Event management principles and practices

¶ … Management

The people of the globe have always fancied events. While some of these events were created with specific purposes of decision making, political support or for economic resolution, others have had a more entertaining feature. But in spite of the purpose for which they were created, events have always managed to draw large crowds, to capture attention and to become focal points within the countries and communities.

The hosting and organisation of events is often a difficult task, generating the need to engage vast resources. In the case of a large event for instance, such as the Olympic Games, the infrastructure of the city has to be developed and the city has to invest significant financial resources to prepare for the exodus of tourists.

Generally speaking then, the organisation and hosting of events is often a complex endeavour, consuming large amounts of resources. But aside from this perception, it is now assumed that the events hosted in one country will also generate positive impacts upon the respective country / community. With this assumption in mind, the current project sets out to assess both the positive as well as the negative implications of organising events.

2. Impacts of hosting events

The impacts of the events organised in various countries / cities / communities vary and are influenced by a wide array of issues, such as the level of difficulty involved in the planning and hosting of the event, the resource requirements or the features of the local communities in relationship to the event. In order to offer a clearer image of the impacts, six specific cases would be analysed -- three revealing positive impacts and three revealing negative impacts of events.

2.1. Negative impacts

The specialized literature on the negative impacts of events is quite vast, detailing various outcomes as they are observed within the analyzed communities. Among the more commonly mentioned negative impacts of hosting and organising events, the following are noteworthy:

The massive population gathered creates litter, consumes resources and endangers the environment. They can also restrict the access of residents to their own homes and leave the properties more vulnerable in the face of robberies (Magalhaes, Serdoura and Xavier)

The possibility for the members of the community to become alienated as they become involved in other projects

The possibility of creating a negative image of the community as a result of various situations, such as the inability to properly organise the event or the negative public perception over the event (Swart and Bob, 2005)

The possibility that tremendous investments are made and no economic output is generated as a result (Matheson). While various studies promote the benefits of hosting events, these are mostly based on the experience of the United States of America, where stadiums for instance, and other facilities, are built with public money and private investments. In the United Kingdom and other states however, more efforts have to be made to construct the facilities and the costs might outweigh the benefits (Barghchi, Omar and Aman, 2009).

a) The Carnival in Rio

The Carnival in Rio de Janeiro is an event known world wide and part of the Brazilian culture. Its origins are still unknown with certainty, but it is believed that the celebration was brought to Brazil by the Portuguese, and it was then spiced up with Indian costumes and African rhythms (Louis, 2008).

The manifestations of the Carnival would traditionally take place on the streets, but since 1984, the parade is hosted by the Sambodromo, in the centre of the city. The Sambodromo is an "open structure composed by a street aligned by two rows of seats and dressing rooms and ended with a stage covered by a sculptural concrete skin" (Magalhaes, Serdoura and Xavier).

The construction of the Sambodromo has involved vast resources, and has generated more negative results, than positive ones. As part of the Carnival, the Sambodromo generates the following negative impacts:

Throughout the year, the construction is used as an primary school, but the classrooms lack in adequate ventilation and lightening

The Sambodromo was built in a less economically advanced area of Rio and it has not been able to support the development of the community, nor to attract more people to inhabit the area

The Sambodromo is rather insular and could not be integrated with the rest of the community. In fact, it serves as a barrier in the borough (Magalhaes, Serdoura and Xavier).

b) The African Football World Cup of 2010

The football event organized in Africa is one of the most recent ones and the actual impacts are still being assessed and observed. Africa had long been waiting for an opportunity to host a major sports event, and has welcomed the opportunity to host the world cup. But preliminary studies reveal that the expected outcomes are mostly negative, including the following:

The consumption of vast resources without the generation of social and economic benefits for the poor population in Africa; some benefits would however be observed for the population in the cities where matches were played, but these benefits would be only visible within the short-term

The legacy of the world cup is being lost in Africa as the communities lack the strategy and ability to become involved, to develop programs and to influence policies

Football is linked with sex and the exodus of population could materialize in a higher rate of infestation with HIV / AIDS and TBC especially for the youth and the sex workers, both local and visitors (Toolkit Sport for Development, 2008).

c) European capitals of culture

The European capitals of culture are annual events created with the scope of recognizing the cultural value of specific cities in the Old Continent. Each year, a city is granted the title of European capital of culture and throughout the entire year, the respective city organises and hosts various cultural events.

The general assumption is that the events raise awareness over the cultural value of the city and generate a combination of social and economic events. In essence however, it was found that the events consume large financial resources and do not generate the positive impacts that had been initially attributed to them.

"The study argues that the ECoC title is seen as powerful tool for cultural development, but that not enough attention has been paid to ensuring its role as catalyst for sustainable change, in terms of social and economic improvements. It emphasises that more attention should be paid to ensuring long-term gains, although it does not specifically discuss the measurement of such a legacy" (Langen and Garcia, 2009).

2.2. Positive impacts

The hosting and organisation of events within a specific country is a difficult endeavour, and the previous section has shown that it can also be damaging for the host. But when it is organised and planned accordingly and when the event requirements are tailored to the specific features of the host community, the outcomes can be highly positive for the host.

Some of the more common positive outcomes of organizing events include the following:

Improved economic outcomes through the generation of more revenues

Improved social status of the host community (Malfas, Theodoraki and Houlihham, 2004)

Improved collaboration and involvement between the different parties in the host community, including both private as well as public people and institutions (Tran, Haidet, Street Jr., O'Malley, Martin and Ashton, 2004)

The development of infrastructures which continue to be used by the community after the event is completed (Cugola, Nitto and Fuggetta, 1998)

The building of community pride, combined with the expansion of the cultural perspectives as a result of interaction with various other cultures (Swart and Bob, 2005)

The list of potential benefits from organising and hosting important events is virtually endless and it is possible for the host to encounter any of the benefits listed above. Additionally, the benefits can be generated in singles or in combination of numerous positive outcomes. In order to better understand these advantages and how they can arise and impact the community, it is useful to assess three different events in light of the outcomes they generated within the host communities.

a) The 2004 soccer FA Cup final

The 2004 soccer FA cup final was held at the Cardiff Millennium Stadium and has generated a wide array of negative impacts upon the environment. These include the following:

A total ecological footprint of 3,051 hectares

More than half of the footprint was created by transportation. The majority travelled by car, but if all had used the buss, the footprint would have been smaller by 399 hectares

Food was the second largest footprint component, accounting for 1,318 hectares. Had the population eaten more chicken and less beef, the footprint could have been reduced by 428 hectares

The disposal of waste contributed to the footprint with a total of 146 hectares, a rather surprisingly low amount; recycling would have reduced the footprint by 39 hectares. The scope of this assessment was that of proving event organisers with factual data on outcomes and motivating more environmentally responsible planning (Copley, 2005).

b) The Football Championship in Lisbon

The capital of Portugal has received little investments in developments and infrastructure from both the public as well as the private sectors. But the football championship has stimulated the construction and development of two stadiums in north and northeast parts of the capital, namely the Benfica and Alvalade stadiums.

The hosting of the football championships, supported by the two stadiums, draws the attention of investors and stimulates their efforts to set out new operations in the community, supporting as such its social and economic development.

"In general terms, those buildings give support to a modern city vision, that attempts to preserve its ancient culture at the same time it projects an image of progress.

Those infrastructures, given their magnitude in the urban context, might help to promote Lisbon as an international capital. They will certainly allow the city to re-structure its present functional structure. They will allow creating local poles of activities, with adequate levels of infrastructure to the concentration of service and commerce, and to the support of the emergence of new uses (such as tourism) as an alternative to the consolidated residential use" (Magalhaes, Serdoura and Xavier).

c) The Sydney Olympics

The hosting of the Olympic Games in Sydney in 2000 has generated a multitude of positive effects upon the economy in the Australian capital. Some of the more notable of these benefits include the following:

The Olympic Games were estimated to generate a total of 6.5 billion of Australian dollars throughout twelve years, from 1994 through 2006. The money, approximately 4.26 billion Great British pounds, was derived from extra economic activities in Australia

The Olympic Games hosted in Sydney were estimated to generate an average of 7,500 extra full time jobs per year for the period between 1994 and 2006

Touristy benefits: the attraction of 110,000 visitors at the Olympic Games, followed by the generation of additional revenues through sales to tourists, the improvement of the Australian brand and the improvement of the international perception regarding the quality of services, value and reliability in the country

Infrastructure developments in the total amount of 1 billion Australian dollars, combined with the overall regeneration of Sydney and the increase in sports participation by the population, the increase in volunteers and the "up-skilling of labour force" (Yu, 2004).

3. Conclusions

Important events are of major social and economic interest and they gather crowds from across the globe. But aside from popularity and the actual scope of the event, a new issue is raised by the final impact of hosting the occasion. These impacts can be both positive as well as negative, and it appears that a key success factor is represented by the ability of the country to adapt the features of the event to the specifics of its region.

At the level of the negative impacts, these could include the consumption of resources, negative environmental impacts, the alienation of the community of the creation of a negative perception of the community. Events can also create barriers, as has been the case of the Sambodrom in Rio.

Aside from the negative impacts however, the organisation and hosting of important events can also generate positive impacts. One relevant example in this sense is the construction of the Benfica and Alvalade football stadiums in Lisbon, which would help attract more business activity in the capital and as such support the development of the private sector in the Portuguese capital. But events can also unify the population in the host country, generate social and economic benefits and develop the infrastructure.

All in all, the hosting of events offers a sense of pride and joy to the population in the hosting community, but it also raises a multitude of challenges. In order to maximize the benefits and minimize the shortages, the organising country has to ensure that the community and the event requirements are compatible. Additionally, it should maximize the stay of visitors in the region, increase the visitor spending in the region and increase the awareness over the destination (Janeczko, Mules and Ritchie).