MAJOR SPECIAL EVENTS: AN INTERPRETATIVE LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

This paper approaches the new subject of major special events. With an extended international evolution, major events are visible in the world economy but they form a controversial theoretical subject due to the lack of common accepted meanings, the reduced number of research papers concerning this subject, their inclusion in holistic or applicative research and their subjective analysis. The paper then reviews the existing literature as well as the cultural evidence in order to identify the reference perspectives in defining the concept of major special events. Thus, the research aims to bring an integrated vision starting from the meanings given in different cultural backgrounds and continuing with the analysis of the definitions and typologies in order to identify common and distinct elements. The research has a qualitative approach realized through comparative analysis method having as instruments the table and the figure. As result of the analysis and the interpretation, the paper finds out the cultural meanings of the event, the managerial perspective of defining special events and the accepted perspective of defining major event. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

Headnote

Abstract. This paper approaches the new subject of major special events. With an extended international evolution, major events are visible in the world economy but they form a controversial theoretical subject due to the lack of common accepted meanings, the reduced number of research papers concerning this subject, their inclusion in holistic or applicative research and their subjective analysis. The paper then reviews the existing literature as well as the cultural evidence in order to identify the reference perspectives in defining the concept of major special events. Thus, the research aims to bring an integrated vision starting from the meanings given in different cultural backgrounds and continuing with the analysis of the definitions and typologies in order to identify common and distinct elements. The research has a qualitative approach realized through comparative analysis method having as instruments the table and the figure. As result of the analysis and the interpretation, the paper finds out the cultural meanings of the event, the managerial perspective of defining special events and the accepted perspective of defining major event.

Keywords: special events, major events, management, definition, reference perspective.

1. Theoretical controversies and the integration of ideas

Major special events represent an economic phenomenon of the XXI century with an unprecedented global expansion underlined by the amplification of the international competition between countries for their hosting, by the intense stakeholders' implication and by their dimensional growth. If economically their development is visible, theoretically major special events are a controversial subject due to the lack of common accepted meanings, less studied due to a reduced number of research papers and tangential analyzed due to their inclusion in holistic and applicative research.

The reasons which explain the missing of an integrated theoretical background include the differences between societies, organizations, individuals implicated, special events being organized in all sections of a society, in all sorts of organizations, with the support of professionals from different fields who bring their contribution according to their culture, education and status. Moreover, the event is perceived differently at local, national or international level. Furthermore, another reason derives from the researchers' subjectivity who, in general, analyze and define events in the context of their own area of study. In addition, events are not static phenomena, their signification, goal and management evolved in time, affecting the field terminology.

However, the standardization in defining major special events and the identification of a clear accepted typology is necessary for the research to bring its contribution to the establishment of the special events industry. Moreover, this standardization allows the recognition of particularities and the understanding of the aspects of organization which have a strong impact on the goal, objectives, processes and procedures on which the event manager must focus.

From this point of view, the purpose of this paper was to identify the reference perspectives in defining the concept of major special event. Thus, the research aims to bring an integrated vision starting from the meanings given in distinct cultural backgrounds and continuing with the analysis of the definitions and typologies in order to identify common and distinctive elements. The cultural contexts were correlated to the origin of the literature, research papers being offered mainly by the American and British literature with the mention that the Romanian literature does not offer any research papers in the field of major events, and, in general, practical approaches concerning special events. As a consequence, the paper brings this subject of study in the autochthon management literature and offers a starting point in creating a theoretical framework.

The analysis of the definitions and typologies took into consideration the origin of the researchers and their area of study. The research has a qualitative approach realized through comparative analysis method having as instruments the table and the figure.

2. Cultural meanings

The term "event" comes from Latin having the following meanings:

* eventus - result, efect, success

* eventum - happening, manifestation, outcome

* evenire - to appear, to happen

* venire - to come, to sell, to be sold

A cultural image of the current significations for this word can be extracted from the language dictionaries, the most relevant for this research being the British, Nord-American and Romanian (Table 1):

As it can be observed from Table 1, the word event kept its primary meanings of result, effect as well as that of happening, adding meanings such as:

- gathering or social activity;

- something that happens at a given place and time;

- competition;

- adventure;

- occasion.

The first meaning can be identified in the definition of the event given by Laurence Carter (2007) - "any gathering of people for a specific purpose" while the second in the one offered by Donald Getz (2011) - "event: an occurrence at a given place and time". The last three meanings are connected to the form of the event and to the experience created by it. The last signification can be found in the definition given by the Industry Glossary of Terms (2003) "an organized occasion such as a meeting, convention, exhibition, a special event, gala dinner etc."

3. Retrospective analysis on special events theory

The central element in events management is the "event". It is the starting point in creating theoretical constructs but it does not represent the theoretical reference point.

The most encountered definition regarding the event belongs to one of the pioneers of the academic field, the Canadian professor Donald Getz who established that events are unique temporal phenomena with a beginning and an end and for which the temporal dimension is more important than the spatial one. Consequently, the event appears as a general concept that does not comprise the essence of the events study and activity field. Moreover, the term event is overutilized being associated with almost everything that happens daily (Matthews, 2008).

As a result, the event received an irrevocable attribute - "special" - that delimits it from the usual signification and implicitly from the presented definition. The feature synthesized by this attribute is identified in two of the oldest trials of defining events which belong to North-American literature through its notable representatives Donald Getz and Joe Goldblatt. At the beginning of 1990s, they presented the event as being something "special", "singular", "unique", "beyond everyday experience":

- "An unique moment in time celebrated with ceremony and ritual to satisfy specific needs" (Goldblatt, 1990)

- "Is an opportunity for leisure, social or cultural experience outside the normal range of choices or beyond everyday experience" (Getz, 1991).

The evolution of the definition for the new concept marks the recognition of special events in three fields of interest, study and action (Table 2).

A close analysis of the significations and the terminology used in the definitions from Table 2 reflects a concentration on three main directions without excluding the interactions between the fields described by these directions: anthropology, management and tourism.

The anthropological perspective suggested by terms such as "public celebrations", "authenticity", "tradition", "symbolism" and "specific rituals" corresponds to the human necessity of living a collective experience having a social, cultural and psychological impact. Thus, special events become occasions "for people to come together to celebrate, to demonstrate, to worship, to honor, to remember, to socialize..." (Douglas et al., 2001), to "honor, discuss, [...] teach about, encourage, observe, or influence human endeavors" (Matthews, 2008). What shapes a common background for these terms is the fact that events are originally a celebration with ceremony and ritual, being a cultural expression of a community. This idea is supported by (Douglas et al., 2001) who observe that "community-based festivals and events originate [...] within a sector of the community that has a need or desire to celebrate features of its way of life or history". The relation between society and community is also supported by Wilkinson (1998) who explains that special event is a singular happening to fulfill specific needs at a moment in time while the community events can be defined as an activity that implies the population in a common experience for their mutual benefit. Moreover, (Brown and James, 2004) consider the idea of celebration with ceremony and ritual a reflection of culture and community. Similarly, IFEA Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics states that "Festivals, events and civic celebrations are at the foundations of characteristics that distinguish human communities and interaction. The future development of our communities and world depend in part on the existence of these celebratory events". Goldblatt (2011) suggests the relation but also the delimitation between the anthropological and managerial perspective. The point of connection between these perspectives is related to ceremony and ritual which - according to anthropological studies - become important factors in "designing, planning, management and coordination of special events". The delimitation is indicated by the Latin origin of the word event, "evenire", meaning outcome. Starting from Durkheim theory where the relation between people and divinity is similar to that between people and community were identified four categories of religion: disciplinary, cohesive, vitalizing, euphoric. Setting a parallel to Durkheim's theory it can be argued that events imply a certain discipline, spiritual thinking and euphoria but, unlike previous classification, they are designed to produce specific outcomes.

The second direction indicated by words such as "programmes", "activities", "organizing body" and the phrases "consciously planned", "goals and objectives" regards the connection between the motivations for an event organization and its established and evaluated results. Special events surpass their origin, what offered them authenticity to serve the interests of the organizers and participants. The managerial perspective underlines the performance indicators that force the event manager to abandon what is significant in favor of financial success (Yeoman et al., 2009). In this dimension, the attribute "special" is not identical with the attribute "authentic" or "unique". The uniqueness is connected to time because, due to the accepted paradigm belonging to Goldblatt and Getz, events are unique moments in time. As a consequence, the fundamental characteristic of special events is transience - the difficulty of inducing or maintaining the same experience if an event were held more often. Transience is exploited by organizers to achieve goals or/and personal, social, cultural, organizational, corporate objectives.

Another direction suggested by the word "hospitality" is the touristic perspective, special events becoming "forms of touristic attraction" (Getz, 2005). Taking into consideration the opportunities for spending leisure time, special events stir people's interest. As a result, they travel and spend time in the host region consuming material, financial and time resources for "must see" events. The touristic potential of events is reflected in many of the current studies as they are "increasingly being viewed as an integral part of tourism development and marketing planning, even though the majority of events have probably arisen for non-touristic reasons, such as competitions, cultural celebrations or the need to raise funds for charity" (Tassiopoulos, 2009).

From touristic perspective the attribute special is identifiable with the experience that rises above routine and represents an opportunity for leisure activities. This idea is supported by Joe Goldblatt (2011) who presents the first definition for special event: "that which is different from a normal day of living". The definition belongs to Robert Jani, former director of public relations for Disneyland who solved the problem of clients' leaving before closing time by organizing an impressive nightly parade of lights. He called the parade "a special event". The analysis of the event signification reveals not only the physical dimension but also the psychologicalemotional one. From this point of view - related to the client or visitor - special event is "an opportunity for a leisure, social or cultural experience outside the normal range of choices or beyond everyday experience" (Getz, 2005).

The connection with the anthropologic perspective stands in its capacity of providing resources for tourism promotion while its connection with the managerial perspective regards the touristic result. The delimitation between the last two is given by the distinct types of results established for a special event which can differ from the touristic ones. Thus, the inclusion of events in touristic sector/industry arouse contradictions. Currently, there is a delimitation from the touristic field with a simultaneous focus on management in order to establish proper planning, organizing, coordination and control procedures for a variety of events as well as adequate evaluation methods for touristic, economic, social, political, environmental and infrastructural outcomes.

The differences between these perspectives are emphasized in the analysis of the characteristics of events as they are mentioned in two research papers, one from tourism area of study and the other from management field of study. As it can be observed in Table 3, Jago and Shaw offer a perspective which emphasizes the role of tourism in attracting participants in order to make a region known or in order to support its image. Unlike them, Matthews, senior event producer, is centered on the management elements which shape the event, using, at the same time, an imperative enunciation that indicates the importance of the aspects mentioned for the adequate implementation of the special event.

Figure 1 presents the three perspectives in defining, interpreting and analyzing the same concept of special event by underlining the common areas but also those which alienate and become particularities. According to this figure, the aspects that bring together and differentiate, in the same time, the perspectives of defining are bound to the origin of the

events: on the one hand, the events were created to celebrate through ceremony and ritual and on the other hand, they were a form to obtain an outcome.

The usage of ceremony and ritual represent the common point between the anthropological, managerial and touristic perspectives. The authenticity and the originality from the anthropological study is processed and used in planning, organizing, and coordination of resources to attract tourists. The limit between these perspectives is provided by the variety of results which alienate the event from its anthropological and touristic dimension transforming it into a self purpose, a contemporary phenomenon of economic development.

4. Major events - a reference point in special events typology

If defining special events reveals a variety of conceptualizing and argumentative approaches, still respecting common and essential elements for establishing main directions, their classification shows limited versions with extended and unclear delimited meanings.

Thus, there are three major criteria for special events classification which can be identified in the literature: size or size and scale; form and function; sector.

In Figure 2, the first criterion is centered on the size and scale aspects with its main focus on the special event, the second criterion starts with the planned event which receives different typologies based on function and form definitions while the third criterion concentrates on the economic dimension according to which events can be grouped in segments, markets, sectors or types. Getz's structure, placed in the middle of the figure, shows typologies common to the other two structures: the function criterion reveals similar types of events with the first criterion based on the size aspect whereas the form criterion indicates common events with the last criterion based on the economic implication.

The third criterion, equivalent to form - which according to Getz refers to the way events look, are felt, intentioned and programmed - shapes the industry or the economic sector. From this perspective, (Tassiopoulos, 2009) presents the segments of the events industry - sports, business and trade, recreational, political, educational, private, cultural, art and entertainment - (Goldblatt, 2002) mentions the market classification - social events market, corporate events market - and (Tum et al., 2009) characterizes the sector structure - public, private, voluntary. The classification presented by (Bowdin et al., 2003) is also based on sectors and the typologies are: public, sport, arts, festivals, tourism and business and corporate.

A frequent classification is the type classification, but even this shows different components: for (Razaq et al., 2009) events are religious, cultural, musical, corporate, sporting, commercial/business, political/government, personal/ private; for Julia Rutherford Silvers (2008) events are: business and corporate, cause related and fund raising events, exhibitions, expositions and fairs, entertainment and leisure, festivals, government and civic, marketing events, meetings and conventions, social and life-cycle, sports.

Beyond the titles for this criterion which vary excessively (sector, segment, market, type) the events which correspond most frequent are:

- sport

- cultural

- arts

- private (or personal)

- social

- entertainment and recreational

- political and government

- business, trade and corporate.

As it was mentioned before, the comparison between the first two criteria discloses similar types of events:

Size and scale criterion is based on a nomological model elaborated by Jago and Shaw who take into account the relations between different types of events: common (unplanned) or special (planned), minor or major, hallmark or mega. Special events, which represent the point of interest and which differentiate from the common ones, are minor or major.

Size represents the secondary criterion in Getz's special events classification based on which he divides planned events in small and large. Large events are first of all planned events, created to obtain specific results such as economic, cultural, societal and environmental. Unlike small events, large events are public, involving the whole community, having a strong impact and respecting specific rules.

Major events from Jago and Shaw's research are not identical to large events from Getz's research although they have in common size aspect. The description belonging to the first researchers is more detailed than the second one, comprising clear information about the events that can be included in this category but, comparing to the most recent, it does not contain information regarding the rules implied (Table 4):

Analyzing the features described by Jago and Shaw (1998), Masterman (2009) concludes that major events can be singular or recurrent, with a duration from one to several days and with different sizes and scales. Starting with this definition, Masterman separates major events in singular, that are hosted once in a long period of time and which imply the bidding procedure - eg. Olympic Games, World Cup, Super Bowl - and recurrent, such as Formula One, Grand Slams.

A managerial perspective is offered by (Razaq et al., 2009) who state that small events have a reduced number of stakeholders and clear objectives comparing to big events that have many stakeholders and complex objectives.

Taking into the account the observation that the characteristics for major and big events are not in opposition and adding the common criterion of size and the ambivalence of the managerial and touristic perspective, it can be induced that major events include the characteristics emphasized in these three studies with the need of empirical testing.

Returning to Figure 2, it can be observed that major events have common subcategories such as mega and hallmark events and distinct elements like iconic, premier or prestige and media events.

According to Getz, iconic events have beside fame and reputation, symbolic significations. They are an attraction due to what they represent and they can be held anywhere (eg. World Cup and Olympic Games). Premier or prestige events are defined within a specific category (eg. World Cup is the premier event in football) while media events were created for broadcast audience and underline the power of television and internet. However, any event can be a media event in order to attract sponsors and governmental support.

Mega and hallmark events have close definitions in the studies elaborated by Getz and Jago and Shaw. They are both major events - respecting the characteristics of this category, the main difference between them being the space dimension (Table 5):

The analysis from Table 5 underlines a concentration of the two types of events around major events with particularities reffering to scale, participation, frequence and with distinct elements regarding space - for hallmark events and organization and reputation for mega events. Despite the arguments and the model elaborated, researchers emphasize the lack of a clear delimitation between different categories as each event is dependent on the subjective manner of interpretation: an annual event can be considered initially special, but in time it becomes routine.

For Getz, hallmark events are representative for a specific category characterized by its authentic connection with a certain space or culture. They are recurrent, associated with the image of the community or of the host destination. Mega events are the biggest and most significant type of event generating a high level of tourism, media coverage and economic impact.

For Jago and Shaw as well as for Getz, hallmark events are described by the interdependence with their host destination which evolves into identification and institutionalization. Unlike previous descriptions, (Hall, 1992) does not identify hallmark events with their destination but he mentions their capacity of drawing attention and bringing profitability for a touristic destination. (Silvers, 2004) has a completly different vision which goes beyond the idea of connection with space: "an event of such significance and/or scope that its image or stature assures national and international recognition and interest".

If for Silvers hallmark events are the most significant, for Getz, Jago and Shaw mega events are the most important in terms of size and scale, participation and prestige. (Bowdin et al., 2003) define them as being "so large that they affect whole economies" implying the participation at a bidding procedure.

As it can be observed in Figure 3, mega events have the highest impact in what concerns the level of attendance, media coverage, profile, necessary infrastructure, costs involved and benefits obtained.

A detailed study regarding mega events realized by (Maurice Roche, 2000) presents them as being:

- cultural events due to the mix of presenting and interpretation elements; as interpretation modalities they involve ritual, ceremony, drama, theatre, festivals, carnivals, performances while as presenting modalities they consist of a combination of cultural phenomena (ex. products, information, services etc.);

- local and urban events including the particularities of a city, offering architectural models, places to live, public services, presenting the elites of a city - all these supporting its global promotion;

- national events due to the fact they have a national structure, imply the elites of a nation in the organization of the event, take into consideration traditions and elements from the public sphere;

- international events based on multinationalism, cosmopolitanism, supernationalism and global factors. They are multinational because they are defined by the presence and the recognition of the representatives from different states, cosmopolite due to the development of touristic consumer attitudes and of values and relations between the host and the members from foreign nations. They are supernational as the host nation plays a more important role than other nations, having the leader function. The international scale and the development of media systems allow their perception as global events in a worldwide society and culture.

Tassioupoulos (2009) underlines that both hallmark and mega events are planned events, specific to the public sphere of interest and characteristic to every culture or community.

Conclusions

The reference perspectives in defining the concept of major special event, identified in the present research, correspond partially to the cultural significations and mainly to the field literature.

The comparative analysis of the cultural meanings reveals similar results for the autochthon and Anglo-Saxon cultures, the "event" being an important happening/fact/ occurrence, social activity, set of circumstances, phenomenon or adventure. A meaning found only in the Anglo-Saxon dictionaries refers to outcome, result - an essential component for the management and the industry of special events.

The initial significations from Latin were preserved, the word receiving apart from the meanings of result, effect, happening, manifestation those of gathering or social activity, something that happens at a given place and time, competition, adventure, occasion.

If in the cultural background the event is the reference concept, in the theoretical context its place is taken by the concept of "special event" which allows the individualization, the delimitation from the general and overused meanings.

The comparative analysis with the underlining of the temporal and spatial origin of definitions given for the special event concept allowed the identification of three defining perspectives that correspond to different fields of interest, research and action: the anthropology which emphasizes the group experience with social, psychological and cultural impact, management concentrated on the process of obtaining but also on the result to be obtained and tourism which transforms events in forms of touristic attraction. The connection points but also the differentiation ones are linked to the origin of events: the common point is given by the usage of ritual and ceremony while the delimitation is suggested by the variety of results which transforms events in a contemporary phenomenon of economic development, individualized from the touristic and anthropological perspectives.

In what concerns the classification of special events, the reference perspective, which allows the identification and the defining of major events, corresponds to size criterion. Major event is the special event having as main criterion size. The analysis of the significations offered by different researchers underline the ambivalence of touristic and managerial perspectives as well as the integration of the characteristics from the literature. Consequently, major event gathers the following features:

- Has high status and prestige with the reputation of a "must see" event;

- National or international scale but size can differ from one event to another;

- Has a duration of one to several days;

- Implies many stakeholders and complex objectives;

- Has large impact;

- Attracts crowd of people (for mega event over 1 million) and the group dynamic can dominate;

- Is important for media or initially created as a media event;

- Implies the whole community;

- Is a public event with specific rules (includes a political acceptance process for mega events);

- Incorporates festivals and other types of events;

- Implies tradition and symbolism;

- Attracts funds for the host region;

- Stimulates the demand for related services;

- Is expensive;

- Leaves behind legacies or results in urban renewal.

Major events can be hallmark, specific to a certain space, or mega - the biggest and most significant type of event in terms of economic value.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the European Social Fund in Romania, under the responsibility of the Managing Authority for the Sectoral Operational Programme for Human Resources Development 2007-2013 [grant POSDRU/CPP 107/DMI 1.5/S/78342].

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