Cultural mega-events in heritage-rich cities. Insights from the European Capital of Culture and broader policy perspectives
Cultural mega-events in heritage-rich cities. Insights from the European Capital of Culture and broader policy perspectives
Submission ID:
142
The European Capital of Culture (ECoC) is a well-known and long-standing European policy that annually awards the title of Capital to one or more cities to deliver cultural initiatives during one year of celebrations. It has invested over 50 cities throughout Europe during the last 35 years. In the past, it has involved large projects for urban branding and regeneration (e.g. the facilities on the new waterfront of Marseille, made for the 2013 ECoC) and, more frequently, projects that adapted existing facilities and places as well as smaller scale interventions in the city fabric. It seems interesting to see, in the wide variety of cities that hosted such event, how the ECoC contributed to urban transformation at different scales, with particular reference to historic and heritage-rich settings. Also, the long-term effects in terms of cultural facilities and venues, tourism appeal, etc… are quite relevant but, so far, received limited attention in the scholarly debate. Drawing on the HOMEE (Heritage Opportunities/threats within Mega-Events in Europe) ongoing European research project, this contribution will discuss the large-to-small-scale planning, the (re)generation of cultural facilities and places for historic cities and heritage-rich areas to accommodate cultural mega-events. In the conclusions, the paper will expand beyond the ECoC (in the direction of sport mega-events) to highlight the challenges for urban policy-making and planning mega-events in Europe.
REFERENCES
-Jones, Z. M. (2020). Cultural Mega-Events: Opportunities and Risks for Heritage Cities. London: Routledge.
-Jones, Z. M., & Ponzini, D. (2018). Mega-events and the preservation of urban heritage: Literature gaps, potential overlaps and a call for further research. Journal of Planning Literature, 33(4), 433–450.
-Ponzini D., Bianchini F., Georgi J.-Tzortzi N., Sanetra–Szeliga J. (2020) (Eds.). Mega-events and heritage: The experience of five European cities. Krakow: International Cultural Center
Preferred Track
1. Mega-events and mega-projects: trends and demands
Second Preferred Track
6. Urban policies