Events, Society and Sustainability: Critical and Contemporary Approaches

The growth of the events industry brings with it concerns of sustainable management, the sharing of available resources, and ensuring that people and places are not over-exploited. While the environmental and economic dimensions of sustainability have attracted a reasonable attention in the study of events, the social and cultural aspects of sustainability have been largely neglected. This book brings together emerging critical perspectives, innovative conceptual frameworks and contemporary case studies. Events cannot be isolated from the actions of humans and this is reflected in the emphasis on people and society throughout. The next wave of sustainable discourse requires a critical synthesis of information and this book is the first to address the need for more critical approaches and a broader way of thinking about events and sustainability.

Divided into five thematic parts, the contributions delve into understanding the mainstream stances towards sustainability, the role events play in indigenous cultures and in diasporic communities, and the extent to which events influence the public discourse and civic identity. Sustainability is also examined from a strategic perspective in the events sector, and consideration is given to issues such as corporate social responsibility, greenwashing, and the power of mulit-stakeholder alliances in promoting sustainability goals.

Written by leading academics, this timely and important volume will be valuable reading for all students, researchers and academics interested in Events and the global issue of Sustainability.

Tomas Pernecky is a senior lecturer at the School of Hospitality and Tourism at the Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand.

Michael Lück is Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Tourism and Events in the School of Hospitality and Tourism, at Auckland Univeristy of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand.