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Sustainability of Events in Urban Historic Centers: The Case of Ouro Preto,

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Sustainability of Events in Urban Historic Centers: The Case of Ouro Preto,

Brazil
Angela Cabral Flechaa; Wanessa Lottb; Timothy Jeonglyeol Leec; Miguel Moitald; Jonathan Edwardsd
a
Department of Tourism, Federal University of Ouro Preto (UFOP), Minas Gerais, Brazil b Department
of Anthropology, Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Minas Gerais, Brazil c School of
Tourism, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia d School of Services Management,
Bournemouth University, Dorset, UK

Online publication date: 28 May 2010

To cite this Article Flecha, Angela Cabral , Lott, Wanessa , Lee, Timothy Jeonglyeol , Moital, Miguel and Edwards,
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Hospitality Planning & Development, 7: 2, 131 — 143
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 Tourism and Hospitality Planning & Development
Vol. 7, No. 2, 131– 143, May 2010

Sustainability of Events in Urban Historic

Centers: The Case of Ouro Preto, Brazil
ANGELA CABRAL FLECHA∗ , WANESSA LOTT∗∗ ,
TIMOTHY JEONGLYEOL LEE†, MIGUEL MOITAL‡
AND JONATHAN EDWARDS‡
∗
Department of Tourism, Federal University of Ouro Preto (UFOP), Campus Morro do Cruzeiro,
Bairro Bauxita, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil; ∗∗ Department of Anthropology, Federal
University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Minas Gerais, Brazil; †School of Tourism, University of
Downloaded By: [University of Queensland] At: 02:04 30 May 2010

Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, and ‡School of Services Management,

Bournemouth University, Dorset, UK

ABSTRACT Promoters and planners of events must choose the most suitable venue by
considering the creation and development of new venues or the use of previously established
areas. The first option is feasible when established areas have a limited capacity. The second
is attractive to most promoters, because the space already exists. If the space is, for example,
an historic center, it has the potential to enhance the participants’ experience. However, such
spaces have inherent constraints, and their use may threaten local sustainability. This article
examines the concept of sustainability as applied to urban historic centers and the creation
and management of festivals and events. It investigates the need for strategic administration
and key principles for the development of staging events in urban historic centers. This
analysis is illustrated using the example of two events in the urban historic center of Ouro
Preto, Minas Gerais, in Brazil.

Introduction
Tourism is a stimulator of economic development; however, the exact nature of its role in
the economy is still debated (Shaw and Williams, 2002, p. 145; Felsenstein and Fleischer,
2003). There is great potential for events to become the focus of entrepreneurship and
economic development (Breen et al., 2001; O’Sullivan and Jackson, 2002; Chang,
2006; Kim et al., 2008). Models of cultural regeneration are vital in the process not
only for local development, but also in the construction of the identity of cities (Prentice
and Andersen, 2003; Rollins and Delamere, 2007; Hall, 2008; Kim et al., 2008; Johnson
et al., 2009). More and more festivals and events are seen as important components in the
portfolio of products for the tourism of a locality (Ryan, 1998; Gursoy et al., 2004;
Arcodia and Whitford, 2006) and may contribute significantly to the achievement of econ-
omic development and for the diversity of a region. Moreover, there is increasing support

Correspondence Address: Timothy Jeonglyeol Lee, School of Tourism, University of Queensland, Brisbane,
QLD 4072, Australia. Email: timothy.lee@uq.edu.au

ISSN 1479-053X Print; ISSN 1479-0548 Online/10/020131– 13 # 2010 Taylor & Francis
DOI: 10.1080/14790531003798302
 132 A.C. Flecha et al.

for the claim of economic benefits for destinations brought by visitors and participants of
specific events (Kasimati, 2003; McClinchey, 2008). Governments recognize that festivals
and events offer more than just direct economic benefits to the local community (Wood,
2005). They bring education, social and community construction; they are used for
promoting government programs; increase the social capital and the inclusion of the
community; and have positive impacts on the art, culture, creativity and the quality of life
of the residents (Ferres and Adair, 2005; Hall, 2008; Finkel, 2009; Johnson et al., 2009).
In festive rituals the community shares common feelings, transporting the individuals
from everyday life reality to another world where the imagination is freer (Gursoy and
Kendall, 2006; Getz, 2007). Amusement is made possible, and the excitement, the collec-
tive fuss, and consequently the “re-liaison”, the reinforcement of collective bonds
(Durkheim, 2003), allow the cyclical restoration of the social bonds (Mauss, 2003).
These possibilities have been noted in Brazilian events such as winter festivals and carni-
vals. These events perform an important economic role with the encouragement of new
businesses, the maintenance of micro and small companies and the increase of job oppor-
tunities. They are tools for the touristic promotion of the destinations, thanks to their
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strategic function of reducing the seasonality and increasing the touristic flux in the low
seasons (Finkel, 2009; Wong and Yeh, 2009).
The purpose of this paper is to look into the sustainability as applied to urban historic
localities that hold festivals and events, focusing on the carnival of Ouro Preto and the
winter festival of Ouro Preto in Brazil. It will consider the sustainability of the urban
historic center where the events are held, as well as the proposed future events, by searching
for possibilities to work in synergy.

Events
Events are a “celebration or presentation of any theme for which the public is invited
during a limited time, annually or less frequently” (Getz, 1997, p. 28). Douglas et al.,
(2001) conceptualize events as the public thematic occasions designed to celebrate
valued aspects of a way of life of a community. These events contribute to presenting
the socio-cultural aspects of a destination, and allow individual and commercial benefits
in the sales, marketing, education, communication, motivation and evaluation fields
(Schneider and Backman, 1996; Presbury and Edwards, 2005; Picard and Robinson,
2006). Moreover, events are a way of rediscovering the image of people, organizations,
companies and entities (Font, 1996; Murphy, 1999; Gursoy and Kendall, 2006;
McClinchey, 2008).
Kotler et al., (2006) point out that events promote the creation of a strong identification
with a target market or with a specific way of life, increase the awareness of the name of the
place, create or reinforce the perceptions of the consumer with images of the destination,
create experiences and sensations, express commitment with the community or with
social issues, entertain tourists, and create opportunities for marketing. Events present a
great potential for economic resurgence, construction of the community and culture, and
the development of a trademark for the destination (O’Sullivan and Jackson, 2002;
Gursoy et al., 2004; Kim et al., 2008). Events that include visitors have a positive impact
through cultural exchange, the construction of new personal relationships and business
transactions (McCabe et al., 2000; Chang, 2006). However, risks are associated with
events, risks of negative economic, social, environmental and cultural impacts (Dwyer
et al., 2000; O’Sullivan and Jackson, 2002; Kim et al., 2008). A badly organized event
will result in negative marketing or an inappropriate focus of marketing and the lack of
 Sustainability of Events in Urban Historic Centers 133

interest from possible sponsors. A negative impact on the environment through the waste of
energy and excess trash production could result in a negative image of the destination.
Negative social and cultural impacts, such as crowds, increased crime, traffic problems,
shifting the community from one place to another and the vulgarization of the culture also
result in unhappy visitors, sponsors and community (Andereck and Becker, 1993; Noise
Council, 1995; Young, 1995; Vaske, Donnelly and Petruzzi, 1996; Lee and Graefe,
2003; Gursoy et al., 2004; Arcodia and Whitford, 2006). Another potential negative
outcome is the loss of authenticity of the event owing to its excessive popularization,
which may cause a discontinuity in the life of the inhabitants while it runs and threaten
the sustainability of both (Hughes, 1995; Craik, 1998; Taylor, 2001; Chhabra et al.,
2003; Picard and Robinson, 2006).
Festivals and special events usually increase the cost of goods and services, the level of
agglomeration in shops and on the streets, cause traffic grid lock and parking problems
(Jeong and Faulkner, 1996). The residents notice these problems (Gursoy et al., 2002;
Tosun, 2002). Investigators that examine the relationship between the perception of nega-
tive social impacts and support for the development of tourism generally find that there is a
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negative relationship between the negative social impacts and the perceptions of the resi-
dents about the development of tourism (Gursoy et al., 2002; Tosun, 2002).
International agencies such as the United Nations World Tourism Organization
(UNWTO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) charge the
tourism sector to develop compatible tourism environmentally, socially and culturally.
The aim of sustainability is not anti-business—regarding the increases of profits
(Willard, 2004)—but the orientation of companies towards the gaining of experience as
well as for the business (Pearce et al., 1998). Sustainable development means “adopting
entrepreneurial strategies and activities that fulfill the necessities of the business and of
its stakeholders protecting, sustaining, and increasing the human and natural resources
that will be needed in the future” (International Institute for Sustainable Development
(IISD), 1994, p. 4). Thus, sustainable entrepreneurial development guides the management
of the resources in a way that the economic, social and aesthetic needs can be cared for
while maintaining cultural integrity, ecological processes, and biological diversity and
systems (UNWTO, 2004). Therefore, “the administration of events should have interde-
pendent economic, environmental and social objectives and integrate these objectives in
the decisions that they adopt” (IISD, 1994, p. 4).
To achieve this event, managers need to guarantee the consistent monitoring and review
the activities to detect problems and to act to prevent more serious future damage, mini-
mize the use of natural resources, the production of trash and waste using renewable tech-
nologies, guarantee the conformity with the operational plans of development, design
requisites and conditions, patterns and objectives for the sustainable tourism providing
incentives, monitoring conformities, and developing coactive actions when and where
needed, involve all the actors in the first place, including the local community, the
tourism sector and the government, in the development and implantation of the plans of
tourism to increase the success in the long term, raise the consciousness of the principle
of “best practice” in sustainable tourism promoting the exchange of information among
the participants, promote wide understanding and consciousness to help fortify attitudes,
values and actions that are compatible with the operations of sustainable tourism
(O’Sullivan and Jackson, 2002; UNEP, 2002).
Adopting the correct application of sustainable practices may result in significant
benefits for everyone involved in the festivals and events. The first is the saving of
resources through the careful planning of energy consumption and the reduction of
waste. This positive environmental behavior has its own benefits through positive local
 134 A.C. Flecha et al.

publicity that, in exchange, may raise the image of the event giving it a competitive pos-
ition in the market. Secondly, the adoption of environmental practices appeals to a new
and growing market of visitors who are becoming more environmentally attentive and
may be influenced to take part in events and gatherings through positive environmental
messages. Thirdly, despite the reduction of costs and the increase in income, the greatest
positive effect in the long term lies in the conservation of the environment that makes the
destination more attractive, and in exchange encourages visitors to visit again. Finally, for
the organizers of the events, this kind of commitment to the environment confirms the
respect of the local community as a valuable partner. Incorporating sustainability in
the management practices of events demands from the organizers the employment of a
combination of sustainable approaches that include environmental management, econ-
omic effectiveness, and social and cultural responsibility. The first step in this effort is
to educate future gatherings and events professionals to incorporate sustainability into
the administration of these activities. This means that the benefits of implementing
social and environmental initiatives should be quantified and expressed clearly (Willard,
2004). In this paper, the sustainability is observed under the aspect of the events as pro-
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motion tools and local cultural values preservation, as well as in the use of the preserved
and sustained historical sites existent in this historical city.

Festivals
In the anthropology literature, Simonicca (1997) conceptualizes an event as a social
phenomenon that exists virtually in all human cultures and may be characterized as a
sacred occasion celebrating a character, event or harvest. It consists of a series of artistic
performances, associated with a general situation of happiness, companionship and peace,
and a great festivity. The social function and symbolic meaning celebrated by the festival
is strictly related to a series of values that the community recognizes as essential to their
view of the world, the social identity, the historical continuity and the physical survival.
Simonicca (1997) points out that festival may be defined as a public celebration with a
thematic focus.
Sociology suggests that the main purpose of collective celebrations, such as festivals
and special events, is the construction of a social cohesion reinforcing community
bonds (Rao, 2001; Durkheim, 2003). The sociologists believe that festivals are generally
connected with culturally shared events (Rao, 2001). Festivals demonstrate, in a symbolic
way, what a society believes to be vital to its life and thus, when a social group celebrates
a specific event, it celebrates itself (Turner, 1982). Thus, special festivals and events
reinforce the social and cultural identity through the construction of strong bonds
within a community. This purpose agrees with the results of tourism researchers who
suggest that this type of event constructs cultural identity, cohesion, exchange of ideas,
and increases the knowledge about the culture of the region (Besculides et al., 2002).

Carnivals
The carnival originates from the Christian period of Lent, where the Church declared 40
days of penitence before the arrival of Holy Week, so that the people could ‘free them-
selves’ from the ‘pleasures of the flesh’ (nutritional as well as physical). The people
soon found a way to entertain themselves and to celebrate the pleasures of life until the
commencement of abstinence. Thus, Lent which begins on Ash Wednesday, is anticipated
by a Tuesday of great celebrations. The carnivale, as it was called, originated on Shrove
Tuesday, and as years went by the carnival itself took over more days of celebration.
 Sustainability of Events in Urban Historic Centers 135

The carnival was brought to Brazil by the Portuguese. The popular festival named
“entrudo” was introduced in 1723 by immigrants from the Madeira and Azores Islands.
Since then, besides acquiring national characteristics, the celebration has also been
imbued with regional aspects and is understood as a festival of inversion (Da Matta,
2001). A festival of inversion is, for example, when a woman may dress up as her maid
and a man gets dressed as a woman. It is important to point out that there are festivals
that may resemble the carnival, but they should not be mistaken for “carnival”. They
are cannibalizations of carnival, being festivals with lots of drinking, orgies and games,
popular in the Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Greek and Roman civilizations. It is easy to
mistake these festivals for carnival, for they are breaks from the usual behaviors, with
exaggerated happiness and characteristic carnivalesque elements. Many people started
to designate any festivity of this kind as being carnival. In both cases, the carnival and
the winter festival cannibalization are seen as a tension between the creators and cultural
construction.

Methodology
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This research is descriptive in nature, being social research using 16 open-ended, in-depth
interviews between July 2007 and 2008 and targeting the main city stakeholders of tourism
in Ouro Preto, Brazil. The stakeholders included the Town Mayor, the Tourism Secretary,
the Construction Secretary, the Public Prosecution Service through the Communication
Social Department, the representative of the Institute of Historic and Artistic National
Heritage (IPHAN), the Military Police, and the President of the Commercial Association
of Ouro Preto. Information on the two events was sought from bibliographic and Internet
searches, although few publications on the theme were found. Google offered 341 pages
on the theme, “carnival of Ouro Preto” and 339 on the theme, “winter festival of Ouro
Preto”. The search was refined through articles published in 2007 and 2008, preferably
in newspapers such as O Globo, Estado de Minas, O Tempo, and Folha de São Paulo,
as well as the local newspapers such as the Jornal Ponto Final, Jornal Tribuna Livre.
This research also included direct observations of the events, the carnival and the
winter festival of 2007 and 2008.

The Carnival of Ouro Preto

For the carnival of Ouro Preto, the credibility and representativeness of the information
sources were prioritized. Consequently, the most popular national newspapers (O Globo
in Rio de Janeiro and Folha de São Paulo in São Paulo), the two main newspapers in
Belo Horizonte (Estado de Minas Gerais and O Tempo) and the two local newspapers
(Jornal Ponto Final and Jornal Tribuna Livre) were selected. In the second step, the news-
paper selections were made manually by five researchers and were separated by content:
the programming of the carnival, programming of the traditional groups of people who
meet to commemorate the carnival, personal blogs, location of residence, community
testimonies and news in general.
For the carnival of Ouro Preto, information was found in Google’s 341 pages containing
the terms, in the body of the pages located in Brazil in Portuguese in January to March of
2007 and January to March of 2008. Of these, 89% referred to the broadcast of the program
of the carnival and 12% referred to the promotion of the packages about the dwelling place
(students’ residence). In the newspapers 52 articles were found in the O Globo, nine in the
Folha de São Paulo, 110 from the Estado de Minas Gerais, 10 in the Jornal Ponto Final
and 11 in the Jornal Tribuna Livre, totaling 192 articles.
 136 A.C. Flecha et al.

In the analysis of the carnival articles, the procedure was the same as for the analysis of
the winter festival news, that is, emphasis was given to articles that contained the commu-
nity’s testimonies. The newspapers that highlighted the community’s testimonies in the
carnival as well as in the winter festival were also the local newspapers: the Jornal
Ponto Final newspaper with 10 articles, the Jornal Tribuna Livre with 11 and the
Estado de Minas newspaper with five articles. The main themes of these testimonies con-
cerned the actions of heritage preservation during the event (35%), the problems caused to
the hotel keepers by the lodging offers in the residential places (student houses) (28%),
public security (18.5%) and the public cleaning service (18.5%).

The Winter Festival of Ouro Preto

For the winter festival of Ouro Preto, the same newspapers were selected as for the
carnival, with the same criteria. In the second step, the newspapers’ selection was made
manually by five researchers and was separated by content: the programming of the
festival, personal blogs, community testimonies and news in general.
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For the winter festival, 399 Google pages were found containing the term in the body of
the pages located in Brazil in Portuguese and during July 2007 and July 2008. Of these,
92% referred to the information of the programs and 8% to such outlying subjects as cita-
tions in the curricula and personal blogs comments. In the newspapers, the researchers
found the Estado de Minas Gerais with 20 articles, the Folha de São Paulo with 12,
the O Globo with five, the Jornal Ponto Final with 25 and 15 in the Jornal Tribuna
Livre, totaling 77 articles in July 2007 and July 2008.
The newspapers that highlighted the community’s testimonies in the winter festival
were the local newspapers, such as the Jornal Ponto Final newspaper with 10 articles
containing testimonies, the Jornal Tribuna Livre containing five and the Estado de
Minas newspaper with 10. The main themes of these testimonies concerned the possibility
of the participation of the community in the event (29.5%), visitor concerns about the
lodgings (26.7%), the actions of heritage preservation (such as protecting the historical
monuments, delimiting the areas so that they can be used by the group of people and
visitors, ensuring cleaning) during the event (24%), public security (10.1%) and public
cleaning services (10.1%).
The interviewees were selected according to their political relevance in the community
and for the supply of essential services to the city:

. The City Hall: the mayor was chosen (the largest local authority).
. The Municipal Secretary of Tourism is the person in charge of the management of the
carnival and partner of the winter festival representative.
. The Secretary of Public Works, that takes care of the public cleaning and maintenance
service. This department, before the carnival, installed protective walls in the heritage
sites, installed chemical bathrooms, and organized the daily public cleaning service.
. The Public Prosecution Service through the Public Relations Department was chosen as
responsible for endorsing/denying the accomplishment of the events in the city and
responsible for the Term of Adjustment of Conduct (TAC). This term is an agreement
between the Public Prosecution Service and the interested party, so that it is committed
to act in agreement with the laws, under a civil penalty. The TAC is highly useful when
public agencies make interventions that cause environmental impacts. This way, a
repair agreement of compensation is made between the organized civil association
(such as a non-governmental organization [NGO]) and the Public Prosecution
Service. This procedure is an interesting solution for any public civil suit or other
 Sustainability of Events in Urban Historic Centers 137

legal means of repair. In this way the Public Prosecution Service guarantees that public
property will be insured.
. The representative of the Institute of Historic and Artistic National Heritage (IPHAN)
that takes care of national heritage sites.
. The chief of the public relations department of the Military Police (responsible for
public security).
. The President of the Trade Association: the local entity that represents the entrepreneurs
of trade and tourism.
. The Extension Dean of the Federal University of Ouro Preto, who organizes the winter
festival.

The questions designed for the interviews were about (1) the expected public for the two
events, (2) the importance of the events for the city, (3) the places used for events, (4) the
positive and negative points of the carnival and winter festival, (5) what actions/policies
are considered important for the city in relation to the accomplishment of the special and
great events in the historic center and, (6) the types of events considered to be beneficial
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for the city from the perspective of heritage preservation.

Data Analysis
The Carnival of Ouro Preto
Since 1867, Ouro Preto carnival has focused on the carnivalesque groups. One of the main
traditional groups that take part is the Bloco Zé Pereira Clube dos Lacaios (the Zé Pereira
Club of the Flunkies Group—a male servant in livery). This club is part of the local
culture, thanks to a Portuguese man called José Nogueira Paredes, who lived in Rio de
Janeiro in the time of the Portuguese Empire. He decided to take part in the fun of Rio
de Janeiro and in 1846 opened the first day of carnival by parading along the streets
(Carnival of Ouro Preto, 2008). The idea pleased the people and revellers and the
musicians became responsible for the opening of the festival. In 1867, the novelty was
brought to Ouro Preto together with its founder, when he moved there to work at the
Government Palace. The group Zé Pereira Clube dos Lacaios was born, organized by
the employees of the Palace. The name Lacaios is a reference to the apple-polisher
colleagues and their tuxedos, top-hats and torches, which became a registered trademark
of the group from Ouro Preto. For its historic importance to the carnival and also to the city
of Ouro Preto, the group gets financial support from the Town Hall. It has currently about
50 members and affiliation is almost an inheritance (Carnival of Ouro Preto, 2008).
Another traditional group of the carnival of Ouro Preto is the Bandalheira Folclórica
Ouro-Pretana (Bandalheira Folkloric Group; the proper noun “bandalheira” means
action or own attitude of a shameful/disgraceful act) (BAFO). The participants go out
dressed in black pants, white shirts, enamel chamber pots on their heads, a toilet roll
around their waists and they march along the streets in a military accelerated rhythm.
Another group, the Conspirados (conspired group), founded in 1999, represents the
great desire of society to return to the spirit of the old carnivals, with the innocence of
the carnivalesque songs and the fantasy, recovering the public space taken by the excite-
ment of modern life, traffic and the rush.
The old carnivalesque traditions are heavily respected in Ouro Preto. In recent years,
besides the traditional groups, the musicians of the Institute of Philosophy, Arts and
Culture of the Federal University of Ouro Preto (UFOP), through the Candongueiros
(This is the popular name given to passenger transport vehicles in Angola. They are
 138 A.C. Flecha et al.

usually painted vans of white and blue. Candongueiro is also a traditional samba
percussion instrument) project, have revived the old carnivalesque songs and play local
composers’ music in performances that take place throughout the carnival in the Largo
da Alegria (Alegria Square). At other points in the city, traditional songs are also
performed (Carnival of Ouro Preto, 2008). The most used urban spaces in the carnival
in Ouro Preto are the Tiradentes Square, Largo do Cinema and Largo da Alegria, where
free performances are presented. Alternative car parking was created in the Dom Pedro
School in an effort to shift the crowds and consequently to preserve the structural heritage
of the historic center.
The representative of the Public Ministry (MP) (Ministério Público—MP) in Ouro Preto
reported in 2007 that the institution has been taking action since 1999, owing to the visible
degradation (for example the garbage accumulation due to the large number of tourists) in
the city. They determined that the municipal district would not promote, cooperate,
sponsor or authorize the installation of mechanical sound at the historic places of the
carnival due to disturbance to local residents and a law requiring silence in Ouro Preto
after 10 pm.
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The MP reports that since 2004 an examination has been carried out to investigate the
environmental impact that the carnival was having on the historic buildings of the city
center. The procedure was initiated to comply with a request from the Transitory Com-
mission and the Carnival Organization of 2005, which requested guidance from the MP
to design a way for the carnival to continue without causing damage to the infrastruc-
ture. However, the festivals of 2005 were carried out without any changes. For the car-
nivals of 2006 and 2007, a new behavior order, Terms of Adjustment of Conduct
(TAC), was introduced. However, again the terms were not complied with in the
municipal district. In 2007, the Town Hall and the organizers of the event removed
part of the festival from the historic center, allowing only the caricature groups to
parade there. Another measure adopted to be aligned with TAC was to restrict, under
the threat of punishment, the total number of people residing in the houses where
groups of students lived together.
The City Hall requested that the people in charge of the students’ houses collect VAT,
but this only happened with a certain group of students. The city of Ouro Preto has two
types of student houses. One is subsidized (finance supported) by the federal government
and the other is private houses. These two types of houses are used as lodging during
the Carnival causing a significant impact to the existent lodging in the city because the
student houses don’t pay taxes to act as lodgings. So the city hall decided that the
student houses that wanted to accommodate visitors must pay lodging services taxes as
is the case with any other lodging establishment, but only the private student houses
paid the tax. During the carnivals of 2005 and 2006, the Research and Advanced
Studies Group (Nucleo de Pesquisas e Estudos Avancados do Turismo—NUPETUR)
examined the profile of the tourists and showed that 52.8% were women, single (62%)
with incomplete college graduation (68.3%), up to 30 years of age (65.1%), 61.3% had
a monthly family income up to 3,000 Reals (US$1,700); 65.5% of the visitors visited
Ouro Preto up to two times, and the tourists were mostly from the states of Minas
Gerais (48.3%), Rio de Janeiro (16.5%) and São Paulo (22.2%) (Flecha et al., 2006).
The results of the tourist profile permitted the directing of the decision making by the
tourism sector and guided the local government and private initiatives towards the shifting
of the flux of people from the historic center and restricting the number of revelers to a
group, so that there is a maximization of the benefits and the minimization of the negative
impacts. In 2008, changes in the carnival could already be seen, such as technical projects
for the prevention and combating of fires and panic, the elaboration of the reports about
 Sustainability of Events in Urban Historic Centers 139

noise and vibrations, the setting up of medical stands, ambulances placed in strategic
locations, reinforcement of the number of employees in the Fire Brigade and the Civil
and Military Police. The setting up of regular stands for the selling of drinks and food
received the attention of the Public Health Officials, as did chemical toilets and the
creation of the “fun space”—a space outside the historic center with a VIP area, boxes
and an arena. Outside the historic center the event consisted of a group of performances
with a VIP area, boxes and arena, with tickets being charged.
The Tourism Secretary pointed out that the actions cited above were aimed at increasing
the comfort and security of the tourists and, at the same time, promoting the decentraliza-
tion of the activities from the historic center, to prevent damage by the intense traffic of the
people at the carnival. Despite attempts to maintain the fun, the Mayor advised that the
local population reported a strong intention not to attend the carnival. The reduction
would be monitored. In January 2008 the first initiatives were announced during public
meetings at the Municipal Town Hall. The initiatives included reducing the number of
bands from Bahia and changing the marketing of the event in Minas and outside the
state. The aim of the Municipal Town Hall meeting was to determine what size and
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type of carnival the population wanted for the city of Ouro Preto. About 40,000 people
live in the historic center and, at the carnival, they are obliged to share their space with
30,000 more on each day of festivity.
The director of the National Historic and Artistic Heritage (Instituto de Patrimônio
Histórico e Artı́stico—IPHAN) in Ouro Preto reported in 2007 that the carnival caused
several negative impacts and the event should be revised to preserve what remains. The
director of the IPHAN also pointed out that a major problem is the number of beer
trucks that run without restriction along the steep slopes and cause fissures in the old
houses because of the vibration. He also pointed out that the withdrawal of every event
from the historic center would be an ideal solution and that decentralization would
help, but not be enough.

The Winter Festival of Ouro Preto

The first winter festival of Ouro Preto occurred in 1967 and it was initially designed by a
group of professors from the Arts College and the Federal University of Minas Gerais
(UFMG), with the purpose of taking art to the community (UFOP, 2008). In 1980, the
event did not happen. In the following year, the UFMG restarted the festival in Diaman-
tina, away from the excitement of Ouro Preto. Until 1999, the UFMG had stayed in charge
of the Festival, leaving it in 2000. Since then, three festivals have appeared, the Winter
Festival of the Ouro Preto Town Hall, the Winter Festival of the University Centre of
Belo Horizonte (Uni-BH) and, from 2004, the Winter Festival—Forum of Arts, carried
out by the UFOP. In 2005, the event started to be called the Winter Festival of Ouro
Preto and Mariana—Forum of Arts, with the participation of the Municipal Town Halls
of these cities (20 km apart) (UFOP, 2008).
In its new format, under the support of the UFOP, every year a character is chosen (an
archetype outstanding in history and in the popular imagination of these cities) and a
theme, relying on the participation of society in a direct or indirect way. The organizers
of the festival wanted to contribute to local development by means of the democratization
of the culture and the engagement of the host communities. In this way, the festival
became an event “of” Ouro Preto, instead of an event “in” Ouro Preto. In 2005, the
number of enrolments in the workshops was 3,236, and 219,246 people participated in
the events and 24,428 people participated in the exhibitions, amounting to a total of
246,910 people (UFOP, 2008). The festival surpassed all initial expectations.
 140 A.C. Flecha et al.

The intense marketing and wide press coverage added to the public awareness of most
of the activities, which explains this success. In the festival the local population found an
excellent opportunity to access art and culture, and saw the event as a positive factor for
the development of the economy of both cities, as was demonstrated through an opinion
poll carried out by the Opinion Poll Centre of the Federal University of Ouro Preto
(Núcleo de Estudos Aplicados e Sociopolı́ticos Comparados—NEASPOC). Thus, the
festival was more than an exhibition of art and culture. The event meant the realization
of the central concept of promoting the preservation of the heritage along with economic
development and the participation of the population. The president of the Commercial
Association of Ouro Preto reported that the number of people who stayed in hotels in
the month of July (this is the winter holiday period in Brazil) 2007 increased by 50%.
During the year, on average, tourists stay for less than two days. In the period of the
winter festival the duration of stay in the city went up to 2.5 days per person. The popu-
lation, happy with the festival, generated a positive image of the event.
During the winter festivals of 2005 and 2006, the Research and Advanced Studies
Centre (NUPETUR) reported that the percentages of tourists visiting Ouro Preto were
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females (53.9%), over 30 years of age (47.7%), married (47.7%), graduated from univer-
sity (56.1% with post-graduate qualifications) and with a monthly family income of over
US$ 1,800 (52.7%). In addition, 61.3% of visitors went to the Ouro Preto more than five
times, usually in groups (64.1%), planned the trip using the phone without the help of
agencies (68.7%) and stayed at inns and hotels (61.8%) (Flecha et al., 2006). The
length of stay for tourists was up to three days (82.4%) and they rated the price-per-night
between medium (42.1%) and high (27.1%), at a cost of US$30 to $70 (30%). The
majority (73.9%) had meals at restaurants and rated the prices between medium
(41.89%) and high (30.3%), at a cost between US$9 and $18 (50%). As for entertainment,
the money spent varied between US$6 and $30. The constructed heritage was estimated as
very good and good, museums (89.1%), churches (92.4%) and historic monuments
(88.1%).

Conclusion
Through this study a background of the two main events of the city of Ouro Preto, namely,
the carnival and the winter festival has been constructed. These events have an impact on
the city in different ways. At the carnival, the tourist is younger; at the winter festival, the
tourist is older with a family. Both sets travel in groups and, at the winter festival, they
have the characteristic of being the more frequent visitors, returning to the city up to
five times, whereas the carnival tourist returns to the city up to two times. At carnival,
the tourist spends little daily and does not use restaurants, staying in the students’
houses, while the tourists of the winter festival stay at inns and go to bars and restaurants.
The income levels are also different. While the tourists at the carnival are students with
an incomplete college graduation, at the winter festival the tourists are graduates, many
with post-graduate qualifications. We notice a greater profit for the local businesses in
July, because the festival participants spend more. There has been increasing care with
the constructed cultural heritage, because the community maintains the title of World
Cultural Heritage Site since the 1980s. The care is also extended to the touristic signaliza-
tion, traffic, police control, medical care, among many others, as found in the research
carried out in the years 2005 and 2006 by the NUPETUR.
What is undeniable is the economic and cultural possibilities that the carnival and the
festival offer to the city. The economic aspect was not the main focus of this research.
In the cultural field, the efforts towards the enhancement of the local identity through
 Sustainability of Events in Urban Historic Centers 141

the maintenance of the traditional carnivalesque groups are clear. However, we notice a
more noticeable concern at the winter festival, perhaps because it gives emphasis to the
themes relating to the Brazilian culture and the culture of the state of Minas Gerais,
allowing the participation of everyone at very low costs (five American dollars) at the
countless events.
It was learned from the study that the participation of the tourists in the cannibalization
is greater than the carnival participants themselves. The effort made by both the public and
the private sectors to minimize the negative impacts of carnival is clear. It is also clear that
the concern of the winter festival is with local social inclusion and the search for commu-
nity sustainability through actions promoted by the event that depend strongly on local
participation.
This study involved interview surveys with the main stakeholders of the cultural festi-
vals in two neighboring cities in eastern Brazil. It has a limitation in its generalization.
Research could be further developed with some quantitative surveys with different
groups of people, including visitors, residents, and non-governmental organizations and
so forth.
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