Edinburgh Napier University

  Events are significant in today’s society. They have links to religion, to culture, to sport, to community, to commerce, and to political, policy and microeconomic and macroeconomic influence or objectives. Events are becoming ever more important as they are seen to reap a great many of the elements that a society (served by a government) requires for its development. As society has moved from a manufacturing to an experience economy over the last fifty years, the role of events has become an important element of the experience economy. At the same time, with the arrival of the experience economy and the decline of manufacturing in many places, political leaders have become champions of sporting and cultural events in their nation, city or community. It seems that countries all want mega sporting events such as the Olympic Games or FIFA World Cup or cultural events such as food and wine festivals as a means to attract tourists to a region (Yeoman 2008).