The roles of festivals and special events in rural areas: the Welsh Experience

This paper explores the potential roles of festivals and events in economic and social development activities in Wales, examining in particular rural/urban differences. The potential use of festivals and events in economic and social development processes is then explored, both in the literature, and via a survey of the activities of the 22 Unitary Authorities in Wales regarding festivals and events. The results highlight that the vast majority of festivals and events are local in scope, and focus on social capital building. They are also strongly correlated with self employment and rurality. In terms of resourcing local (entrepreneurial) resources may also be supplementing or replacing those from unitary authorities. There is a need to evaluate festivals and events in more sophisticated ways than the traditional economic impact or marketing focus. It may be possible to develop approaches to maximize the social capital building aspects which are most suited to social and general entrepreneurial activity.