Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
provided an unique identity for the celebrating city, town or community, creating
not only a sense of civic pride in the distinctiveness of the events, but community
interaction in the process of creating the events. They also provide a showcase for
a display of cultural talents, both local and imported, adding to the existing set of
cultural and leisure activities. Many festivals provide a link with the past, or with
particular beliefs, revitalised traditions and create the possibilities of new identities
in a homogenizing world, even though few believe in the original meanings and
rationale for the events. Also, there can be few doubts that these events improve the
overall profile and prestige of the settlement in which they are located, providing
an important competitive advantage over other centres that do not have such high
profile events. They can be used to showcase other economic and cultural aspects
of the city, which may lead to additional growth. In a human context it must not be
forgotten that they provide an antidote to the conformity and pressures of everyday
life. Many bring excitement, pleasure, a celebration of difference, and in the case of
some festivals, a sense of fun to participants and spectators; all are human experi-
ences and even needs that are often forgotten in the focus upon the material and the
workplace in urban studies.
Despite these varied advantages there is little doubt that the rationale on which
many festivals are based today is firmly based in economic considerations. The
examples of Calgary and New Orleans described above show the direct and indirect
effects that boost the economy of these centres, filling the local hotels and restau-
rants, generating money through ticket sales to the various events and activities.
Successful festivals also stimulate new investments that create renewal or expansion
of the existing urban fabric, providing new business opportunities and employment
growth. However there are also social benefits beyond the festival itself, for many
community groups, firms, and individuals host their own events, usually linked to
the festival theme to foster social co-operation and to profile themselves in the case
of companies. Many cities have deliberately created festivals to improve their eco-
nomic prospects and image, such as Venice's revival of their old Carnival, or Lyon's
decision to create a Festival of Lights in December to remove, or at least downplay,
the city's early winter image as a foggy, dark place.
All these features show how festivals can be seen as important value-added fea-
tures to the character of urban life in very different dimensions, which explain their
growth and rehabilitation within cities, even if many of the original temporal, re-
ligious and political reasons for the older festivals have been lost
.
Nevertheless, it
is essential not to be carried away with these positive values. Table
14.1
outlines
ten of the most important advantages of festivals but shows that each has a parallel
downside, features that need to be resolved or at least managed if festivals are not
to be burdened by negative effects.
Some of the problems of festivals, such as the disturbance of local life-styles
and the damage to local environments by improving the infra-structure needed for
festivals may be mitigated by community consultation and more careful physical
planning. But there is little doubt that the impact of the crowds and dealing with
their exuberance needs a great deal of money and investment in skilled manage-
ment and trained personnel. This includes coping with the large amounts of waste
