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Thought Piece
THE FUTURE OF MEGA-EVENTS… AND FESTIVALS’ CRUCIAL ROLE IN SUCH FUTURE By: Beatriz Garcia
DIRECTOR OF CC:RO | CITIES OF CULTURE RESEARCH OBSERVATORY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL EXPLAINS WHY THE FUTURE OF MEGA-EVENTS LIKE THE OLYMPICS IS TIED TO THE FUTURE OF FESTIVALS The arrival of COVID-19 has transformed the world we live in and put all major cultural events and festivals on hold. The Tokyo 2020 Olympics have been postponed. The 2020 Edinburgh Festival was cancelled. The hosting of European Capitals of Culture across the EU is requiring careful reinvention. Fashion weeks, art biennials, theatre and film festivals everywhere are exploring their virtual options. After a year spent largely in isolation, with solace being sought increasingly online, discussions have grown about our human need for culture and festivities that involve large physical gatherings – but also about the need to rethink the way we host festivals and collective encounters. I would like to reflect here about how these considerations affect the largest players of all: global megaevents.
THE VIEWS ON MEGA-EVENTS In a recent public lecture I asked the question: Can we live without mega-events? and some may want to argue that, actually, we can – or even, we should. Long-held criticisms against megaevents such as the Olympic Games, World Cups or World Expos are the view that they are wasteful, inherently unsustainable, prone to corruption and insensitive to local differences by imposing topdown global frameworks. However, there is another side to this debate. Mega-events are credited with the capacity to take over their host environment and generate precious moments of collective encounter – “once-in-a-lifetime” experiences that contribute to shaping identity as well as meaningful and, most importantly, shared local, national and global narratives. Mega-events are celebrated as opportunities to portray and advance universal values thanks to their unsurpassed international media appeal.
THE CHALLENGE GOING FORWARDS Naturally, in the wake of 2020 and the near-collapse of so many long-existing festivals, tough questions need to be asked. There is a need to prioritise, to be selective and accept that “carrying on as usual” is no longer an option. The pandemic has accelerated our pre-existing concerns over the future of events and festivals at large.
