Mid Sweden University

A recognized increase in public-sector investment in events has led to a consequent requirement to clearly demonstrate a return on that investment. Commonly that return is seen as an economic one, but this ignores a range of other impacts. There is, therefore, a need to identify theoretically sound and practically relevant methods for evaluating publicly supported events. Also needed from those investing in the events is broad support for the method of evaluation and confidence in the validity of the results obtained. In order to support the development of event evaluation methods to satisfy this need, this case study research undertaken in Östersund, Sweden, identifies–in the context of publicly supported periodic events and festivals–what should be evaluated and how these events and festivals should be evaluated. The studies revealed that regardless of their different needs there was consensus amongst participant stakeholders regarding the criteria required for the evaluation. 

Purpose - Hallmark events can be very beneficial for host communities, not least due to their potential in attracting tourists. The Peace & Love music festival was the hallmark event of the Swedish city Borlänge. In 2013, the event organization declared bankruptcy and canceled the forthcoming festival. The purpose of this study is to identify and discuss the factors that caused the failure of the 2013 Peace & Love festival.

Design/methodology/approach - The case of the Peace & Love festival is analyzed using three data sources: interviews with former members of the event organization; secondary data describing the Swedish festival industry; and festival visitors’ perspectives represented by comments on social media. An organizational ecology perspective frames the analysis.

Findings - The results of the study reveal that the failure of the event can be understood by a combination of three components: an organization in a vulnerable position, a strong new competitor entering the Swedish festival market, and uncertain visitors searching for the new place to be.

Originality/value - Very few studies have researched event failure, although the subject is a recommended priority within the field of festival studies. This study presents a thorough examination of a hallmark event failure, which contributes to this area of knowledge and provides relevant information for organizations and host cities

Periodic events are under constant threat of failure yet research onevent failure is limited – even if often highlighted as a researchpriority. The destination management organization in themountain resort of Åre sought to establish a new ChristmasMarket to increase the number of visitors in the winter pre-seasonbut the event was not a success and the destination failed in itsambition to establish a periodic event. The Market was studiedduring its first three years using action research, interviews anddirect observation and provided insights into the organization ofperiodic events. In order to understand the failure of the Market,empirical data were analyzed using concepts related to twodiscrete organizational types: permanent and temporary. Theresults show that the failure in Åre cannot be explained throughthe use of a single conceptual model, but can be understoodwhen both models are utilized. The conclusion is that periodicevents can be understood as phenomena that are characterizedby permanent as well as temporary organization.

Socialization motivates people to visit events and social interactions between event visitors influence their experience of the event. Consumer-to-consumer interactions in service settings and leisure activities have received increased attention in research; however, very few studies have focused on and analyzed the impact of other visitors on an individual’s event experience. The purpose of this study is to explore how interaction between event visitors influences the individual’s total event experience and how events can be designed in respect to such social interactions. The conclusions are based on a literature review and empirical data collected at a Swedish music festival. The research found that social interactions between event visitors are an important part of the event experience and the level of satisfaction for the individual attending an event. Social interactions consist of three main types: known-group socialization; external socialization; audience socialization. Every part of the event (theme and program, setting, consumables, service) can be designed to facilitate positive experiences and to constrain negative experiences related to such interactions.

This paper defines and conceptualizes hallmark events, as there is neither clarity in the literature about what the term means nor the exact roles they should play within a community and tourism context. This generates a model for use by communities and other event-tourism developers. Our model is structured around three main outcome goals (attraction, image and branding, and the community) and three major process goals (sustainability, marketing, and organization and ownership). This paper is the first attempt to define and conceptualize a critical concept in both the event tourism and event management literature.

Hösten 2008 fick Anna Grundén, Anders Gunnervall och Kristina Zampoukos på ETOUR i uppdrag att utvärdera effekterna av att två evenemang, Jamtli Julmarknad och Världscupen i Skidskytte, sammanföll i tid. Frågan var om konkurrens mellan evenemangen uppstod, eller om några synergieffekter kunde ses. Undersökningen visar på mycket nöjda besökare av båda evenemangen. Viss konkurrens kunde påvisas när det gäller besökare från närområdet. Däremot konkurrerar inte evenemangen med varandra om de tillresta besökarna. Näringslivet är försiktigt positiva när det gäller evenemangens påverkan på kundunderlag och ekonomiskt resultat. Hotellnäringen redovisar ett mycket högt bokningstryck, något som möjligen skulle kunna ge än mer positiva effekter genom att förlägga evenemangen på olika tidpunkter. Det finns i undersökningens material inget entydigt svar på frågan om vad som är bäst; att evenemangen ligger under samma eller skilda helger. Dock framstår tydligt behovet av samordning i samband med större evenemang.

Antalet evenemang ökar såväl nationellt som internationellt, och det kan konstateras att just evenemang allt oftare uppges vara en egen reseanledning. Evenemangen lockar till sig besökare och spås kunna bidra till lokal och regional tillväxt. Mot bakgrund av denna utveckling är det viktigt med kunskap om vilka effekter evenemangen verkligen ger, och hur effekterna kan och bör mätas.

Denna rapport syftar till att kartlägga och analysera vilka positiva och negativa effekter evenemang har, med särskilt fokus på fallstudier av Skidskytte-VM i Östersund 2008 (Biathlon 2008), inkluderande det samtida evenemanget Vinterfestivalen. De övergripande frågorna är hur man mäter evenemangseffekter (del A) och vilka effekter evenemangen under 2008 års skidskytte-VM i Östersund gav (del B).