Editorial

Citation

Carlsen, J. and Jago, L. (2010), "Editorial", International Journal of Event and Festival Management, Vol. 1 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijefm.2010.43401caa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: International Journal of Event and Festival Management, Volume 1, Issue 3

International Journal of Event and Festival Management (IJEFM) Co-editor, Leo Jago has recently been interviewed regarding the establishment of this new journal (read “Meet one of the Editors” for the full transcript in this issue) and finds the challenge is huge, particularly when universities are driven by quality frameworks, such as the Research Excellence Framework in the UK and the Excellence in Research Australia exercise in Australia. There is real pressure for academics to publish their material in highly rated but often more general journals, even though their articles relate to festivals and events. We are grateful to contributors for the growing number of higher quality submissions to IJEFM as the journal seeks to attain and improve its ranking.

As Leo also notes in the interview, we are hoping for submissions from a broad disciplinary base in order to add real colour and flavour to the journal. Articles must be academically rigorous and add to the body of knowledge: we also look for the “so what” factor: what the practical implications of the research are that will make a difference to how this field evolves. We are also looking forward to the first special issue of IJEFM on the development and management of event venues and will be published in 2011 (read the call for papers on the journal web site). We are also planning some regionally focused special issues sited in the developing countries of South America, Africa and Asia.

Our knowledge of mega events and hallmark events is developed in this issue. Kostas Karadakis, Kiki Kaplanidou and George Karlis use a SWOT framework to provide some insights into the challenges of leveraging the Athens Olympic Games and discuss the implications for event management and tourism bodies charged with organising mega-events such as the Olympic Games. Hallmark sporting events also leave a legacy for the host community and Holly Henderson and C.M. Lissiman OAM review the legacies of the Australia II Americas Cup Defence in Fremantle, with a focus on the development of social capital which is now being re-invested for the future success of competitive sailing events. Looking to the future, Brent W. Ritchie, Richard Shipway and P. Monica Chien consider the role that the media play in shaping residents’ attitudes towards the London Olympics in 2012 and find that a fair portrayal of the costs and benefits of mega events is a pre-requisite to garnering residents’ support. Optimising the benefits of mega events is also the focus of the article by Leo Jago, Larry Dwyer, Geoffrey Lipman, Daneel van Lill and Shaun Vorster, who provide an overview of the impacts and implications of mega events for destinations such as South Africa and propose a mega event knowledge portal to provide host destinations with the research and information they need to optimise the potential of mega events in the future.

Jack Carlsen, Leo JagoCo-Editors