The Growth of the Events Industry free essay sample

Until relatively recently, events have been seen as part of hospitality, tourism, leisure and recreation industries, or as a support service to businesses. However, the environment is changing and the events industry is emerging in its own right. † (Bowdin et al. , 2011, pp. xxvii-xxviii) This essay will discuss the growth of the events management sector and will evaluate the nature of the event industry. The categorisation of events will be discussed, regarding their typologies and their classification. Also,1 the author will analyse the different industry sectors and will highlight the importance of stakeholders. In the last two decades, the events industry have grown enormously and it is now â€Å"supported by an increasing body of knowledge, education, research and industry professionals. † (Bowdin et al. , 2011, pp. xxvii-xxix). Events are hugely diverse and have tremendous different fragments and due to its complexity, it is very hard to define. A definition of events is given by Shone and Parry (2004, p. ): â€Å"Special events are that phenomenon arising from those non-routine occasions which have leisure, cultural, personal or organisational objectives set apart from the normal activity of daily life, whose purpose is to enlighten, celebrate, entertain or challenge the experience of a group of people. † However Bowdin et al. (2001, pp. 15-16) explains that â€Å" it seems at times that special events are everywhere; they have become a growth industry. The field of special events is now so vast that it is impossible to provide a definition that includes al varieties and shade of events. The industry is sometimes described as â€Å"special events† (Bowdin et al. 2011, p. 17), but to understand the nature and the complexity of events, the categories, typologies, the characteristics and the classification can be explored as well. Allen et al. (2005) specify that events can be characterised as being local events, major events, hallmark events or mega events depending on their size. Whilst Bowdin et al. (2001) classify events depending on their form and content as being cultural, sporting and organisational. Because of the many different type of classification and the diversity of the industry overlapping between two definition is inevitable rather than exceptional. Firstly, local events are mainly targeted at the local audiences and they tend to create a feeling of belonging. Their primary object is to entertain people and these events give the locals an opportunity to mix, to socialise. Local events celebrate traditions, religious rituals, carnivals, heritage but can be used to describe personal and political occasions. Janiskee (1996, p. 404) cited in Bowdin et al. (2011, p. 19) define local events as: â€Å"Family-fun events that are considered ‘owned’ by a community because they use volunteer services from the host community, employ public venues such as streets, parks, and schools and are produced at the direction of local government agencies or non-government organisations (NGO’s) such as service clubs, public safety organisations or business associations† An example of this is the local ‘Tomato Fight Festival’ held in Spain (Valencia Trader, 2011). These annual festivals can shortly become major events, the next categorisation by size. Secondly, those events that are capable to attract media attention and create economical benefits to the host community are called major events. A great example of a major event is the Nemzeti Vagta (translated from Hungarian:National Cavalry and Gallop Day), which is a unique event celebrating the Hungarian tradition of horse racing on a large scale. (Youtube, 2011). UK Sport (1999a, p. 4) cited in Bowdin et al. (2011, p. 0) consider that three elements are required for a major event: it must involve a competition between teams, also, it must attract significant public interest and it must be of international significance to the sport concerned. Another type of event regarding the size is the Hallmark event. Hallmark events as described by Ritchie (1984, p. 2) are: â€Å"Major one time or recurring events of limited duration, developed primarily to enhance awareness, appeal and profitability of a tourism destination in the short or long term. Such events rely for their success on uniqueness, tatus or timely significance to create interest and attract attention. † These kinds of events can be easily identified by the name of the town, city or region where they are being held and gain recognition and publicity for the place. A classic example of a hallmark event is Venice International Film Festival (La Biennale, 2011), where the event creates huge revenue for the city as well as local pride and international recognition. Mega events are the last type of events relating to size. Getz ‘s description of mega events is (2005, p. 6) : Mega events by way of their size or significance, are those that yield extraordinary high levels of tourism, media coverage, prestige, or economic i mpact for the host community, venue or organisation† A typical example of mega events is the ‘London 2012 Olympic Games’ where, as pointed by Horne and Manzenreiter (2006) cited in Gripsrud et al. (2010), the event will have significant consequences for the host city, region, or nation. These consequences will be seen in the infrastructure of London and will contribute to shape the image of the country. Beside their size, events can be classified depending on their form and content. Referring to the above mentioned ‘London 2012 Olympic Games’, it can not only be classified as a mega event but also a sporting event, but example for sporting events can be identified in each of the size categories listed earlier. Sporting events are a growing part of the industry due to the fact that they can easily generate media coverage and attract tourist visitors and therefore can generate economic benefits for the hosting city or country. Bowdin et al. (2011, p. 24) cites that sports events also bring benefits to the participants, such as the players and the coaches, as well as the spectators. Cultural events, another type of event classification, can be also contended as major events. Cultural events include festivals, religious events, carnivals and any kind of concerts or theatrical productions. These events are mainly staged by the council and related organasations in order to develop reputation and tourism that cater to different market needs. A third type of event classification is organisational events, sometimes called MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions). â€Å"This sector is mainly characterised by its business and trade focus, although there is a strong public and tourism aspect to many of its activities. † (Bowdin et al. 2011, p. 24-25) After an event being classified by its type regarding its size or form, the industry sector where the event belongs can be identified. This can be either a public, a private or a voluntary sector, but again, due to the complexity of events, there can be some overlapping. Bowdin et al (2011, p 51. ) described the public sector as follows: â€Å"Governments play a leading role in events and increasingly employ event strategies in order to guide their involvement, priorities and decision making. In recent years, many governments have created dedicated celebration spaces for the staging of public events and some have consciously used them in tandem with other policies and strategies as tools for urban regeneration and development. † The public sector mainly involves government departments and local councils and they are â€Å"increasingly involved with events, because they see events as an important means of creating quality of life as well as attracting tourists and creating economical benefits. † (BA Events Management lecture notes, 2011). The role of the government at an event can be varied. They can act as venue owner, a service provider, the funding body or they can be the event organisers themselves. No matter what their role is, public sector events are generally characterised by free entry and that the event is targeted at the general public. In comparison, the private/corporate sector is usually for profit and it is targeted at a certain market segment. In Bowdin et al. (2011, p. 51) the private sector is described as follows: â€Å"The corporate sector is a major player in events using them regularly in the course of business administration, staff motivation and training, and as a significant element of the integrated marketing mix in the sale and promotion of goods and services. Companies also sponsor public events in order to demonstrate product attributes, build brand awareness and reach target markets effectively. † Corporate events are usually used to help the company remain competitive or to raise awareness of a product, but can also help to increase staff motivation. There are two main types of events within the private sector: the large scale events and the corporate hospitality events. Large scale events, such as festivals and the Grand Prix, are used by companies to create or maintain the image of the company. While corporate hospitality events are mainly non-profit events, and are used as a form of entertainment for the employees and the clients to increase their motivation but can also be seen as a bribery act. The third industry sector is the voluntary sector. This sector is overlooked, but it is a highly effective and significant industry sector. It consists of a large number of volunteers because it â€Å" provide[s] support and funds to those ‘in need’. They do not seek to make profit but to provide goods and services to those less fortunate than themselves. (Robinson et al. 2010, p. 51) The money raised through the voluntary sector is reinvested in the community. No event is created by one person or sector as they all overlap and for an event to be successful, much depends on a number of different persons, called the stakeholders. Stakeholders include â€Å"people and organisations with a legitimate interest in the outcomes of an event† (Allen et al. 2011, p. 1 26). One of the key stakeholders is the host organisation, who is in charge of running the event. These organisations can be from any of the industry sectors. These events may include promotion of good, launching new products and enrichment of the lives of locals. Another key stakeholder is the host community as they are responsible for the infrastructure in the area where the event is held and may need to close down street. They are the ones who give out any permits regarding the event, but they may as well own the venue where the event is being held. An event is a potential place where sponsors might want to promote their products and therefore sponsors are key stakeholders. Sweaney (1997) cited in Allen et al. 2005) said that sponsorship is â€Å"a high profile form of collaborative marketing between organisations which usually involves an investment in an event † Media is linked to sponsors as they both attract sales and influence the marketing. Media can also help spread awareness of the event. However media can also ruin an event. ‘The Galleria Flash Mob’ (CBS Sacramento, 2010) was ruined because of social media as the news of the event spread, a huge amount of people turned up at the venue and the flashmob was no longer spontaneous. Lastly, co-workers and participants are also key stakeholders. Bowdin et al. 2011, p. 239) said that â€Å"for any event to be truly effective, the vision and philosophy of the event must be shared by all the team. † The leadership and the workers make the event special because they know what will make the event successful. â€Å" the event team is the face of the event, and each member is a contributor to its success or failure† (Allen et al.. 2005, p. 95) These workers make the event special for the participants because they are the ones that influence the future of the event and they need to feel comfortable, safe and need to connect emotionally to the event in o rder for it to be memorable. To conclude, we have a series of interpretations of what an event is and due to its complexity events will never be truly defined. It consists of overlapping different sizes (local, major, hallmark, mega), forms and context (cultural, sporting, organisational) and it can be found in any of the three industry sectors (public, private, voluntary). For an event to be successful in takes a range of different stakeholders to get involved and they make sure that event meets all the primary objectives regarding the satisfaction of the participants and the organisers.