Going Beyond Tourism Attraction in the Festivalisation of World Heritage Cities

Tourism has long been noted as a double-edged sword for World Heritage cities that can lead to a wide range of socio-economic benefits while also introducing many stresses that both physically damage sites and affect local communities through gentrification and other socio-economic changes. Festivals, events and cultural mega-events are often framed with a focus on growing tourism, but they can also provide unique opportunities to align heritage with Sustainable Development Goals. This chapter explores these dynamics by looking at three trends that the festivalisation of heritage cities can lead to: establishing and promoting heritage-based city images; spreading out events to reduce stresses; expanding traditional definitions of heritage through involving local communities. Several examples from across Europe that have hosted the Expo, European Capital of Culture (ECoC) and the UK City of Culture (UKCoC) demonstrate varying alignments with the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the UNESCO 5Cs to promote the sustainable development and inclusion of historic environments in broader city strategies. The chapter concludes by calling for a more integrated governance approach that can reframe approaches to go beyond just tourism attraction while anticipating and avoiding the potential range of risks of festivalisation.