Major Event and Festival Impacts

1. Major Event and Festival Impacts Seminar 4: Economic Impacts

2. Main Lessons from the Lecture • Events are one of the main economic drivers in the experience economy – this is particularly prevalent in the post industrial city • Until recently economic impact has been the main focus of both academics and event organisers • Economic impact can be a major determinant in the decision to proceed with a bid or development of an event • Economic impact can be broken down into three areas – direct, indirect and induced impact • Measuring economic impact can be problematic – benefits are often overstated and costs understated • As a general rule, the more attendees the bigger the economic impact

3. Discussion • Critically discuss the importance of economic impact in the decision to bid for and host events. You should pay particular attention to the current economic climate and how this might impact in such decisions • Identify and discuss the main difficulties associated with measuring economic impact for events

4. Debate • Given the current budget cuts and funding difficulties you should debate the economic viability of Glasgow’s hosting of the 2014 Commonwealth Games • One group to argue that hosting the event will benefit the economy • The other group to argue that hosting the event will damage the economy