Festival

Festivals

This project is a position paper arguing that arts festivals should prioritise community-centred development over tourism-driven and city-branding-oriented models. While tourism can generate economic benefits and increase cultural visibility, such gains are often unevenly distributed and may be accompanied by social, environmental and cultural costs for local communities. The paper examines how tourism-oriented programming can commercialise local traditions, limit meaningful participation and privilege external audiences over local cultural needs. In contrast, community-centred approaches can strengthen cultural identity, social connection and long-term sustainability by expanding local participation and redistributing decision-making power.

This page collects several case studies of festivals all around the world, showing how those community-centred cases reduce barriers to participation, involving residents earlier in governance processes, supporting local artists and businesses, and broadening evaluation criteria beyond visitor numbers and economic impact. It concludes that community-centred development does not require rejecting tourism, but rather balancing economic viability with meaningful local participation, cultural representation and long-term community benefit.

01/ Edinburgh Festivals

Edinburgh is internationally known as a major festival city, hosting a wide range of cultural events including theatre, music, comedy and visual arts. These festivals contribute significantly to the city’s international reputation and cultural tourism.
https://www.edinburghfestivalcity.com/

02/ UNTOLD Festival

UNTOLD is a large international music festival held in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. It attracts substantial numbers of domestic and international visitors and has become an important tourism event for the city.
https://untold.com/

03/ Yunnan Water-Splashing Festival/云南傣族泼水节

The Water-Splashing Festival in Yunnan is traditionally connected to the Dai New Year and carries strong religious and cultural meanings, with water symbolising purification, kindness and blessing. However, as water-splashing activities have increasingly been packaged as tourist experiences, the original ritual significance can be simplified or commercialised, illustrating tensions between cultural authenticity and tourism development.
https://www.visityunnanchina.com/culture/seasonal-events-festivals/water-sprinkling-festival

04/ Galway International Arts Festival

Galway International Arts Festival is a major multidisciplinary arts festival in Ireland, presenting theatre, music, visual arts, film and public performances to local and international audiences.
https://www.giaf.ie/

05/ Wajima Abalone Festival/輪島あわびまつり

The Wajima Abalone Festival in Japan was created to promote local abalone products and the cultural identity of Ama female divers, whose diving traditions have existed in the region for generations.
https://www.ikgyoren.jf-net.ne.jp/event/awabimatsuri.html

06/ Art Field Nanhai/广东南海大地艺术节

Art Field Nanhai is a rural contemporary art festival in Guangdong, China, connecting artworks with villages, landscapes and local cultural knowledge. Local residents participate in activities such as guiding visitors, telling local stories and sharing rural knowledge.
https://www.foshannews.net/h/3668/20230221/583010.html

07/ Wintersun Festival

Wintersun Festival was an Australian retro cultural festival centred on 1950s and 1960s rock’n’roll, classic cars, vintage fashion and dance. It attracted people who shared interests in these cultural styles and lifestyles.
https://www.coolyrockson.com/

08/ Chuncheon Puppet Festival/춘천인형극제

Chuncheon Puppet Festival in South Korea is an international festival dedicated to puppetry and performing arts. It attracts international artists and audiences while also involving local residents, organisations and small businesses.
http://www.cocobau.com/kr

09/Chongqing Tongliang Dragon Lantern Art Festival/重庆铜梁龙灯艺术节

The Tongliang Dragon Lantern Art Festival in Chongqing, China celebrates local dragon culture through lantern displays, dragon dances, performances and related cultural activities. The festival also contributes to tourism and local economic development.

References

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China Association of Performing Arts. (2025). 2024年全国演出市场简报 [2024 national performing arts market report]. https://news.china.com.cn/2025-01/18/content_117671899.shtml
Quinn, B. (2005). Arts Festivals and the City. Urban Studies, 42(5/6), 927–943. https://doi.org/10.1080/00420980500107250
Jamieson, K. (2004). Edinburgh: The Festival Gaze and Its Boundaries. Space and Culture, 7(1), 64–75. https://doi.org/10.1177/1206331203256853
Long, P. T., & Perdue, R. R. (1990). The Economic Impact Of Rural Festivals And Special Events: Assessing The Spatial Distribution Of Expenditures. Journal of Travel Research, 28(4), 10–14. https://doi.org/10.1177/004728759002800403
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Baldin, A., Bertocchi, D., & Camatti, N. (2025). Crowding-in and (temporary) crowding-out in Venice. The effect of cultural events on residents. Tourism Economics : The Business and Finance of Tourism and Recreation, 31(5), 984–1005. https://doi.org/10.1177/13548166241233773
Ma, L., & Lew, A. A. (2012). Historical and geographical context in festival tourism development. Journal of Heritage Tourism, 7(1), 13–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/1743873X.2011.611595
Thelen, T., & Kim, S. (2024). Towards social and environmental sustainability at food tourism festivals: Perspectives from the local community and festival organizers. Tourism Management Perspectives, 54, Article 101304. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2024.101304
Zhong, D., Pan, J., Li, R., & Luo, Q. (2026). Let residents interpret the artwork: connecting art and local communities by sharing local knowledge at rural art festivals. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 34(4), 1083–1107. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2025.2537767
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Ahn, Y., Kang, E. M., Kiatkawsin, K., & Zielinski, S. (2023). Relationships between Community Festival Participation, Social Capital, and Subjective Well-Being in a Cross-Cultural Context. Healthcare (Basel), 11(16), 2361. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11162361
Brownett, T. (2018). Social capital and participation: The role of community arts festivals for generating well-being. Journal of Applied Arts & Health, 9(1), 71–84. https://doi.org/10.1386/jaah.9.1.71_1
Li, X., Kim, J. S., & Lee, T. J. (2021). Contribution of Supportive Local Communities to Sustainable Event Tourism. Sustainability, 13(14), 7853. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13147853
Guillard, S., & McGillivray, D. (2022). Eventful policies, public spaces and neoliberal citizenship: Lessons from Glasgow. Cities, 130, Article 103921. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2022.103921