ABSTRACT
What constitutes an ‘event’? Definitions of events most often
relate to occurrences that are significant, interesting, exciting
or unusual, but these remain rather generalised and ambig-
uous notions. The more specific term ‘cultural event’ creates
an even greater definitional problem because of the absence of
a commonly agreed understanding of what constitutes
‘culture’ (Richards, 2001), as well as ‘event’. Many previous
studies have concentrated on ‘special events’, which are more
easily understood as unique occurrences, separate from
everyday experience, and on specific categories of cultural
events, such as arts festivals, sports competitions or tradi-
tional celebrations, which are clearly recognised.
