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This article contributes to the canon of literature on spectator emotions by examining spectator emotions at a major hallmark event. Spectator experience emotions were surveyed via an online questionnaire resulting in 188 valid responses. This resulted in three groups of spectators being surveyed: 1) those who watched live from the roadside, 2) those watching via a spectator viewing hub, and 3) those watching on television. Variables tested were via PANAS scale emotions. They included the positive emotions of interested, excited, strong, enthusiastic, proud, alert, inspired, determined, attentive, and active. The negative emotions were distressed, upset, hostile, irritable, scared, nervous, afraid, guilty, ashamed, and jittery. There are also nine categories within the model, which are (1) attentive, (2) excited, (3) proud, (4) strong, (5) distressed, (6) angry, (7) fearful, (8) guilty, and (9) nervous. The highest positive value feelings of "interested, excited, and enthusiastic" occurred during the live action by those watching on the roadside. Negative feelings were more variable but a highest rating for "afraid" increased during the event, suggesting feelings of not wanting to miss anything (action). Further exploration of the emotions experienced before, during, and after an event is required in order to more fully understand the complexity of the factors. For those planning and staging cycling and similar multistage or multisite events the mapping (route) and layout of the active spectator and participant arena can be carefully constructed to provide potential emotional hot spots. Emotions vary across time and this appears to be related to mode and location of spectating. It implies that event organizers can utilize different "experiential components" within an event setting to create conditions that would be conducive to an optimal viewing environment.

Festivals and events can be a platform for interactions and social connections. More recently, events have been linked to social well-being, assisting in reducing loneliness and increasing social connectedness. However, with the emergence of COVID-19, event attendance has been altered as people have been restricted from attending face-to-face events and virtual events have become a popular mode of events. This study, therefore, aims to examine whether the frequency and mode (face-to-face and virtual) of event attendance influence attendees’ feelings of loneliness and social connections. The survey results reveal the significant relationship between face-to-face event attendance and social connectedness. In contrast, the frequency of virtual event attendance was not found to have a significant effect on social connectedness or loneliness. The type of face-to-face and virtual events attended was also reported in the study, providing us with some understanding of event attendance amongst changing times.

Within the business events sector, strategic meetings management (SMM) is a practice that is increasingly being adopted around the world in order to produce cost savings and provide more value from an organization's meetings profile. Unstable economic factors have encouraged organizations to be more strategic and develop partnerships to deliver cost-effective meetings of a consistent quality. The premise of SMM is to reduce wasted meeting time and unnecessary costs by aligning meetings to the business goals of the organization. As a phenomenon developed in the US, SMM is now being adopted by organizations around the world. Despite its prevalence in industry, there is a paucity of academic research or literature on SMM. This article explores the concept of SMM and how organizations are implementing practices to achieve greater value from their meetings and events. Data collection involved two focus groups and interviews with 28 industry experts followed by a survey resulting in 1,302 responses. Analysis of this data revealed the current practices of practitioners, the key reasons for adopting SMM, and the barriers preventing adoption. The findings of this study suggest that organization size can be an influential factor in SMM implementation. Additionally, there appears to be a shift in focus from purely cost savings and transparency drivers to a consideration of the attendee experience.