Capacity Building and the Contribution of Public Festivals: Evaluating “Cardiff 2005”

Abstract

Festivals and special events are increasingly encouraged by urban policy makers as driving local (and regional) economic and cultural regeneration, with the consequent justification of public investment therein. This has led to an emerging need for deeper understanding of their contribution, and for evaluation beyond the purely economic. In order to explore these issues, the Cardiff 2005 festival is used as a case study. This initiative attracted £1.3 million from the Millennium Commission's Urban Cultural Programme, matched by Cardiff City Council, to fund a year-long celebration of Cardiff's centenary. This article, therefore, explores the significance of “fit for purpose” festival/special event evaluation, highlighting critical issues in evaluation practice. Ultimately, although a cultural success, Cardiff 2005 represents something of a missed opportunity, in terms of both legacy and fit for purpose evaluation. It is suggested that this has implications for similar initiatives both in the UK and internationally.

A Transformative Service View on the Effects of Festivalscapes on Local Residents' Subjective Well-Being

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What is a Learning Town? Reflections on the Experience at Wirksworth

“…Unfortunately there are also examples where collaboration has not occurred and relationships have been fragmented and counterintuitive to a learning destination (see an example from Portugal in Fonseca & Ramos, 2012). The supply chain in collaboration has occasionally also missed festivals and events as the cornerstone of bringing communities together using long existing beliefs and values (see Clifton et al, 2012). Special relationships over projects have triumphed where influential stakeholders can rise to support activity (Bordeaux wine centre, Cusin & Passebois-Ducros, 2015).…”

Blue notes: Slovenian jazz festivals and their contribution to the economic resilience of the host cities

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