With the rapid expansion of music festivals, several previous research gaps remain. Prior research tends to focus on satisfaction and individual-level experiences, leaving the role of festivalgoers' happiness and its influence on behavioral intentions underexplored, as well as overlooking the relational and communal nature of music festival experience. This study aims to explain how music flow experience and social experience influence festivalgoers' happiness, festival revisit intention, and willingness to pay a premium ticket price. Survey data from 251 festivalgoers at three major Indonesian music festivals were analyzed using PLS-SEM. Findings show that music flow and social experience positively influence happiness, which in turn influences behavioral outcomes. These findings theoretically advance happiness as a primary emotional driver connecting music flow and social experience to behavioral intentions and practically highlight the importance of music festival that delivers immersive musical enjoyment, meaningful social connections, and communal experiences to enhance happiness and support sustainability.

Potential audience members who are d/Deaf, disabled, or neurodiverse (AMDDN) face difficulties accessing music festivals, where live music performances are increasingly augmented with ICT, challenging perceptions of “classic liveness.” Building on previous research relating to augmented formats and viewpoints more generally, this article proposes a liveness scale to measure audience perceptions of performances at music festivals that have been augmented to increase accessibility at music festivals for AMDDN. A Likert scale was developed, tested, and refined utilizing an adapted version of Gehlbach and Brinkworth’s six-step process to specifically address on-site accessible augmentations. Overall, 282 responses were collected across four iterations of primary research from six music festivals. Discussions with the population of interest and expert validation preceded cognitive pretesting and pilot testing. Potential for ongoing use of the resultant scale on site at music festivals was recognized and opportunities identified for further scale development to explore AMDDN perceptions off site.

This article describes the development and validation of a scale capable of measuring residents’ perceptions of the social impacts of a road cycling sports event. The event studied was La Vuelta, a professional cycling road race. An initial 51-item scale was developed from the literature review, evaluated by a panel of expert ( N = 12) and a validity of understanding and test–retest. It analyzed the perceptions of residents of 10-stage start and finish host cities. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted with the preevent sample ( N = 2,751) and a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with the postevent sample ( N = 616). The results revealed that the social perception of road cycling sports events can be examined by 21 items divided into four factors: (1) socioeconomic benefits, (2) sociocultural and psychosocial benefits, (3) image and promotion benefits, and (4) social costs. Results indicated that the proposed scale was valid and reliable for measuring residents’ perceptions of an on-road cycling event.

This study explored how both emerging and established festivals contributed to disaster management (DM). The research focused on four community festivals addressing wildfire DM, from preparation to recovery. While festivals often unite communities through celebration, their potential in DM remains underexplored. Using resilience theory as a framework, findings revealed that festivals used their role as a connection hub and hub of dynamic capability to support community resilience. This was built upon a foundation of social capital and negative capability. The study suggests that festivals, both established and existing, can contribute to all phases of DM and that investing in community festival organizations can foster community resilience after disaster.

This study explores the shifting perspectives and controversies surrounding the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 through the lens of Twitter (X) data and how Qatar used the World Cup as a platform for sports diplomacy, enhancing its soft power through infrastructure investments, cultural initiatives, and reforms aimed at addressing security and geopolitical concerns. The study uses advanced data analytics and sentiment analysis techniques to measure the shift in perceptions about the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. A theme-based analysis was adopted, in addition to using the pretrained word-embedding model. A total data set of 30,935,069 unique tweets was examined. Three of the four hypotheses were supported. Specifically, the hypotheses regarding shifting perceptions of cultural inclusion and alcohol, transportation infrastructure, and weather received backing. This study offers insights into how nations navigate global scrutiny during mega-sporting events to enhance their image and influence.

This study examines the variables that affect beer festival attendees’ motivation, pleasure, and behavioral intentions, paying special attention to the relationship between loyalty practices and event experiences. The study finds important factors influencing satisfaction by analyzing 793 survey responses. These factors include incentives stemming from the need for novel experiences, chances for social contact, and learning about craft beer. The quality of the site, efficient planning, and the provision of interactive activities like tastings and instructive workshops are logistical factors that further raise satisfaction levels. The findings underscore the multidimensional nature of visitor satisfaction, emphasizing the interplay of sensory, emotional, and cognitive dimensions in shaping memorable event experiences. High levels of satisfaction correlate strongly with loyalty intentions, as evidenced by attendees’ willingness to recommend the festival and their intention to return for future editions. These results align with the broader literature on experiential tourism, which highlights the importance of cocreation, authenticity, and meaningful social engagement in fostering positive visitor experiences.

Our research examines how and why major events can be utilized as platforms for educational programming aimed at citizens in–and domestic and international visitors to–host destinations. We analyzed 10 years of It’s a Penalty’s campaign data (2012‐2022) to identify how educational touchpoints were deployed at strategic locations (airports, airlines, rideshares and taxis, hotels, stadia, media, and social media), working with celebrities, elite athletes, and strategic partners like Airbnb and Uber to raise awareness and help tackle human trafficking and modern-day slavery at 13 major events–FIFA World Cup to the Super Bowl, Brazil to Japan. Findings reveal a nuanced approach for each case reflective of the contextual setting, which are then synthesized into a general model to help future events optimize the educational value of staging major events. We theorize that the visitor’s journey to and across host destinations represent both a liminal and liminoidal “rite of passage”–a system of transit zones, event zones, ancillary and transitionary spaces with educational touchpoints designed to transform one’s attitude and actions toward tackling event-induced and everyday social injustices.

Experiential learning is a well-established educational practice in higher education and includes several different activities, from work placements to other university hands-on experiences. However, to date there is no clear understanding of the various types of experiential activities used in tourism and events programs, especially in relation to what they feature and how they are interrelated. This research note critically reflects on four experiential learning projects conducted in Ireland, England, and Italy between 2012 and 2022. It suggests conceptualizing experiential learning activities as a continuum, according to an evolution of involvement of the students with the activity and the stakeholders, as well as an evolution of intensity and complexity from the organizational point of view, including levels of control and risks. Conceptualizing the experiential learning activities being used in tourism and event programs is important for evaluating their relative suitability for both students and institutions.

The emergence of holographic technologies is challenging the traditional concert format within the music events industry. Research on attendee satisfaction of holographic performances remains scarce resulting in uncertainty of future industry application. Utilizing qualitative manual thematic analysis as well as quantitative mean analysis, this article investigates attendee satisfaction at the ABBA Voyage concert in London. Furthermore, the acceptance of holographic technology was investigated through questioning attendees’ intention of future attendance of holographic performances. 147 valid survey responses revealed a high average satisfaction rate. Three dominating themes of attendance motivation were also identified: (1) nostalgia, (2) socialization and (3) novelty. Nevertheless, survey responses revealed a dependence of the acceptance of holograms on the specific artist, specifically mentioning issues concerning morality and production type. Consequentially, a co-dependence between push and pull factors is proposed with the artist as a key pull factor and the three attendance motivations as a set of push factors.

This study investigates the thematic evolution within event management research by analyzing articles published in three leading event-focused journals– Event Management , Journal of Convention and Event Tourism , and International Journal of Event and Festival Management –from 2019 to 2023. Using comprehensive content analysis and thematic network mapping, the study identifies trends in research topics, author’s keywords, event types, and abstracts, revealing dominant themes such as marketing and management and highlighting underexplored areas like technology and social life-cycle events. The analysis also underscores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on research trends. The findings provide a detailed overview of the field’s progression, offering insights into the academic focus of event management research and suggesting avenues for future exploration. This study contributes to the literature by mapping the thematic landscape of event management, emphasizing the importance of aligning research with industry developments and emerging global challenges.