and consumption is taking place in the festival and event context every year (Jordan 2016;Hitters 2007). According to some scholars, the most successful organisations, that is, those that are best adapted to their field and environment, will survive (e.g. ...
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This dissertation research aims to increase the understanding of hybrid organisations, their characteristics and the mechanisms behind hybridisation. Drawing from the ideal sectoral characteristics and logics, the research focuses on the exploration on third sector festival organizations and manifestations of market sector characteristics and logics in their operations. Empirical research focuses on Finnish arts and culture festival organisations. The data contains both qualitative and quantitative information and has been analysed by using mixed methods. Link to publication: https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/63034
... Culture-led urban regeneration is largely perceived as fostering the commodification of culture, heritage and public space (Evans, 2003;García, 2004a;Miles, 2005). The festivalisation of culture (Richards and Palmer, 2010) is used by local policymakers as a branding device (Hitters, 2007) through the transformation of cultural events into urban spectacles (Gotham, 2005). The replication of supposedly successful strategies across different contexts, through a widespread "just add culture and stir" approach (Gibson and Stevenson, 2004), is one of the factors behind the homogenisation of culture and urban space (Evans, 2003;Richards and Wilson, 2006;Smith, 2007;Ponzini, 2012;De Frantz, 2013). ...
... Culture-led urban regeneration is largely perceived as fostering the commodification of culture, heritage and public space (Evans, 2003;García, 2004a;Miles, 2005). The festivalisation of culture (Richards and Palmer, 2010) is used by local policymakers as a branding device (Hitters, 2007) through the transformation of cultural events into urban spectacles (Gotham, 2005). The replication of supposedly successful strategies across different contexts, through a widespread "just add culture and stir" approach (Gibson and Stevenson, 2004), is one of the factors behind the homogenisation of culture and urban space (Evans, 2003;Richards and Wilson, 2006;Smith, 2007;Ponzini, 2012;De Frantz, 2013). ...
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This research explores the Europeanisation processes that take place in the post-socialist Eastern European space, focusing on the case of Timisoara, Romania. In the analysed case, the adoption of EU cultural policies is instrumental in driving economic growth and urban development. The study focuses on how EU cultural policies integrate into the urban regeneration strategies, aiming to make cities more attractive to the creative classes who usually have higher consumption capacities and are key actors in urban development. Timișoara’s designation as one of the cities to hold the European Capital of Culture title in 2023 and its hosting of the Art Encounters Biennial amplify these dynamics by bringing upfront the capitalist market logic within the cultural field. In this context, there is also observed a subtle withdrawal of state’s responsibility in the act of educating and mediating the public, while private institutions are increasingly taking over this role. Overall, the paper showcases the shift towards a neoliberal orientation within the local cultural strategy while also underlining its effects within the two mega-events analysed.
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Issues in Cultural Tourism Studies This is the third edition of Issues in Cultural Tourism Studies. This book provides a new framework for analysing the complexity of cultural tourism and its increasing globalisation in existing as well as emerging destinations of the world. The book will focus in particular on the need for even more creative and experiential tourism strategies to differentiate destinations from each other using a blend of localised cultural products and innovative global attractions. At the interface between the global and the local, a sustainable approach to planning and development will be advocated to ensure that benefits are maximised for local areas and their inhabitants, a sense of place and identity are retained, and the tourist experience is enhanced to the full. The book explores many of the most pertinent issues in heritage, arts, festivals, indigenous, ethnic and experiential cultural tourism in urban and rural environments alike. This includes policy and politics; impact management, sustainable development; demand and motivation; interpretation and representation; marketing and branding; management and planning. A new and updated selection of topical case studies serve to contextualise the issues discussed with a broader coverage of emerging destinations and markets. As well as exploring the interrelationships between the cultural and tourism sectors, local people and tourists, the book provides suggestions for more effective and mutually beneficial collaboration. As well as providing a new framework for the analysis of cultural tourism supply and a re-visitation of significant issues, the book includes three brand new chapters-on Demand and
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This exploratory study identifies the economic benefits for wine regions, but specifically where wine stakeholders invest in their own event portfolio creating fun and social occasions. There is little empirical research about the utility of an event portfolio in regional areas and even less in relation to their application to Victorian wine events making the study innovative in nature. It is the first attempt to represent the viewpoint of wine stakeholders. A qualitative geographical bounded case study approach was applied to explore the rational and benefits of developing a wine event portfolio in two Victorian wine regions from a wine stakeholders' perspective. The findings suggest that while destination marketing organizations were familiar with the term 'event portfolio' the concept was quite new for event organizers at individual wineries. Nonetheless, they were planning for multiple events across the year and aimed to capture a range of benefits by holding more than one annual event. These benefits for wine stakeholders' representing individual wineries are an increase in wine sales, diverse demographics of winery visitors and repeat visitation throughout the calendar year. This is despite the increase in financial risk and time commitments by wine stakeholders' hosting wine events at their winery. The paper concludes by suggesting the future research should focus on other viewpoints and replicating this study in other wine regions highlighting the importance and greater benefits of investing in regional development focusing on wine event tourism.
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