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Successful Event ­Management: © 2019, Anton Shone and Bryn Parry
A Practical Handbook, Fifth Edition
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BRIEF CONTENTS
PART 1    THE EVENTS BUSINESS 1

1 An ­introduction to events 2

2 The market demand for events 24

3 The events ­business: supply and suppliers 44

4 Events in Context 62

PART 2   MANAGING EVENTS 85

5 Making a start and planning the event 86

6 Financial ­management and the budget 124

7 Event logistics and supplies 150

8 Marketing and public relations for events 178

9 Risk Management and Legalities 203

10 Event project management and set-up issues 224

11 The organisation manager and the team: during the event 254

12 Close-down, evaluation and legacies 284

GLOSSARY  307

INDEX  310

iii

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CONTENTS
List of Figures vi Summary 60
List of Case Studies x Evaluation questions 61
Forms for the New Event Manager xiii References 61
Preface to the Fifth Edition xiv
4 Events in context 62

PART 1 THE EVENTS BUSINESS 1 Introduction 63


Social and community implications 64
1 An ­introduction to events 2
Economic implications 70
Introduction 3 Political implications 73
Definitions and frameworks 4 Developmental implications 77
Categories and typologies 5 Summary 83
Historical contexts and precedents 6 Evaluation questions 84
Characteristics of events 16 References 84
Summary 22
Evaluation questions 23 PART 2 MANAGING EVENTS 85
References 23
5 Making a start and planning the
2 The market demand for events 24 event 86
Introduction 25 Introduction 87
Size and scope of the events market 26 Getting organised 88
Determinants and motivations 33 Organisational issues in events of varying sizes 90
The structure of demand for events 38 Event feasibility: finding and testing an idea 94
Summary 42 The screening process 95
Evaluation questions 43 Progressing the idea 103
References 43 The planning process 106
Objectives, environmental search
3 The events ­business: supply and and information-gathering 107
suppliers 44 Operational planning and demand 113
Financial planning 114
Introduction 45 Marketing planning 119
Governmental support infrastructure, industry Getting it together 121
­associations and professional bodies 45 Summary 122
Commercial event and event support organisations 47 Evaluation questions 123
Voluntary bodies and charities 56 References 123

iv

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ContentS v

6 Financial ­management and the 10 Event project management and


budget 124 set-up issues 224
Introduction 125 Introduction 225
Objectives and financial planning 125 The event as a project 225
Creating a budget 128 Ticketing and pre-booking issues 229
The detailed budget 133 Operational activities 232
Who spends what 139 Security: Issues, personnel and a control point 238
Other sources of income 140 Media handling 240
Sponsorship and public funding 143 Rehearsal and briefings 241
Summary 148 Layout of entrances and visitor reception 242
Evaluation questions 149 Mobility, accessibility and inclusivity 246
References 149 The event experience 246
Summary 252
7 Event logistics and supplies 150 Evaluation questions 253
References 253
Introduction 151
Finding the venue 151
11 The organisation manager and the
Logistics 154
team: during the event 254
Supplies, transport and distribution 156
Technical facilities and resources 159 Introduction 255
Backdrops and staging 160 Organisation 255
Amenities and cleaning 164 Organisational effectiveness 257
Catering and event hospitality 164 Staffing: Professional or volunteer
Summary 176 management? 263
Evaluation questions 177 Factors influencing the number and type
References 177 of staff 265
Finding staff 270
8 Marketing and public relations for Running the event on the day 274
events 178 Organisation and briefing of staff, stewards and
volunteers 278
Introduction 179
Summary 282
The target market 180
Evaluation questions 283
How to influence the target market 182
References 283
The marketing plan 188
Marketing for a new event 189
12 Close-down, evaluation
Marketing for repeat events and new editions 192
and legacies 284
Summary 201
Evaluation questions 202 Introduction 285
References 202 Close-down 285
Evaluation 291
9 Risk management and legalities 203 Divestment and legacies 298
The life expiry of events 299
Introduction 204
Summary 305
Risk management 204
Evaluation questions 306
Plans and maps 211
References 306
Legalities and insurance 215
Summary 222
Glossary of events terms 307
Evaluation questions 223
Index 310
References 223

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LIST OF FIGURES
CHAPTER 1
1.1 A suggested categorisation of special events 4
1.2 A typology of events 6
1.3 Characteristics of special events as a service 17
1.4 Elements in the ambience and service of an event 20

CHAPTER 2
2.1 Assessing market scope and the economic impacts of events 32
2.2 A combination of motives for participating in an event, such as an opera gala 33
2.3 Possible motives for attending events (these may be primary or secondary) 34
2.4 Event component mix 35
2.5 Demand potentials 39

CHAPTER 3
3.1 Infrastructure of the events business 46
3.2 Events organisations (commercial and others) 47
3.3 Matrix of sample distribution channels and activities 48

CHAPTER 4
4.1 The implications of special events 63
4.2 Development of tourist destinations: some examples 69
4.3 Elements of tourism 69
4.4 Political stakeholders for events 76
4.5 PESTELI analysis factors 82

CHAPTER 5
5.1 Example of an events management committee 89
5.2 Development of organisational structures in events 90
5.3 Generating ideas 95
5.4 Concept screening 96
5.5 Example pilot questionnaire for proposed events 97

vi

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LIST OF FIGURES vii

5.6 Events screening form 101


5.7 Examples of possible events objectives 103
5.8 Simple pre-event planner 105
5.9 Planning as a management activity for an event 107
5.10 The planning process for events management 108
5.11 Information-gathering and environmental searching 112
5.12 Simple example of marketing lead times: Middleburg Sports Day 115

CHAPTER 6
6.1 Examples of various event objectives 127
6.2 Cashflow at events 127
6.3 Some common budgeting mistakes 128
6.4 Preliminary (outline) budget form 131
6.5 Example of comparative outline budgets for a proposed company party 132
6.6 Break-even chart 133
6.7 General budget form 134
6.8 Detailed event budget summary 138
6.9 Purchase order form 140
6.10 Petty cash voucher 141
6.11 Sources of additional revenue in addition to ticket or admission prices 141
6.12 Types of event funding 142
6.13 Sources of patronage, grant funding and other income for events 147

CHAPTER 7
7.1 Venue-finding checklist 153
7.2 The events management process – organisational and logistical activities 155
7.3 Logistic sequence for events 156
7.4 Example of a logistics production schedule 162
7.5 Example of a communications contact list 165
7.6 Further considerations in food and drinks services 166
7.7 Alternative cafeteria flow services 166
7.8 Examples of seated room layouts 168
7.9 Issues in determining menus and refreshments 171
7.10 Example of an equipment receival form 174

CHAPTER 8
8.1 Key questions to ask about the target market 180
8.2 Catchment and origin 181
8.3 Example of a catchment area – the Middleburg Music Festival 181

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viii LIST OF FIGURES

8.4 Influencing the market 182


8.5 Determinants for participation in an event (‘buying process’) 185
8.6 Individual’s expectations of an event 186
8.7 Event decision-making process for a university ball 187
8.8 Creating the marketing plan from the event objectives 188
8.9 Elements of the events marketing plan 189
8.10 Event components and target market matrix 190
8.11 Examples of marketing expenditure items 191
8.12 Event marketing budget form (adapt as required) 193
8.13 Example of a marketing schedule 194

CHAPTER 9
9.1 The management of risk 205
9.2 Various risk categories 206
9.3 Risk analysis quadrant 206
9.4 Example of a risk assessment form 207
9.5 Example of a risk-control plan 209
9.6 Warnings from history 210
9.7 Event site map coverage 215
9.8 Permits, licences and legalities 216

CHAPTER 10
10.1 Event and project management activities 226
10.2 Work break-down structure for a wedding marquee 227
10.3 Example of a Gantt chart 229
10.4 Ticket design – information to include on a ticket 231
10.5 Pre-operations on the day 235
10.6 Pre-event briefing meeting for all staff 242
10.7 Example of the component elements at a quiz dinner 247
10.8 The event service experience 251

CHAPTER 11
11.1 Simplified events organisation structure 256
11.2 Visitor services department at the Middleburg Music Festival events 257
11.3 The culture of event organisation 258
11.4 Framework for an event organisation’s performance 262
11.5 Example of a job advert for an events coordinator 264
11.6 A committee of volunteers 265
11.7 Factors influencing the number of staff required 266

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LIST OF FIGURES ix

11.8 Concentration of core services and staff 267


11.9 Job description form 269
11.10 Staffing an event 272
11.11 Activities on the day 278

CHAPTER 12
12.1 Final phase of event activities 286
12.2 Event history contact record form 290
12.3 Types of information for evaluation of events 291
12.4 Sources of information for evaluation 292
12.5 Visitor satisfaction at the Middleburg Music Festival 294
12.6 Mystery guest report (extract) 294

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LIST OF CASE STUDIES

Chapter 1 City Country Date Page


1. The Olympic Games Olympia Greece 776 BC 7
Leisure/sporting events

2. A Roman Wedding Rome Italy 300 AD 9


Personal events

3. The Royal Diamond Jubilees London England 1897 12


of 1897 and 2012 and
Cultural events 2012

4. The Paris Exposition Paris France 1889 15


Organisational events

Chapter 2
5. The Economic Impact Study of Edinburgh Scotland 2018 27
Edinburgh’s Festivals
The size and scope of events 2018

6. The UK Wedding Market ______ UK 2017 29


Estimating market size and scope
of events

7. The Berlin Film Festival 2018 Berlin Germany 2018 36


Motives for attending events

8. North Sea Jazz Festival 2018 Rotterdam Netherlands 2018 40


The event ‘Umbrella’
Chapter 3
9. The Netherlands Board of Tourism Leeuwarden Netherlands 2018 49
and Conventions (NBTC)
An infrastructure organisation

10. Coeva Paris France 2016 53


Example of a commercial
organisation

11. The Lausanne Marathon 2018 Lausanne Switzerland 2018 57


Voluntary and charitable events

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LIST OF CASE STUDIES xi

Chapter 4 City Country Date Page


12. Giant Mountain’s Beer Festival Vrchlabi Czech 2018 66
Community implications of events Republic

13. Milan Universal Expo Milan Italy 2015 71


Economic and sustainability
implications of events

14. Salzburg Festival Salzburg Austria 2018 74


Political implications for events

15. The Olympic Games in Context – International 1896– 78


Developmental implications 2018

Chapter 5
16. Avignon Festival Avignon France 2018 91
The professionalisation of events

17. University College, Cork Hockey Club Cork Ireland 2016 99


Volunteer organisations and event
screening

18. The reopening of the Scottish Edinburgh Scotland 1999 109


Parliament
Environmental searching

19. The opening Night of the Millennium Greenwich England 2000 116
Dome
Demand planning

Chapter 6
20. The annual dinner of the Wirksworth England 2018 135
Ecclesbourne Valley Railway
Event break-even

21. The Tour de France Paris France 2018 144


Sponsorship

Chapter 7
22. DB Schenker Berlin Germany 2008 157
Event Logistics

23. FIS Alpine Ski World Championships Garmisch- Germany 2008 172
VIP Hospitality Partenkirchen

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xii LIST OF CASE STUDIES

Chapter 8 City Country Date Page


24. Lake Vyrnwy Half Marathon Lake Vyrnwy Wales 2018 183
Marketing catchment areas

25. Geneva Motor Show Geneva Switzerland 2018 196


Recording of visitor information

26. Epica Reuver Netherlands 2018 198


Social media

Chapter 9
27. The Promenade des Anglais, Nice Nice France 2016 212
Safety in perspective

28. Clacton Air Show 2018 Clacton England 2018 217


Emergency service arrangements
at events

29. Regia Anglorum Historical Wirksworth England 2018 219


Re-Enactment
Insurance and event contractual
issues

Chapter 10
30. Ticketing at the London Olympics London England 2012 233

31. The Wirksworth Wapentake Wirksworth England 2008 243


Site layout issues

32. Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury England 2017 248


The atmosphere of events

Chapter 11
33. Mainz Carnival Mainz Germany 2018 259
Volunteer staffing

34. Deventer Book Market Deventer Netherlands 2018 275


Organisation

Chapter 12
35. World Golf Championships Valderrama Spain 2000 287
Clearing up

36. The Fyre Festival Great Exuma Bahamas 2017 296


Evaluation and Ethics

37. The Commonwealth Games Manchester England 2002 300


Event legacies

38. The Royal Agricultural Show Stoneleigh England 2009 302


The decline and termination
of an event

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FORMS FOR THE NEW
EVENT MANAGER
STARTING FORMS
Pilot questionnaire for proposed events (Figure 5.5) 97
Events screening form (Figure 5.6) 101
Simple pre-event planner (Figure 5.8) 105

FINANCIAL FORMS
Preliminary (outline) budget form (Figure 6.4) 131
General budget form (Figure 6.7) 134
Detailed event budget summary (Figure 6.8) 138
Purchase order form (Figure 6.9) 140
Petty cash voucher (Figure 6.10) 141

DOING THE JOB FORMS


Venue-finding checklist (Figure 7.1) 153
Example of a communications contact list (Figure 7.5) 165
Example of an equipment receival form (Figure 7.10) 174

MARKETING FORMS
Event marketing budget form (Figure 8.12) 193
Example of a marketing schedule (Figure 8.13) 194

PROJECT MANAGEMENT FORMS


Example of a risk assessment form (Figure 9.4) 207
Example of a risk-control plan (Figure 9.5) 209

HUMAN RESOURCES FORM


Job description form (Figure 11.9) 269

RECORDING FORM
Event history contact record form (Figure 12.2) 290

xiii

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PREFACE TO THE
FIFTH EDITION
This book is in two parts: the first part, chapters one to four, presents a picture of the
events business; the second part, from chapter five onwards, is about how to organise
events. My advice to the reader is to take this book as a complete approach: not just
the text, but also the diagrams, case studies and the discussion questions set in the
case studies. This will help you learn more. For the beginner, or someone wanting ‘a
thirty-minute guide’ to organising events, your first step is to look at the forms listed
in the front of the book to give you some idea of what you are going to need, and
then start with chapter five.
I have taken a deliberately European approach. This is for two reasons. Firstly,
many of the range of books in this subject area of events management are either
American or Australian and tend to contain examples (especially the American texts)
which may not have huge relevance to the European experience. Secondly, and per-
haps more importantly, because we, as Europeans, do not explore the extent and
quality of our knowledge and mutual experience sufficiently. Partly this was due to
language barriers and to perceived cultural differences. However, in the age of the
internet and in the twenty-first century, language is an increasing irrelevance, when
the common language of the net is English, and culturally, well, we are Europeans.
More unites us than divides us, as most young people, having backpacked their
way around the continent and drunk cappuccinos in open-air cafés from Galway to
Genoa, know very well. This being the case, the book contains material from all over
Europe and all money is stated in Euros. As a convention, all case study material is
real as named. However, some more generalised examples are given to illustrate the
text and to help the reader; in these cases the fictitious town of ‘Middleburg’ is used.
We are aware of the limitation of generic examples, but this one remains for the pres-
ent. For those who live in the Dutch provincial capital of Middelburg, or any Euro-
pean town from Mittelburg to Middlesborough, I hope you will excuse this small
liberty and not search too hard for the Arboretum, the Venetian Bridge or the pub.
I am extremely grateful for the contributions made to this book by many people
and organisations and I thank most kindly all those who have contributed in some
way, great or small, and in particular for this edition, our reviewers. We cannot, of
course, accommodate everything which has been fed back, but in this fifth edition
I have taken the opportunity to revise those sections of the book that most needed
bringing up to date. I have paid attention to the case study material and have added
a number of new cases, and revised and brought up to date virtually all others. Most
especially I have overhauled the reference material, I have also included suggested
weblinks and YouTube clips, but the reader must be aware that link rot affects any-
thing on the web, and what is current and available as I write this edition may not
remain on the web even by the time the book is published. This is a risk we take
and it is still within the ability of all who read this book to search for supporting

xiv

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PREFACE TO THE FIFTH EDITION xv

material themselves. In certain examples where I have removed old cases, these have
been made available via the book’s companion website: as ‘Classic Cases’ in order
that they can still be used if they are of interest.
In updating, further work has been done on the sections about online ticketing,
and in terms of social media whose technology and use changes extremely rapidly.
New material has also been added in terms of the work which charities and volun-
teers do; in terms of catering and hospitality activities, such as mobile and street
catering; in risk management and in the development of methods of analysis of the
external environment in the form of the PESTELI approach, which now also looks
at sustainability. New information has been written in to cover issues such as terror-
ism, safety and disasters, and in terms of equality, mobility and inclusivity, which are
introduced in Chapters 9 and 10.
For this edition the figures and diagrams have been revised and I hope the careful
consideration of these assists the understanding of the reader. I hope these changes
will ensure the book remains effective as a practical guide. This said, the book is
by no means definitive and I urge the reader to bear that in mind and to use it as a
starting place for further study. Any comments which readers may wish to make will
be gladly received.
Anton Shone, written in Derby and in Florsheim.

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PART 1

THE EVENTS
BUSINESS

1 An introduction to events

2 The market demand for events

3 The events business: supply and suppliers

4 Social, economic, political and developmental


implications

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Chapter 1

An
­introduction
to events
Aims
• To consider a definition of, and framework for,
special events

• To provide a categorisation and typology for


special events, together with an overview of the
historical context

• To identify the key characteristics of events,


in order to understand the business of events
­management as a service activity

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Introduction 3

Introduction
Events have long played an important role in human society. The tedium of daily
life, with its constant toil and effort, was broken up by events of all kinds. In most
societies, the slightest excuse could be found for a good celebration, although
traditional celebrations often had strict ceremonies and rituals. In Europe, partic-
ularly before the industrial revolution, routine daily activities were regularly inter-
spersed with festivals and carnivals. Personal events or local events to celebrate
certain times of year, perhaps related to religious holy days, were also common.
This role in society was, and is, of considerable importance. In the modern world
some of the historic driving forces for events have changed. For example, religious
reasons for staging major festivals have, perhaps, become less important, but we
still see carnivals, fairs and festivals in all sorts of places and at various times
of year, locally, nationally and internationally (Ferdinand et al., 2017). Many of
these events, although traditional in origin, play a contemporary role by attract-
ing tourists (and thus tourist income) to a particular place. Some major events,
however, still revolve around periods such as Christmas or Easter in the Christian
calendar, and towns and cities throughout Europe often hold major festivals based
on these times. Even in those countries where religion is no longer as important
as it once was, the celebration of originally religious, and other folk festivals, still
takes place; so do older festivals related to the seasons, including the celebration
of spring, with activities such as dancing round a maypole, decorating water wells
or crowning the Lord and Lady of May. Harvest time continues to provide a rea-
son for a seasonal celebration in rural locations. At the same time, many historic,
traditional or ‘folk’ ceremonies and rituals are, in practice, recent inventions or
recreations.
We can grasp therefore that special events were often historically crucial to the
social fabric of day-to-day life. In modern times we are often so used to special events
that we do not necessarily see them in this context (e.g. Mother’s Day). It is also
sometimes difficult for the student of events to understand the full extent of these
activities, their variety, their role and how they are run. Unlike many industries we
cannot say, ‘Well, this industry is worth maybe €30 billion a year,’ or whatever. In
fact, it is quite difficult to quantify in monetary terms how much events are worth
‘as an industry’ due to opaque definitions and overlapping market sector boundaries.
Such a calculation is problematic, because the range of events is vast, from big inter-
nationally organised sports spectaculars such as the Olympics, to the family naming
ceremony of the new baby next door. All we can reasonably say, perhaps, is that we
can look at any one event in isolation and see what value or pleasure it generates.
Indeed, certain events have the purpose of creating wealth or economic value in some
way, as well as entertaining and cementing society, but these are not the only reasons
for holding events, nor should they be.

Special events
Special events are that phenomenon arising from those non-routine
occasions which have leisure, cultural, personal or organisational
objectives set apart from the normal activity of daily life, and whose
purpose is to enlighten, celebrate, entertain or challenge the experi-
ence of a group of people.

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4 Chapter 1 An ­introduction to events

Definitions and frameworks


For the student of events, we have to provide some context or framework to begin to
understand the nature of the activity and the issues about management and organi-
sation surrounding it. This being the case, and for convenience, we need to attempt
both a definition and a means of classification:
Authors such as Goldblatt (2014) have chosen to highlight the celebratory aspect
of events:
‘Special events: a unique moment in time celebrated with ceremony and
ritual to achieve specific objectives.’
Although this definition clearly works for events like weddings, parades, inaugura-
product tions, and so on, it works less well for activities like engineering exhibitions, sports
launches competitions, product launches, etc. Getz (2005), in referring to the experience that
A ‘show’ to participants have, states:
introduce an
audience, such ‘To the customer or guest, a special event is an opportunity for a ­leisure,
as the media, to social or cultural experience outside the normal range of choices or
a new product or beyond everyday experience.’
service. It may
also be aimed at This definition, too, has its advantages, but also seems to exclude organisational
an organisation’s events of various kinds. Nevertheless, it is a place to start and from it we can begin
internal manage-
to look at the vast range of events that take place.
ment and staff,
sales force or To do so, it helps to have some means of classification (Bassett and Dowson,
external dealers 2018). Figure 1.1, for convenience, splits events into four broad categories based
and customers. on the concept (in our definition) of events having leisure, cultural, personal or
organisational objectives. It is crucial to bear in mind, when considering this cate-
gorisation, that there are frequent overlaps. For example, the graduation of a stu-
dent from university is both a personal event for the student and their family, and
participants an organisational event for the university. A village carnival is both a cultural event,
A person attend- perhaps celebrating some aspect of local heritage or folklore, and a leisure event,
ing an event possibly both for local people and for tourists. Therefore, overlaps should be seen as
who is actively
inevitable rather than exceptional, and any attempt to categorise an event, even by
taking part in it,
or in some activity analysing its objectives, its organisers or its origins, will have to take account of this,
related to it. even if we can agree that a particular event does fall into such and such a category.

Figure 1.1 A suggested categorisation of special events

Leisure Events
(Leisure, sport, recreation)

Personal Events Cultural Events


Special
(Weddings, birthdays, Events (Ceremonial, sacred,
anniversaries) heritage, art, folklore)

Organisational Events
(Commercial, political,
charitable, sales)

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Categories and typologies 5

Categories and typologies


In the following section we will begin to consider how this proposed categorisation
might be developed to take in the great variety of events. It is a useful starting point,
and one we can adopt to help us look at the context and precedents for modern
events, and as a means of understanding their breadth and variety.
In looking at the various kinds of special events, whether these are leisure-based,
personal, cultural or organisational, it is possible to identify a number of character-
istics that they have in common, thus helping us understand what special events are
and how they work, as well as differentiating them from other activities.
Our definition of events could be given a shorthand version: ‘Those non-routine
occasions set apart from the normal activity of daily life of a group of people’ but
this may not necessarily give a feel for the specialised nature of the activity. We can
say specialised because of the uniqueness of events, but also because such events
may often be celebratory or ceremonial in some way. This is an aspect that other
authors, including Goldblatt, have highlighted. Clearly this approach can be applied
to activities such as weddings, product launches, prizegivings, etc. On the other hand,
it may be less suited to events such as exhibitions, sport days or annual conferences, conference
although it can be argued that even an exhibition of paintings or a sales conference A meeting whose
may have an element of ceremony about it, since someone has to open it; but insofar purpose is the
interchange of
as exhibitions, conferences, and so on are non-routine, the definition is usable. For ideas.
the purpose of illustrating the four categories, and to demonstrate historical progres-
sion, this chapter explores four case studies: for leisure events, the ancient Olympic
Games; for personal events, a Roman wedding; for cultural events, the Royal Dia-
mond Jubilees of 1897 and 2012 (which, for those interested in the overlaps, could
also be said to be political and therefore organisational); and for organisational
events themselves, the Paris Exposition of 1889.
Special events vary tremendously in size and complexity, from the simple and small,
such as the village fête, to the huge, complex and international, such as the Olympic
Games (Gammon et al., 2015). To understand the relative levels of complexity involved
we can attempt to provide a typology. It is necessary to consider events as having both
organisational complexity and uncertainty. Complexity is fairly easy to understand,
whereas uncertainty, as a concept, is a little more problematic. By uncertainty we mean
initial doubt about such issues as the cost, the time schedule and the technical require-
ments. Thus, it can be understood that, at the beginning, the uncertainty about the
cost, the timing and the technical needs of organising the Olympic Games far exceeds
the uncertainty of, say, a training conference or a small wedding reception. In order to
quantify the complexity, in the typology in Figure 1.2, varying levels of organisational
complexity have been used, ranging from individual to multinational. Using this typol-
ogy, it is possible to propose a classification of various events, in order to understand the
comparative demands that such events might place on organisers or events managers.
Even where an event is relatively simple, the number of people attending may make
it very complex indeed. There is a world of difference between a birthday party for attendees
A group of people
six people and a birthday party for 60 people, even though the format, structure and
attending an
basic idea may be the same. The typology must be seen with this limitation in mind. event, for a range
Indeed, it is this concept of size which often means the difference between an amateur of purposes, from
organiser or a family member running an event on the one hand, or having to employ watching the
an event manager, go to a hotel or find specialist advice on the other. Size or number event take place,
to actively partici-
of attendees is something that easily catches people out. We can all organise a dinner
pating in some or
party for eight or ten people, even a buffet for maybe 20 or 30, but after that the all of the event’s
sheer effort involved would overwhelm us: not enough space, not enough equipment, activities.
and not enough people to help, and so on. The events management business in the
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6 Chapter 1 An ­introduction to events

Figure 1.2 A typology of events

Olympic
Games

High
Avignon Lions Clubs World Fairs
Festival Convention and Expos

Wedding
Reception
Uncertainty

Political Party French


Conference Grand Prix

Birthday Car Company London Motor Geneva


Party Sales Exhibition Fair (Dealers) Motor Show

Local
Deventer Berlin
Agricultural Show
Bookmarket Film Festival
Village Fete
Low

Small Private Training


Dinner Party Conference

Individual Group Organisational Multi- National International


Organisational
Complexity

Based on Slack et al., 2001, Operations Management, London, Pitman, 3rd edition, pp. 585–595

contemporary world, whether it concerns the annual dinner of the local town council
or the organisation of the European Figure Skating Championships, is often about the
need for trained staff, specialist companies and professional expertise.

Historical contexts and precedents


Events management can be thought of as an art, rather than a science. Historically, the
organisation of small local events was relatively uncomplicated and needed no extensive
managerial expertise. The organisation of a wedding, for example, could be done most
often by the bride’s mother with help from the two families involved and a vicar, priest,
religious or other official representative. (In past times, especially up until the Victorian
period, ‘expert’ advice often came in the form of a Dancing Master, employed to give the
wedding festivities some formality of style. There were also quite specific local rituals to
be observed, which acted as ‘checklists’ for the activities.) Some weddings are still done
this way, and are within the ability of ­non-specialist people to organise and run: the
bride and groom deal with the ceremony, the bride’s mother or father orders the cake
and a buffet from a local baker, family and friends do some or all of it; the reception
is held in one of the family homes or a village hall, flowers come from gardens or are
obtained from a nearby flower shop, and so on. All these tasks were, and can still be,
coped with in an intimate and sociable way with no great cost or fuss.
While special events, by their nature are not routine, pressure for formal organ-
isational or technological skill was not so great in the past for local, family or
small-scale events. This is not to say that large-scale events management is a partic-
ularly recent development, only that the modern world with its many complexities

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Historical contexts and precedents 7

CASE STUDY 1

Leisure/sporting events: the Olympic Games

UniversalImagesGroup/Getty Images

Olympia, Greece Fragment of a Greek relief frieze c. 500 BC depicting wrestlers in practice
FACTBOX

• Ancient Olympic Games first held in 776 BC, last held in 393

• Restarted in modern times in 1896

• Held every four years

• Ancient games were part of the religious festival of Zeus, the chief Greek god

• Modern games are a major economic activity

Learning Objectives

The aim of this case study is to examine the historical background to the Olympic Games with the
following objectives:
• To consider the historical development of the Games.
• To highlight comparisons between the ancient Olympics and the modern ones.
• To understand the differences between the ancient and the modern Games.

T he modern Olympic Games are loosely based


on the games of the ancient Greeks. Those
games, first held in 776 BC at Olympia, in Greece,
though Greece was normally at war (quite usual in
those times). One of the most important aspects of
the games was the truce that existed to allow them
had the purpose of celebrating the festival of Zeus, to take place and to enable the participants, mostly
the most important Greek god. They were organised the nobility and professional athletes, together with
by the temple priests and their helpers, and car- pilgrims (who were travelling to the temple of Zeus
ried on for many years at four-yearly intervals, even at Olympia), to get to the games safely. The ancient

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8 Chapter 1 An ­introduction to events

games at first had only one component, the ‘stade’, games began again at Athens in 1896, followed
a footrace. Later they included not only the stade by Paris in 1900, and then more or less every four
(about 150 metres, hence the word ‘stadium’), but years to the present day (Swadding, 2011; Walle-
also the pentathlon (the discus, the jump, the javelin, chinskey and Loucky, 2012).
another race and wrestling), together with a chariot
race, a horse race and the pankration – a very vio- Discussion Questions
lent form of wrestling. All of these were performed
Investigate the modern Olympic Games and
naked, in the Greek style, although, as the games
­compare them to the ancient ones.
also celebrated military prowess, the final footrace
was performed in full armour. The games lasted for 1 Where were the most recent games held?
five days and included various religious ceremonies,
2 How many people attended them?
the main religious aspect being the worship of Zeus,
although the women had their own games in honour 3 How many people participated?
of the goddess Hera (married women were not per-
4 How were the games organised and what
mitted at the men’s games, even to watch).
­support services were involved?
The games were organised by the religious
authorities of Olympia and involved professional 5 How many people did the games employ during
trainers and referees for the events as well as the peak period?
judges. There were also social events and, rather
6 To what use were the games’ buildings put after
like the modern games, a parade of champions on
the games had finished?
the final day. The ancient games continued, in all,
for about 1200 years and were closed down by the 7 How much do the modern games differ from
Roman Emperor Theodosius II in 393. The modern the ancient ones?

Further Reading
Related website for those interested in the Olympics: www.olympic.org and for interesting comment and
critique of the Olympics, search: www.guardian.co.uk/.

often requires specialists to do what, in gentler times, could be done by thoughtful


amateurs or ordinary people. We should not mistake history, however. The scale
and complexity of, say, the Greek or Roman gladiatorial games (which comprised
vast numbers of activities, set-piece contests and even theatrically-mounted sea
battles – the Romans were sufficiently advanced that they could flood their arenas)
certainly had what today would be considered as a professional events management
organisation to run them. This can also be seen in our first case study of the ancient
Olympic Games, which helps to illustrate our first category of leisure events.
Looking back in history we can see, however, that events have always had a significant
role to play in society, either to break up the dull, grinding routine of daily life (toiling in
the fields, perhaps) or to emphasise some important activity or person (such as the arrival
of a new abbot at the local monastery). We can trace all sorts of special events far back
in time, even if they are the result of some recent ‘re-invention’. For as long as humanity
has lived in family groups there will have been celebrations of weddings, births, religious
rites, and so on. In following up the categorisation suggested earlier of events being
leisure-based, personal, cultural or organisational in origin, we can consequently seek
various historical examples or precedents. That said, we must be careful not to believe
that earlier times or other societies had the same cultural attitudes as we have today.
The second category of special events in our approach is that of personal events.
This includes all sorts of occasions that a family or friends might be involved in.

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Historical contexts and precedents 9

Many modern aspects of family life can be seen to revolve around important occa-
sions: birthdays, namings, weddings and anniversaries all fall into this category, as do
many other personal events and celebrations (a dinner party is a special event in our
definition). Of all these, weddings can be one of the most complicated to organise,
involving friends and family and a whole range of related service activities, from cater-
ing to entertainment, as well as the formal aspect of the marriage ceremony itself. This
is not to say that all weddings are a ‘big performance’, some are small, friendly and
relaxed, and just as good for it – size is no measure of the success of an event. Almost
all cultures known to history have some form of partnership ceremony, and in looking
for a historical precedent for personal events, the Romans can provide an example.
Special events cover all kinds of human and cultural activity, not only sport-
ing and family activities, but also cultural and commercial or organisational activ-
ities. Culture, with its associated ceremony and traditions, has a role in both in all
kinds of social activities: and for all kinds of people, organisations and institutions.
(­Robinson et al., 2010). But it has been especially important for governments and
leaders, such as royalty. In cultural events ceremony becomes very evident, often as a
way of emphasising the significance of the event itself or of the person at the centre of
the ceremony, the intended effect being to secure support, or to allow as many people
as possible to recognise the key individual. For example, the media often show heads
of state (kings, queens, presidents) inspecting a ‘guard of honour’ when arriving at
the airport of a country they are visiting; they listen to the national anthem and then
walk past the guard of honour. The original purpose of this ceremony was not for
the head of state to see the guards, but for the guards to see the head of state, so that
the guards would recognise the person they were to protect.

CASE STUDY 2

Personal events: a Roman wedding


A. DAGLI ORTI/De Agostini/Getty Images

Rome, Italy
Roman marble sarcophagus, 3rd century AD with a relief
­depicting a wedding ceremony

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10 Chapter 1 An ­introduction to events

FACTBOX

• The Roman empire covered a huge area of Western Europe, from Britain to north Africa

• Rome was pagan until the AD300s, when it started to become Christian in religion

• Roman weddings had many similarities to modern ceremonies, but also a number
of differences

Learning Objectives

The aim of this case study is to consider comparisons between a historical ceremony and a mod-
ern one, in this case a wedding, with the following objectives:
• To consider how an ancient wedding was conducted and the differences with a modern wed-
ding ceremony (of your choice).
• To highlight comparisons between the ancient ceremony and the modern one.
• To understand that although the ceremony and style may differ, the essential purpose remains
the same.

A s with modern weddings, Roman weddings


were organised by the families of the bride and
groom. A ring was often given as an engagement
accompanied by flute players and the families, with
friends, relatives and other locals joining in. There
would be a great deal of loud and happy singing
present, although no ring was involved in the cere- during the procession and the cheerful shouting of
mony itself until changes in the ritual after the second obscene poetry and jokes, known as ‘Fescennine
century AD (Kamm, 2008). The bride wore a special Verses’. This was the Roman equivalent of writing
bridal gown, generally with a flame-coloured veil and obscene messages on the couple’s car with foam,
garlands of flowers. The wedding would be arranged and often referred to how ‘well equipped’ the donkey
with the respective families each dealing with vari- was. On arrival at the bridegroom’s house the bride
ous aspects. A legal contract was signed by the two would anoint the doorposts with oil as a sign of ded-
fathers on the day of the wedding. The joining of hands ication to the gods, and the bridegroom would carry
at the ceremony was ensured, not by a priest, but the bride over the threshold.
by a married woman, known as a ‘pronuba’. At the
ceremony, prayers would be said to the family gods Discussion Questions
and especially to the goddess Juno, with a sacrifice
Perhaps from your own experience of going to a
offered to the god Jupiter. This might involve the sac-
wedding, or from an example of a modern wedding
rifice of a donkey, as donkeys were thought to have
that you have been given:
considerable sexual prowess, and so the offering was
thought to ensure a suitably exciting wedding night. 1 How did it differ from the Roman one?
Following the ceremony, the party would make 2 Who organised what?
their way to the bride’s parents’ house, where there
would be a major feast in the Roman style, of some 3 Suppose you have a wedding to organise with
excess, with large quantities of food and wine being 100 guests, how long does it realistically take
consumed. Once the feast was over, there would to get things done?
be a torchlight procession from the bride’s parents’ 4 Also, begin to look for possible similarities
house to the bridegroom’s house. It would gener- between the special events in these case
ally be led by torch carriers, often children, and ­studies – what are their common characteristics?

Further Reading
Related website for those interested in Roman history: www.roman-empire.net.

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Historical contexts and precedents 11

In the Middle Ages, events and ceremonies played a major role, ensuring that
a dull daily existence was enlivened and that people were entertained, or at
least impressed. There were no TVs, smartphones, video, movies or the internet
for entertainment, as all these are less than 100 years old. It was, for example,
accepted wisdom in England in the Tudor period (about 1500–1600) that cere-
mony was an essential part of showing ‘good government’. ‘In pompous ceremo-
nies a secret of government doth much consist’ (Plowden, 1982). Government,
in this case, being interpreted as the action of the King or Queen, was expected
to make a good show, or put on a good display for the people, and the people
expected to see royalty in all its glory; it was intended to ensure, to a certain
extent, respect and allegiance.
One of the things which these historic examples show is that there have long
been specialists of various kinds to organise events (the temple priests for the
Greek Games, the Lord Chamberlain’s department for Queen Elizabeth). Some
events, such as the coronation of a King or Queen, have been, and still are, highly
complex. Very often, where great ceremony was needed for state events, the mil-
itary could also be called on to help organise them, and army officers were often
seconded to do just that, as is still the case with much modern state ceremony:
parades, state visits, pageants and festivals.
Although the organisation of historic ceremonial events might be thought of
as a matter of the injection of military or government organisational skills, very
often this supposed skill was no such thing. In fact, great historical ceremonial
disasters were quite common. The modern events manager has no monopoly
on things going ‘pear-shaped’. Many coronations and other great events were ‘pear-shaped’
famously shambolic. Even where these involved a non-military event, such as the Description of
something which
great fireworks display held in 1749 to celebrate the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, for
goes wrong
King George II, there was no guarantee of success, in spite of the fact that these or turns into a
were organised by George Frederick Handel, the famous composer, and set to his shambles.
music. The fireworks were to be held in a specially-built pavilion in Green Park,
London. Handel was designated ‘Comptroller of the Fireworks’. This was such a
major event that a full dress rehearsal was held, which went perfectly. However,
on the night itself Handel had an argument with Servandoni, the pavilion designer,
at which swords were drawn, and during the middle of the performance, with 100
musicians playing and a crowd of over 12,000 people watching, half the pavilion
burned down.
The modern world is no different. Faster maybe; more complex perhaps; but no
less susceptible to things going wrong, falling down, being rained on or flooded out;
the guest speaker getting stuck in the traffic; acts of God, both tragic or comic; the
groom still drunk after the stag night, the buffet being dropped on the kitchen floor or
the bride falling over the cake at the reception. In some ways, events management is a
rather thankless task, one of those roles where everyone notices when something goes
wrong, but few people notice the tremendous effort involved in getting even a simple
event right. Indeed, some of the things that go wrong at an event may be beyond
the organiser’s ability to prevent: the weather, the traffic, power failures, and so on. show
Nevertheless, events can be considerable triumphs of organisation and leave A full sequence
lasting legacies. The fourth in our categories is the organisational event; this may of sets, or more
simply, the event
be anything from a political party conference to a motor show. There are any itself, in terms of
­number of suitable examples. Some of the world trade fairs have left interesting musical, artistic or
legacies. As trade and commerce developed following the industrial revolution, similar activities.
many countries sought to celebrate and display their industrial achievements.

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12 Chapter 1 An ­introduction to events

CASE STUDY 3

Cultural events: the Royal Diamond Jubilees of 1897 and 2012

stocknshares/Getty Images

London, England Diamond Jubilee Barge


FACTBOX

• The Diamond Jubilees of 1897 and 2012

• Involving Queen Victoria (1897) and Queen Elizabeth (2012)

• Main activities were a procession in 1897 and a river pageant in 2012

• The two events provide an interesting comparison over time

Learning Objectives

The aim of this case study is to examine a cultural event and how it has changed over time
with the following objectives:
• To consider the historical changes both in terms of the event and in terms of the nature of the
nation and its outlook in the two periods.
• To highlight particular issues such as cost and security and how these have been addressed,
­particularly in the 2012 event, by careful consideration of what the event should involve.

A royal Diamond Jubilee is that rarest of occa-


sions, it generally celebrates 60 years of the
reign of a monarch and there have been very few of
Wilhelmina of the Netherlands reigned for almost 58
years and would have celebrated her Jubilee had it
not been for failing health. However, King Bhumi-
them. In England, the most was the Diamond Jubi- bol Adulyadej of Thailand celebrated his Diamond
lee of Queen Elizabeth II, the previous one being the Jubilee in 2006 at the Dusit Palace in Bangkok and
Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. There have been His Highness the Aga Khan celebrated his Diamond
no others in Europe, though the much-loved Queen Jubilee in 2017 in Gouvieux, France, at his estate.

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Historical contexts and precedents 13

The comparison between the two UK Diamond also extended to the Royal Navy, with a review of
Jubilees is instructive, insofar as they present a the fleet being carried out by the Prince of Wales
picture of the same country, but over a space of at Spithead which included the first ever vessel
more than a century, during which change has powered by steam turbines using a propeller, the
been the only constant feature. When Queen Turbinia. In addition, a charitable and celebratory
V ictoria celebrated her Diamond Jubilee on
­ lunch was provided for 40,000 poor people by
the 22nd of June 1897, she was Queen of the ­Princess Alexandra.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and In comparison the jubilee of 2012 was a much
Empress of India. When Queen Elizabeth cele- more restrained affair. The principal focus of the
brated her Diamond Jubilee on the 2nd to the 5th jubilee celebrations in 2012 was a river pageant
June 2012, she was Queen of the United Kingdom on the Thames in London. From the event man-
of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Head of ager’s point of view, we can consider the advan-
the Commonwealth. Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in tages of such a choice of main event for the jubilee.
1897 saw Britain at the very peak of its powers, Firstly, it makes use of a range of resources which
as the most important industrial nation of its time already exist, but are perhaps under-used. For
and with an empire that included almost a quar- example, the Queen retains 24 Royal Watermen,
ter of the population of the world. By 2012 the who are responsible for royal visits on the Thames,
position of the United Kingdom was of a modest, normally using a vessel called ‘The Royal Nore’.
­medium-sized European nation. River pageants have been seen on the Thames
This change in both national circumstances since 1453 when the Mayor of London, John Nor-
and national mood was, in effect, shown by the man, first held one: ‘having at his own expense
differences in the two Jubilees. Queen Victoria’s built a noble barge, had it decorated with flags
Diamond Jubilee was described as ‘a far grander and streamers, in which he was rowed by water-
celebration of her reign than her Golden Jubilee men with silver oars, attended by such of the city
of the previous decade’. A service of thanksgiving companies as possessed barges, in a manner so
took place outside St Paul’s Cathedral, so that the splendid that ‘his barge seemed to burn on the
Queen could remain in her carriage, as she was too water’. For Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee,
frail to climb the cathedral steps. The scope of the however, a private vessel known as the ‘Spirit of
celebrations was expanded considerably in com- Chartwell’ was dressed by an award-winning film
parison to her Golden Jubilee of ten years before, production designer, for use as the Royal barge
with a celebration of the British Empire being the and formed the centrepiece of a 1,000 strong flo-
central focus. Before leaving Buckingham Palace on tilla of vessels on the Thames. Secondly, the use
22nd June, the Queen issued a telegraph through- of the Thames provides significant advantages in
out the Empire, saying ‘From my heart I thank a number of ways. For example, the street con-
my beloved people. May God bless them!’ Some gestion caused by Royal or Mayoral processions
47,000 troops from all over the Empire were present in London and events such as the Notting Hill Car-
for the celebrations, which included not only the nival or the London Marathon, is reduced by using
main procession on the 22nd of June, but also a the Thames for such a major event. It also means
review of Colonial troops at Windsor. For example, that the river pageant can be viewed easily from all
many Indian troops participated in the procession the embankments, paths, gardens and buildings
through London, including the Bengal Lancers, offi- along the Thames without the need to put up spe-
cers of the Indian Imperial Service Troops, and the cial seating or viewing areas, or block off streets
Sikhs, who marched alongside the Canadians. The to do so. These advantages also help to reduce
Daily Mail, the day afterwards, described the troops the costs (both the direct costs, for example of
(in words which were acceptable at the time) as temporary seating, and indirect or hidden costs,
‘an anthropological museum – a living gazetteer of for example of time lost through congestion or the
the British Empire’. The military flavour of the jubilee need for huge numbers of extra police) of putting

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14 Chapter 1 An ­introduction to events

on the event. Thirdly, it has an interesting but less an interesting comparison between a nation at
obvious security advantage, insofar as it enables the height of its military and industrial prowess
everyone to see and greet the Queen, but insofar in the Victorian age, and the modest one in the
as she is in the middle of the river, it reduces the modern age.
opportunities for stupidity or feckless behaviour
and mitigates against other more serious security
risks as the river is an unfamiliar environment for
Discussion Questions
potential terrorists, or greater or lesser fools of one Think of a recent ceremonial event you have seen,
kind or another. perhaps a royal or government event, a church
In addition to the river pageant, a service of event, or some ceremony that takes place locally in
thanksgiving was held at St Paul’s Cathedral, and your town or city, perhaps involving the mayor.
a concert given at Bush House. Beacons were
lit on hills throughout the country in celebration.
1 What were these events about and what was
special about them?
The celebrations engaged business much more in
terms of sponsorship of the event than in seeing 2 Was there much ceremony or some kind of tra-
it as an opportunity to promote Britain’s goods to dition being enacted?
overseas markets (through visitors) that the 1897
jubilee had been. In terms of the military aspect,
3 What issues appeared to be important in
the choice of a river pageant as the centre-
Queen Elizabeth’s jubilee had barely any military
piece of the 2012 Diamond Jubilee and why
overtones. In 1897, we have noted there were
were these relevant to the events’ managers?
47,000 troops involved, but in 2012, there were
no more than 2,500 military personnel, barely 5 4 What were the issues of costs and security
per cent of those involved in the 1897 jubilee: involved in the 2012 event?

Further Reading
For a more detailed comparison of the preparations for these two jubilees listen to: www.bbc.co.uk/­
programmes/b0194l3j. You will have to register for BBC I-player to listen and excerpts from the day can
be seen on YouTube, for example: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHF7viVJnJg.

This led to a number of industrial and commercial exhibitions in many major


cities. Such exhibitions had often developed out of local trade fairs in towns and
cities around medieval Europe. Fairs had been held for many centuries as a way
to show off all kinds of products, goods and other wares. One of the first great
international industrial fairs was the Great Exhibition of London in 1851 (there
had been earlier ones, such as that in Paris of 1849). The Great Exhibition of
­London was held in a specially built hall, the Crystal Palace, that housed some
13,000 exhibitors from all over the world.
These fairs have taken place at irregular intervals in many major cities ever since.
Recent fairs or ‘Expos’ have taken place in New York, Montreal, Seville, Hanover
and Shanghai, with the most recent ones being Milan in 2015 and Astana in 2017.
In the Victorian period many cities held fairs; not only London, but also Amsterdam
(in 1883 with the International Colonial Exposition and several later fairs), and
especially Paris, which held a series of fairs from 1855 to 1900 (and two since, in
1925 and 1937). One such event, which has left a very obvious legacy, was the Paris
Exposition of 1889.

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Historical contexts and precedents 15

CASE STUDY 4

Organisational events: the Paris Exposition

Print Collector/Getty Images

Paris, France The Eiffel Tower was a part of the major building
­programme during the Paris Exposition in 1889
FACTBOX

• The Paris Exposition of 1889

• Intended to display France’s industrial power

• Resulted in a major building programme in the exposition area, including the con-
struction of the Eiffel Tower

• 32 million people visited the fair

Learning Objectives

The aim of this case study is to examine the nature and purpose of an organisational event
with the following objectives:
• To consider a historical example of an organisational event.
• To highlight the purposes of a large scale organisational event.
• To understand that such an event may leave a legacy.

T he 1889 Paris Exposition was the idea of the


French Prime Minister of the time, Jules Ferry.
He wished to see an exhibition that would demon-
The fair was opened on 6th May 1889, a won-
derful spring day, by the French president, Sadi
Carnot, who rode in a horse-drawn procession from
strate France’s industrial might, its commercial activ- the Elysée Palace. The procession, led by a detach-
ity and engineering skill. The result was the largest, ment of mounted cuirassiers, made its way along
most varied and successful world fair ever held until the Champs Elysées and the Avenue Montaigne
that time. amongst joyful crowds, and entered the exhibition

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16 Chapter 1 An ­introduction to events

area passing under the arches of the Eiffel Tower, But it was Gustave Eiffel who supervised the build-
arriving at the Central Dome at 2.00pm. A short ing of the Paris tower. It was begun on 26th January
ceremony took place at which the Exposition was 1887, and opened at 11.50 am on 15th May 1889,
formally presented to President Carnot: ‘This splen- to Eiffel’s considerable relief, and has been the sym-
did result exceeds all hopes . . . .’ Indeed it did. bol of Paris ever since – though for the first 20 or 30
The exposition was huge. It covered the whole of years it was rather disliked by some.
the Champ de Mars and the Esplanade des Inva-
lides, and stretched along the Quai d’Orsay and
the Trocadero Gardens to the Eiffel Tower, some 95 Discussion Questions
hectares, including a huge Ferris wheel. There were
Think of a recent event engineering project you have
almost 62,000 exhibitors from all over the world and
seen launched in public.
by the time an exhausted President Carnot had left at
5.30 pm, almost half a million people had streamed 1 What was its purpose?
in through the 22 entrances to the exhibition, which
2 How was it organised?
then lasted 176 days. Some 32 million people visited
the fair and amongst the exhibits was the world’s 3 In the long term, was there some benefit from
first ever motor car, a Benz (Harris, 2004). having it, did it leave a legacy, such as a building
The lasting legacy of the exposition is the Eif- or structure even if that was knocked down later?
fel Tower. When the event was being planned, a
4 Does this apply to other kinds of events?
member of the French cabinet, Edouard Lockroy,
had suggested a thousand-foot tower to highlight 5 How could a town or city benefit from holding
its importance. The idea of a tower built of iron and an event?
steel was not new, as one had been suggested by
6 Could that event be used to help renovate a
the Cornish engineer, Richard Trevithick, in 1833,
run-down area?
and another by Clarke and Reeves, two American
engineers, for the Philadelphia Exposition of 1876. 7 Who would pay for the event?

Further Reading
Related website for those interested in the Eiffel Tower: www.tour-eiffel.fr.

Characteristics of events
In our definition of special events, we noted key characteristics of events as
­‘non-routine’ and ‘unique’. However, events have many other characteristics in com-
mon with all types of services, and in particular with hospitality and leisure services
of many kinds.
These characteristics can be grouped together as being:

• uniqueness
• perishability
• labour-intensiveness
• fixed timescales
• intangibility

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Characteristics of events 17

• personal interaction
• ambience
• ritual or ceremony (see Figure 1.3).

Figure 1.3 Characteristics of special events as a sevice

Uniqueness

Personal
Perishability
Interaction

Ritual or Special Ambience and


Ceremony Events Service

Intangibility Labour Intensiveness

Fixed Timescale

Uniqueness
The key element of all special events is their uniqueness: each one will be differ-
ent. This is not to say that the same kind of event cannot be repeated many times,
but that the participants, the surroundings, the audience, or any number of other audience
variables will make the event unique. Even where we have looked at those special The group of
events that are very frequent, such as weddings, all are different because different people engaged in
watching an event
people are involved, the choice of location, the invited guests, the timing, and so on. or (usually) pas-
The same is true of events that may have followed the same format for years and sively participating
years. The ancient Olympic Games took place at four-year intervals for nearly 1,200 in some aspect
years, or put more simply, 300 repeat editions. But each was unique, because each of the event
had different athletes, different organisers and a different audience. The format also activities.
changed slowly over time. At the beginning, it was a religious festival for the Greek
god Zeus, and only a 150-metre footrace, the ‘stade’, was run. At the end, there was
no major religious aspect, but the athletics had become the main activity, with 12 or
so different sports in the games.
The uniqueness of special events is therefore the key to them. We are not doing
something that is routine, nor are we producing the same item of work repetitively.
Nevertheless, it is important to recognise that certain types of event do recur; they
may recur in the same kind of format (such as weddings – each wedding is different

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18 Chapter 1 An ­introduction to events

but the format or structure is similar), or they may recur on the basis of time interval
(such as an annual conference – again the format or structure is the same, but the
participants and the subject will be different). Uniqueness alone, however, does not
make a special event. Events have a number of characteristics and their uniqueness
is closely related to aspects of perishability and intangibility.

Perishability of events
Almost by definition, if we regard events as ‘unique’, then the event is tremendously
perishable; it cannot be repeated in exactly the same way. Two birthday parties at the
same location, with the same number of people, will not be the same. Even where a
reasonable level of standardisation is possible, for example, with activities such as
seminars training seminars, each will be different and will be very time dependent. They exist
Describes small briefly and cannot be repeated in precisely the same way. Perishability also relates to
gatherings similar
the use of facilities for events. Let us suppose we have a banqueting room. It may be
to the break-out
sessions, where a used to its peak capacity only on Saturdays, for weddings, so the rest of the week its
group, but not the revenue-generating potential may not be fully exploited. If the room is empty for even
whole plenary, will one day of the week, the revenue-generating potential of that day is lost forever – it
discuss an issue. is perishable. The room can be used on a different day, but the day it is empty cannot
be replayed and used.
One of the key issues, therefore, in the events manager’s role, is the extent to which
facilities and services can be used effectively, given the uniqueness or irregularity
capacity
(perhaps better to say infrequency) of use. In consequence, events can be expensive
The maximum
number of peo- to provide. Many items will have to be produced on a one-off basis and cannot be
ple who can be used again. For example, a large banner saying ‘Happy Wedding Anniversary Anna
accommodated at and Frederick’ would be a unique item and thus (relatively) expensive to provide. On
a venue. the other hand, a banner saying ‘Happy Anniversary’ may have a number of potential
uses, may be cheaper to produce and could be stored to be used again.
The issue of perishability also means that events venue managers may have to
use a variety of techniques, such as differential pricing, to try to encourage activities
in quiet periods when a facility or service on offer might not sell. Perhaps a mobile
disco can be obtained at a discount for an event on, say, a Tuesday, rather than at a
peak period of the week or year, like a Friday or Saturday night or New Year’s Eve.
This too illustrates the perishability issue; if the disco is not booked one night of the
week it will have lost that night’s revenue forever.

Intangibility
When you go out to buy a chocolate bar or a pair of socks, you are buying something
tangible – you can see it and touch it. With events, however, the activity is more or
less intangible. If you go to a wedding, you will experience the activities, join in, enjoy
and remember it, but there are only a few tangible things that you might have got
from it – perhaps a piece of wedding cake and some photographs, or a video you took
of the happy couple and the rest of the guests. This intangibility is entirely normal
for service activities: when people stay in hotel bedrooms they often take home the
complimentary soaps and shampoos from the bathroom or small gifts left for them.
These are efforts to make the experience of the event more tangible; a memento

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Characteristics of events 19

that the experience happened and to show friends and family. It is important for
event organisers to bear this in mind, and that even the smallest tangible item will event organisers
help to sustain people’s idea of how good an event has been. A programme, a guest The individual,
list, postcards, small wrapped and named chocolates, even slightly more ambitious or organisation,
who promotes
giveaways such as badged glasses or commemorative brochures help the process of and manages
making the intangible more tangible. an event.

Ritual and ceremony


For authors such as Goldblatt, ritual and ceremony are the key issues about special
events, the major characteristics that make them special. In our historical examples it
was very evident that ritual and ceremony often played an important part. In practice
many modern ceremonial activities are ‘fossilised’ or reinvented versions of old tradi-
tions. The original tradition might have had some key role in the ceremony, now for-
gotten, but the ritual of doing it (like the inspection of guards of honour) still continues.
Often the ritual ceremony is there because it does in fact emphasise the continuity of
the tradition, even though the reason for the tradition has gone. In Ripon, England, a
horn is blown at dusk to signify the setting of the night-watch. Now it is just a small
event for tourists, but in olden days this had real purpose: the town was in open
countryside and could be invaded or attacked by barbarians, and the sounding of the
horn was to set the guard on the town walls and to ensure that the night watchmen,
known as ‘Wakemen’, came on duty. Even this was not thought enough, and because
Ripon was a cathedral city, God was appealed to: ‘If God keep not ye citie, ye wake-
men waketh in vain.’ Put in modern English, if God didn’t look after the town, the
watchmen were wasting their time. Thus, for hundreds of years, this short ceremony
has taken place in Ripon and continues on today, every nightfall. The watch is still
called to the walls by the City Hornblower, although the walls are long gone and the
last watchman long dead.
Modern events may not, in any way, rely on old tradition and established cer-
emony. An example of a contemporary specially created event is the Golden Bear
awards ceremony in Berlin, an event to recognise good film-making. This ‘specially
created’ event is true of all kinds of events; in fact, it is often the case that a town or
city wishing to attract tourists might do so by creating a new special event, containing
a wholly new ceremony, something for the visitors to watch. This can be done for
all kinds of special events, and the creation of new ceremonies and ‘new’ traditions
is very common, although it can be argued that for a special event to have a ‘tradi-
tional’ element in it, that element should have some basis – however tenuous – in
historical reality.

Ambience and service


Of all the characteristics of events, ambience is one of the most important to the
outcome. An event with the right ambience can be a huge success. An event with
the wrong ambience can be a huge failure. At a personal event, such as a birthday
party, the ambience may be simply created by the people who are there, without
the need for anything else – good company amongst friends can make an excellent
event (see Figure 1.4).

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20 Chapter 1 An ­introduction to events

Figure 1.4 Elements in the ambience and service of an event

Integrate Stimulate
and conversation
Prepare socialise
food Recruit
Organise
and drink guests for
games
games
Arrival
Invite Serve Project Involve
of
guests drinks enthusiasm guests
guests

Decorate Play
the music
room Serve Encourage
food dancing

Based on Berkely, 1996, ‘Designing servics with function analysis’, The Hospitality Research Journal, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 73–100

Some events, however, may need a little help to go well. At a birthday party, there
might be the need for decorations, music and games, as well as food and drink. But
it is very important to realise that the presence of these elements does not guarantee
that things will go well: there can be a wonderful environment, expensive themed
decor, large amounts of excellent food and drink and the event can still be a flop. One
of the roles of an events manager is to try and ensure an event succeeds by careful
attention to detail and by trying to encourage the desired outcome. Nevertheless,
people cannot be compelled to enjoy themselves. If they’ve had a bad day, or feel
grumpy, your wonderfully well-organised event might get them in a better mood,
or . . . it might not.

Personal contact and interaction


In manufacturing situations, customers have no contact with the staff or workers
producing the goods, only with perhaps the sales team. In service situations, cus-
tomers have frequent contact with staff, and this often determines the quality or
otherwise of the experience. People attending events are frequently themselves part
of the process. For example, the crowd at a sports tournament is not only watching
the event but is helping to create the atmosphere; it is interacting with itself, with
participants and staff and is part of the whole experience. Much the same is true
of the guests at a Christmas party: it is the guests themselves interacting with each
other, with the hosts and perhaps with entertainers, that creates the atmosphere and
contributes to how enjoyable the event is. A room decorated for a party may look
nice, but will not come to life until it is full of guests.
Therefore, in considering how to make an event successful, event managers must
be fully aware that this is largely dependent on the actions and reactions of people
attending. It is perfectly possible to have the same event twice in a row, such as a
pageant or procession, and one may be a complete success and the other a complete
failure, due to audience reactions, interactions or backgrounds. It is therefore vital
that event planners have a thorough understanding of their attendees.

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Characteristics of events 21

Labour-intensiveness
The more complex and the more unique an event is, the more likely it is to be more
labour-intensive, both in terms of organisation and of operation. The organisational
issue relates to the need for relatively complicated planning to enable the service
delivery to be efficient, or put more simply, for the event to be a good one (this is
why some events may be outsourced to event management companies, caterers or
other types of event suppliers). The uniqueness of this type of service implies a high
level of communication between the organiser or client and the event manager. Such client
a high level of communication and planning will take time and effort, even where The person or
the event may be repeating a well-known formula, or operating within a common organisation pur-
chasing or speci-
framework such as a conference. The operational element may also require high fying an event.
levels of staffing in order to deliver the event properly. A banquet for 300 people
will require not only food service staff, but bar and drinks staff, kitchen staff, man-
agement and perhaps support staff, such as cloakroom attendants, cleaners and staff
to set up and b ­ reak-down the room. Staffing needs are also likely to peak at certain
times. In the case of the banquet, peak staffing will take place at service time, but break-down
a long sequence of preparation and close-down has also to be taken into account. That part of
No two events are likely to require the same number of staff, except insofar as events the close-down
that have an element of routine, such as banquets and conferences, will require a known activities of an
event after load-
number of staff. Managers can forecast staffing needs for these types of events from
out, when the
experience, depending on the number of guests, the types of service, the experience and final jobs of site
quality of the staff, the time required to complete the service and even the layout of clearance and
the building. The labour-intensiveness of special events is rather less predictable, as it dismantling of
depends entirely on the type of event in addition to all the above conditions. An event infrastructure are
taking place.
such as an athletic competition will require a completely different staffing structure to
support it (including competitors, judges, timekeepers, etc.) than a company annual
outing to a theme park. An event manager will have to forecast staffing needs directly
from the requirements of running the event, based on what the organiser specifies as the
event’s objectives and needs, and on the experience and forecasts of departmental leaders.

Fixed timescale
Events, rather like building projects, run to a fixed timescale, unlike routine activities
which can carry on indefinitely. The timescale could be very short, such as for the open-
ing ceremony for a new road, or very long, as with the Paris Exposition noted earlier,
where the planning phase took about three years. Even these are not extremes. Many
special events are actually composed of a sequence of short bursts of activity, with
pauses or breaks in between. Constant ceremony, lasting many hours, might become
dull and tiring. The example of the jubilees shows that while these events lasted several
days, they were composed of several shorter activities of varying lengths, with breaks,
depending on what was going on and why. For those planning special events, this issue
of timing must be kept in mind; for an event to be successful and striking, it will need
to hold people’s attention and interest them, and it is better that this is broken up into
sections than it takes place all at once, without a respite. This is not to say that the
fixed timescale cannot be varied. Some events, such as a birthday party, may carry on
longer than intended because ‘it just happened’, other events may even be extended in
a planned way, for some special reason, e.g. to recover the costs or to deal with extra
demand, or, of course, they may be shortened because of lack of interest.

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22 Chapter 1 An ­introduction to events

Summary

S pecial events have always had a major role to play in human


society. In many respects, modern events are not much different
from those of ancient times, especially in helping to enliven daily life. In
understanding this, we can also see that society has developed and
changed. Increasing public knowledge and technology often mean
higher expectations of modern events. Whatever role events play in
the social context, the management of them can be seen as a service
activity. This context helps us understand how events work, what their
major elements are and how we can classify them.

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References 23

EVALUATION QUESTIONS
1 Give a definition of, and framework for, special 4 Do these categories overlap, and if so, why?
events.
5 Identify some key characteristics of events.
2 Are there other ways we can define Special
6 Are some of these characteristics more import-
Events?
ant than others?
3 Provide a categorisation for special events.

References
Bassett, D. and Dowson, R., (2018) Event Planning Harris, J. (2004) The Tallest Tower: Eiffel and the
and Management, 2nd Edition, London, Kogan Belle Epoch, 2nd Edition, Bloomington, Unlimited,
Page, pp. 1–9. pp. 1–13, 101–112.
Ferdinand, N., Shaw, S.J. and Forsberg, E. in Ferdi- Kamm, A. (2008) The Romans: An Introduction, 2nd
nand, N. and Kitchin, P.J. (eds) (2017) Events Man- Edition, Abingdon, Routledge, pp. 85–92.
agement: an International Approach, 2nd Edition, Plowden, A. (1982) Elizabethan England, London,
London, Sage, pp. 5–34. Reader’s Digest, pp. 10–15.
Gammon, S., in Page, S.J. and Connell, J., (2015), The Robinson, P., Wale, D. and Dickson, G. (2010) Events
Routledge Handbook of Events, New York, Rout- Management, Wallingford, CABI, pp. 4–21.
ledge, pp. 104–118. Swadding, J. (2011) The Ancient Olympic Games,
Getz, D. (2005) Event Management and Event Tour- London, British Museum Press, pp. 5–16.
ism, 2nd Edition, New York, Cognizant, p. 6. Wallechinskey, D. and Loucky, J. (2012) The Com-
Goldblatt, J.J. (2014) Special Events: creating and sus- plete Book of the Olympics, London, Aurum Press,
taining a new world for celebration, 7th Edition, pp. 10–27.
Hoboken, Wiley, p. 390.

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Chapter 2

The market
demand for
events
Aims
• To examine the scope and scale of the events
business

• To consider the determinants of demand for


events

• To illustrate the structure of demand for events

24

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Introduction 25

Introduction
It is very common for individuals and organisations to wish to quantify things – we
like to be able to say that a particular industry or its market is a particular size.
There are several reasons why statistical measurement of events activity might be
considered useful. First, data are required from which we can evaluate the signifi-
cance of events to a particular location, whether that is a town, city or some other
geographical region. In this respect data helps quantify the role that events play in
the economy and in society. Second, data are essential to the planning of facilities
and services. This has been shown in the construction of special sporting facilities,
for example, but also for the development of tourism and other community facilities.
Third, data collection is particularly needed by organisations and stakeholders in the
events business, by government departments and by individual event organisers for
the marketing and promotion of events, for the prediction of feasibility, demand and
for statistical comparisons (Yeoman et al., 2012).
There is a feeling that an expansion of events activity is taking place, and this is
reflected in the increasingly rapid development of specialist events management com-
panies and related service providers. There may be a number of reasons for this. In
Europe, increased wealth (and the associated benefits of disposable and discretionary
income) and many years of peace in the industrialised countries have strengthened
the inclination to travel, to experience new ideas and to enjoy recreational activities.
This, coupled with an active awareness of traditions, has seen an increase and in some
cases a reinvention of many kinds of events, especially in the cultural field (Beech
et al., 2014) (such as opera at Glyndebourne and film at Deauville). While this is true
culturally, it is also true of the commercial, sporting and personal fields, for much the
same reasons. As demand has grown, so too have the mechanisms to supply services
to satisfy it, hence the reason for major international organisations and companies
taking an interest in event activities. (Cause and effect can be argued here: is the
increase in the number of organisations providing events services entirely due to
demand, or has the potential demand been suppressed because of lack of available
services?) Nevertheless, many of these general demand factors are not apparent to the
organisers of individual events, who are probably more interested in the individual
motives of participants and visitors, to ensure their event is a success.
Whereas demand for a routinely manufactured product is known and largely pre-
dictable, demand for any given event is less easy to predict. This is partly an issue
of participants’ motives to attend an event, but also because demand might be sup-
pressed by factors not immediately obvious to organisers (such as lack of disposable
income for the target market group at a particular time of year). This leads to some
unpredictability. Latent demand may also be significant. For example, the demand
expansion for Eurostar services through the Channel Tunnel significantly exceeded the
expected demand, because it tapped latent (hidden) demand: there were always going
to be people who wanted to travel between Britain and mainland Europe with ease, in
speed and in moderate comfort, without having to bother with a ferry crossing. This
latent demand turned out to be very large indeed. Similar demand aspects may be at
work in the events business – who knows how successful an event might be if demand
is hidden or latent? This leads to the need for adequate market research, analysis and
assessment as a tool in our understanding of how to promote and market events in
the light of our knowledge about the market itself and its demand for events, or for a
particular type of event or even a specific event (Masterman and Wood, 2015).

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26 Chapter 2 The market demand for events

Size and scope of the events market


The events market is so diverse and fragmented that it is problematic to say what the
business is worth as a whole in terms of the European Union. In fact, to attempt to
quantify it may be a particularly difficult and pointless exercise. Although such a quan-
tification might be seen as a challenge by some academics and researchers, the nature
of the business and the limitations of data availability have to be appreciated. Imagine
trying to accumulate data for attendance at carnivals in every single European town and
city, that and in the knowledge that you can often only count ticketed numbers or direct
participants: you can’t really count people just watching your parade going past and
waving happily at you, or wandering through your Christmas Market casually brows-
ing. We might, maybe, make a ‘best guess’ and often research isn’t quite clear enough
that some of their figures are estimates and what ‘estimate’ really means. Studies and
reports do exist for certain countries and some event data are collected internationally.
Examples of reports can be found on industry websites, such as the Business Visits
and Event Partnership (BVEP), whose website provides a number of fairly recent ones.
The student of events management would therefore be best advised to steer clear
of this problem; indeed, even the serious researcher should not regard an assessment
of the total value of the market to be a particularly viable exercise given the lim-
itations of suitable and comparative frameworks. (Although, as better quantitative
information becomes available this position may change.) How, then, can we seek to
address the issue of the scope and scale of the events business? This can be done to
some extent by breaking the business down into small components. We can then say
that a certain part of the business is worth a given amount of money, has a certain
number of participants or has a particular impact. We could take a geographical
region and ask, ‘Can we quantify this type of event in this area?’ In some cases, this
is possible. For example, the total wedding business in a country such as the UK is
thought to be worth some €2.3 billion. This is based on the known number of wed-
dings (which are recorded officially) and an estimate of the average cost of having a
wedding. A similar kind of exercise could probably be done on a European scale, thus
giving us a notional figure for the European wedding market. For some categories
or types of events (such as the European Grands Prix) estimates have been made on
a European scale. At a local level there are ‘toolkits’ available for event organisers
to estimate the economic or social impact of their event (Getz and Page, 2016), such
as that assessed by Jackson et al. (2005). Many event and arts organisations publish
evaluation toolkits which you can view online; an example is the Arts Victoria web-
site: creative.vic.gov.au/ under community project evaluation.
In building up a picture of event activity we are, in effect, ‘building a wall’. At pres-
ent all we have are several bricks, from widely different sources, and not much by way
of foundations. As the events industry is not typically seen as a homogenous whole,
there has been no drive to seek common statistical information, either by the industry
or by other users of statistical data, such as governments. In the range of events ­activity,
the nature of personal events, voluntary events and similar activities means that almost
no data are collected for many kinds of events, except by occasional sampling, or per-
haps by the event organisers for their own use or for a few household surveys. Even
where events are organisational or commercial in nature, the extent of data collection
is very limited indeed and often particular to that event alone. There is no common
format even for the collection of attendance data, nor, in the foreseeable future, is there
likely to be (although some countries, such as Germany, do require certain types of

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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Size and scope of the events market 27

CASE STUDY 5

The size and scope of events 2018: the economic impact study of
Edinburgh’s festivals

SergeBertasiusPhotography/Shutterstock

Edinburgh, Scotland Fireworks at the Edinburgh Festival


FACTBOX

• 17 festivals a year in Edinburgh

• Attendance ranges from 400 people to 1.5 million

• The festivals attract over three million people to Edinburgh

• Around €150 million generated by the festivals

• Major local and regional impacts

Learning Objectives

The aim of this case study is to examine the way in which we can assess the economic impacts of
an event with the following objectives:
• To consider the way in which the economic impact was studied in the Edinburgh examples.
• To highlight the way in which information was collected and used and so how this could be
achieved for other events.
• To understand what sources of information might be available for the collection of data.

A n early study of the economic impact of the


various festivals taking place in Edinburgh
was undertaken by SQW Economic Development
similar type, though other models exist and a com-
parison of four such models (including the Edin-
burgh study) was undertaken by Alexandros Vrettos
Consultants and TNS Travel and Tourism in 2005. of the ­University of Maastricht in 2006. These types
The study provided a framework for studies of a of ­studies continue to evolve and increasingly take

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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
single specimens of Ovulites have a length of 2–6 mm. At each end
there is usually a fairly large and somewhat irregular hole (fig. 35, F),
and in some rarer cases there may be two apertures at the broader
end of an Ovulite. A good example of Ovulites margaritula with two
pores at the broader end is figured by Michelin[289]. The surface of
the shell when seen under a low magnifying power appears to be
covered over with regularly arranged circular pores, which are the
external openings of fine canals (fig. 33, L).
In 1878 Munier-Chalmas expressed the opinion, which was
supported by strong evidence, that Ovulites should be referred to the
siphoneous algae[290]. He regarded it as generically identical with
Penicillus (Coralliodendron, Kützing). It has already been pointed out
that in Penicillus the apical tuft of filaments is partially calcareous
(fig. 33, O)[291]. The individual calcareous segments agree almost
exactly with the fossil Ovulites. As a rule the Ovulites occur as
separate egg- or rod-like bodies, but Munier-Chalmas informs me
that occasionally two or three have been found joined end to end in
their natural position. The terminal holes in the fossil specimens
represent the apertures left after the detachment of the calcareous
segments from the uncalcified filaments of the alga. The segments
with two holes at the broader end were no doubt situated at the base
of dichotomising branches as shown in fig. 33, K. The restoration of
Ovulites, shown in fig. 33, K, bears a striking resemblance to the
figure of an Australian Penicillus given by Harvey in his Phycologia
Australica[292].
It is probable that these Eocene forms agreed closely in habit with
the recent species of Penicillus. The portions preserved as fossils
are segments of the filaments which probably formed a terminal
brush of fine branches supported on a stem. The retention of the
original generic name Ovulites is on the whole better than the
inclusion of the fossil species in the recent genus. The Tertiary
species lived in warm seas of the Lower and Middle Eocene of
England, Belgium, France and Italy.

Halimeda.
An example of an Eocene species of Halimeda has been recorded
by Fuchs from Greifenstein under the name of Halimeda
Saportae[293]. The impression has the form of a branched plant
consisting of wedge-shaped or oval segments, and there is a close
resemblance to the thallus of a recent Halimeda, e.g. H. gracilis
Harv. It is not improbable that Fuchs’ determination is correct, but
without more definite evidence than is afforded by a mere impression
it is a little rash to make use of the recent generic name.

γ. Dasycladaceae.
In this family of Siphoneae are included a number of genera
represented by species living in tropical and subtropical seas.
The thallus consists of an elongated axial cell fixed to the
substratum by basal rhizoids, and bearing whorls of lateral
appendages of limited growth which may be either simple or
branched. Many of the lateral branches bear sporangia or spores.
The thallus is in many species encrusted with carbonate of lime.
The two genera Acetabularia and Cymopolia may be briefly
described as recent types which are represented by trustworthy
fossil forms.
Fig. 34. Acetabularia mediterranea Lamx. From a specimen in the
Cambridge Botanical Museum (nat. size).

Acetabularia. Figs. 33, I, and 34.


With the exception of A. mediterranea Lamx. (fig. 34) the few living
species of this genus are confined to tropical seas.
The habit of Acetabularia is well illustrated by the photograph of a
cluster of plants of A. mediterranea Lamx.[294] reproduced in fig. 34.
The thallus consists of a delicate stalk attached to the substratum by
a tuft of basal holdfasts, and expanded distally into a small circular
disc 10–12 mm. in diameter and more or less concave above. This
terminal cap is made up of a number of laterally fused appendages
given off from the upper part of the stalk in the form of a crowded
whorl. The whole thallus resembles a small and long-stalked
calcareous fungus. In each radially elongated compartment of the
fertile cap (fig. 33, I) there are several sporangia (gametangia)
developed; these eventually open and produce numerous ciliated
gametes which give rise to zygospores by conjugation. Fig. 33, I,
represents the cap of an Acetabularia in radial section and surface-
view; the two radial compartments seen in section contain the
elliptical gametangia; the circular markings at the base of the figure
are scars of sterile deciduous branches.
The whole plant is unicellular, each chamber in the disc being in
open communication with the stem of the plant.

Acicularia. Fig. 33, C–H.


In a recent monograph on the Acetabularieae, Solms-Laubach[295]
has described a new type of these algae which is of special
importance from the point of view of the past history of the family.
Möbius described an example of Acetabularia in 1889 under the
name A. Schencki; this species has since been placed in D’Archiac’s
genus Acicularia[296]. Acicularia Schencki[297] bears a close
resemblance as regards external form to Acetabularia mediterranea.
In the latter species the walls of the terminal disc compartments are
calcified, and the cavity of each of the laterally fused members
contains numerous free spores; in Acicularia, the cavity of each disc-
ray is occupied by a calcareous substance in the form of a spicule
containing numerous cavities in each of which is a single
sporangium. A single spicule is seen in fig. 33, H, showing the
spherical pockets in which the sporangia were originally situated.
This species, Acicularia Schencki, has been recorded from
Martinique, Guadeloupe, Brazil, and a few other places.
The genus Acicularia was founded by D’Archiac for certain minute
calcareous spicules found in the Eocene sands (Calcaire Grossier)
of the Paris basin. D’Archiac describes one species, Acicularia
pavantina, which he defines as follows:—“Polypier aciculaire, élargi,
et légèrement comprimé à sa partie supérieure, qui est échancrée
au milieu. Surface couverte de petits pores simples, nombreux,
disposés irrégulièrement[298].” The same species is figured also in
Michelin’s Iconographie Zoophytologique, and described as an
organism of which the exact zoological position is uncertain[299]. After
these fossils had been placed in various divisions of the animal
kingdom, Carpenter[300] described several specimens as portions of
foraminifera. Finally, Munier-Chalmas removed Acicularia to the
plant kingdom, and “with rare divination” placed the genus among
the Acetabularieae. The history of our knowledge of the true nature
of Acicularia is of unusual interest. Some of the specimens of this
genus figured in Carpenter’s monograph have the form of imperfect
long and narrow bodies tapering to a point at one end and broad at
the other (fig. 33, F and G); they are joined together laterally and
pitted with numerous small cavities. From the resemblance of such
specimens to a fragment of the terminal fertile disc of the recent
Acetabularias, Munier-Chalmas referred the fossils to this type of
algae. In the living species which were then known the radiating
chambers of the disc contained loose sporangia, without any
calcareous matrix filling the cavity of the chambers. In the fossil
Acicularias, on the other hand, the manner of preservation of the
pitted calcareous spicules pointed to the occurrence of sporangia
embedded in cavities in a calcareous matrix. Subsequent to Munier-
Chalmas’ somewhat daring conclusions as to the relation of
Acicularia to Acetabularia, Solms-Laubach found that the species
originally described by Möbius as Acetabularia Schencki from
Guadeloupe presented exactly those characters in which the fossil
specimens differ from Acetabularia. The genus Acicularia formerly
restricted to fossil species is now applied also to this single living
species Acicularia Schencki.
The genus is thus defined by Solms-Laubach:—
“Discus fertilis terminalis e radiis inter se conjunctis formatus, coronis et inferiore et
superiore praeditis, sporae massa mucosa calce incrustata coalitae, pro radio spiculam
solidam cuneatam formantes[301].”

As Solms-Laubach points out in his recent monograph, Munier-


Chalmas’ conjecture, “which had little to support it in the fossil
material, has been more recently proved true in the most brilliant
fashion by the discovery of a living species of this genus.”
• • • • •
1. Acicularia Andrussowi Solms[302]. Fig. 33, C and D. This species
was first described by Andrussow[303] as Acetabularia miocenica from
the Crimea. It occurs in Miocene rocks south of Sevastopol, and,
with Ostrea and Pecten, forms masses of white limestone.
In each sporangial ray of the disc the cavity contains a calcareous
spicula bearing spore cavities in four rows. “Round each spore-cavity
there is a circular zone which stands out, when viewed in reflected
light, through its white colour against the central mass of the spicule,
though a sharp contour is not visible[304].” Fig. 33, C, is taken from a
somewhat diagrammatic sketch by Andrussow; it shows ten of the
fertile rays of the disc. The thick walls of the chambers are seen in
the two lowest rays, and in the next two rays the spore-cavities are
represented. A more accurate drawing, from Solms-Laubach’s
memoir, is reproduced in fig. 33, D. The calcareous spicule with
numerous spore-cavities shown in fig. 33, H, is from a fertile ray of
the recent species Acicularia Schencki. This corresponds to the
spore-containing calcareous matrix in each ray of the disc of
Acicularia Andrussowi Solms. The spicule copied in fig. 33, F from
one of Carpenter’s drawings[305] of an Eocene specimen bears the
closest resemblance to the recent spicule of fig. 33, H, and
emphasizes the very close relationship between the fossil forms and
the single rare tropical species.
2. Acicularia miocenica Reuss. Another Tertiary species has been
described under this name by Reuss[306] from the Miocene of the
Vienna district, from the Leithakalk of Moravia and elsewhere. It
agrees very closely with the recent species A. Schencki. A section of
one of the spicules of this species is shown in fig. 33, E; the dark
patches represent the pockets in the calcareous spicule which were
originally occupied by sporangia and spores.

Cymopolia. Fig. 33, A, B, M and N.


The genus Cymopolia is at present represented by two species, C.
barbata (L.) and C. mexicana, Ag., living in the Gulf of Mexico and
off the Canary Islands.
Cymopolia and Acetabularia, with several other calcareous algae,
are figured by Ellis and other writers as members of the animal
kingdom. Ellis speaks of the species of Cymopolia which he figures
as the Rosary Bead-Coralline of Jamaica.
Fig. 33, M, has been drawn from a figure published by Ellis in his
Natural History of the Corallines published in 1755[307]. The thallus
has the form of a repeatedly forked body, of which the branches are
divided into cylindrical joints thickly encrusted with carbonate of lime,
but constricted and uncalcified at the limits of each segment. A tuft of
hairs is given off from the terminal segment of each branch. The axis
of each branch of the thallus is occupied by a cylindrical and
unseptate cell which gives off crowded whorls of lateral branches. In
the lower part of fig. 33, M, the calcareous investment has been
removed, and the branches are seen as fine hair-like appendages of
the central cell. The branches given off from the constricted portions
of the axis are unbranched simple appendages, but the others
terminate in bladder-like swellings, each of which bears an apical
sporangium. The sporangia are surrounded and enclosed by the
swollen tips of four to six branches which spring from the summit of
the sporangial branch. Fig. 33, A, represents part of a transverse
section through the calcareous outer portion of a branch of
Cymopolia; the darker portions or cavities in the calcareous matrix
were originally occupied by the lateral branches and sporangia[308].
In Fig. 33, B, the sporangial branch with the terminal sporangium
and three of the investing branches are more clearly shown, the
surrounding calcareous investment and the thallus having been
removed by the action of an acid.
In a transverse section of a branch from which the organic matter
had been removed, and only the calcareous matrix left, one would
see a central circular cavity surrounded by a thick calcareous wall
perforated by radially disposed canals and containing globular
cavities; the canals and cavities being occupied in the living plant by
branches and sporangia respectively.
The two circular cavities shown in the figure mark the position of
the sporangia which are borne on branches with somewhat swollen
tips. From the summit the left-hand sporangial branch shown in fig.
33, A, three of the secondary branches are represented by channels
in the calcareous matrix; the two black dots on the face of the
sporangiophore being the scars of the remaining two secondary
branches.
By the lateral contact of the swollen ends of the ultimate branches
enclosing the sporangia the whole surface of the thallus, when
examined with a lens, presents a pitted appearance. Each pit or
circular depression (fig. 33, N) marks the position of the swollen tip
of a branch.
This form of thallus represents a type which is met with in several
members of the Dasycladaceae. It would carry us beyond the limits
of a short account to describe additional recent genera which throw
light on the numerous fossil species. For further information as to the
recent members of the family, the student should refer to Murray’s
Seaweeds[309], and for a more detailed memoir on the group to
Wille’s recent contribution to the Pflanzenfamilien[310] of Engler and
Prantl. Among the various special contributions to our knowledge of
the Dasycladaceae, those by Munier-Chalmas[311], Cramer[312],
Solms-Laubach[313], and Church[314], may be mentioned.
PALAEOZOIC SIPHONEAE.

The publication of a short preliminary note by Prof. Munier-


Chalmas in the Comptes Rendus for 1877 was the means of calling
attention to the exceptional importance of the calcareous Siphoneae
as algae possessing an interesting past history, of which satisfactory
records had been preserved in rocks of various ages. Decaisne had
pointed out in 1842 that certain marine organisms previously
regarded as animals should be transferred to the plant kingdom.
Such seaweeds as Halimeda, Udotea, Penicillus and others were
thus assigned to their correct position. Many fossil algae belonging
to this group continued to be dealt with as Foraminifera until Munier-
Chalmas demonstrated their true affinities. In Gümbel’s monograph
on the so-called Nullipores found in limestone rocks, published in
1871[315], several examples of siphoneous algae are included among
the fossil Protozoa.
In recent years there have been several additions to an already
long list of fossil Siphoneae. In addition to the numerous and well-
preserved specimens, representing a large number of generic and
specific forms, which have been collected from the Eocene of the
Paris basin, there is plenty of evidence of the abundance of the
members of the Dasycladaceae in the Triassic seas. In the Triassic
limestones of the Tyrol, as well as in other regions, the calcareous
bodies of siphoneous algae have played no inconsiderable part as
agents of rock-building[316]. Genera have been recorded from Silurian
and other Palaeozoic horizons, and there is no doubt that the
Verticillate Siphoneae of to-day are the remnants of an extremely
ancient family, which in former periods was represented by a much
more widely distributed and more varied assemblage of species.
There is probably no more promising field of work in the domain of
fossil algae than the further investigation of the numerous forms
included in Munier-Chalmas’ class of Siphoneae Verticillatae. A brief
description of a few genera from different geological horizons must
suffice to draw attention to the character of the data for a
phylogenetic history of this group.
The fossil examples of the genus Cymopolia (Polytrypa) were
originally described by Defrance[317] in the Dictionnaire des Sciences
Naturelles as small polyps under the generic name Polytrypa.
In the Eocene sands of the Paris basin there have been found
numerous specimens of short, calcareous tubes which Munier-
Chalmas has shewn are no doubt the isolated segments of an alga
practically identical with the recent Cymopolia. A section[318] through
one of the fossil segments presents precisely the same features as
those which are represented in fig. 33, A. The habit of the Eocene
alga and its minute structure were apparently almost identical with
those of the recent species, Cymopolia barbata. The two drawings of
Cymopolia reproduced in fig. 33, A and B, have been copied from
Munier-Chalmas’ note in the Comptes Rendus[319]; the corresponding
figures given by this author of the Eocene species (Cymopolia
elongata Deb.) are practically identical with figs. A and B, and show
no points of real difference. The segments of the thallus of the fossil
species, as figured by Defrance[320], appear to be rather longer than
those of the recent species. The calcareous investment of the axial
cell of the thallus was traversed by regular verticils of branches or
‘leaves’; the central branch of each whorl terminates in an oval
sporangial cavity, exactly as in fig. 33, A and B; and from the top of
this branch there is given off a ring of slender prolongations which
terminate on the surface of the calcareous tube as regularly
disposed depressions, which were no doubt originally occupied by
their swollen distal ends as in the recent species.
Vermiporella.
This generic name was proposed by Stolley for certain branched
and curved tubes found in Silurian boulders from the North German
drift[321]. The tubes have a diameter of ·5–1 mm., and are perforated
by radial canals which probably mark the position of verticils of
branches given off at right angles to the central axis. The surface of
the tubes is divided into regular hexagonal areas.
The resemblance of these Silurian fossils to Diplopora and other
genera favours their inclusion in the Verticillate Siphoneae.

Sycidium. Fig. 32, B.


The fossils included in this genus were first described by
Sandberger from the middle Devonian rocks of the Eifel, and
referred by him to the animal kingdom. More recently Deecke has
suggested the removal of the genus to the calcareous Siphoneae,
and such a view appears perfectly reasonable, although without
more data it is not possible to speak with absolute certainty.
Sycidium melo. (Sandb.) Fig. 32, B. The specimen represented in
fig. 32, B (i), (ii), drawn from Deecke’s figures[322], has the form of a
small oval calcareous body, 1 mm. in transverse diameter and 1–1·3
mm. in longitudinal diameter. It is pointed at one end and flattened at
the other. At the flatter end there is a circular depression, continued
into a funnel-shaped cavity, and on the walls of this cavity there are
18–20 radially disposed ribs, which extend over the surface of the
whole body. A series of transverse ribs intersects the vertical ribs at
right angles. The calcareous wall is perforated by numerous whorls
of circular pores, and the internal cavity is a simple undivided space.
Each of these oval bodies (fig. 33, B) is probably the segment of a
thallus, and the perforations in the wall may have been originally
occupied by lateral prolongations from the unseptate axial cell of the
thallus. Sycidium bears a fairly close resemblance to the Tertiary
Ovulites.

Diplopora. Fig. 35, A and B.


This genus of algae is characteristic of Triassic rocks, and is
especially abundant in Muschelkalk and Lower Keuper limestones of
the Alps, Silesia, and elsewhere. The thallus, or rather the
calcareous portion of the thallus, has the form of a thick-walled tube,
with a diameter of about 4 mm., and occasionally reaching a length
of 50 mm. At one end the tube has a rounded and closed
termination, and the wall is pierced throughout its whole length by
regular whorls of fine canals. Diplopora agrees with Cymopolia in its
main features.

Fig. 35. A, B, Diplopora. × 2. C, D, Gyroporella (after Benecke. × 4). E,


Calcareous segments of Penicillus, from a specimen in the British
Museum. × 5. F, a single segment of Ovulites margaritula Lam. × 4. G,
Confervites chantransioides Born. (after Bornemann. × 150).
Fig. 35, A, affords a diagrammatic view of a Diplopora tube, and
shews the arrangement of the numerous whorls of canals. In fig. 35,
B, a piece of limestone is represented containing several Diploporas
cut across transversely and more or less obliquely. In an obliquely
transverse section of a tube perforated by horizontal canals the
cavities of the canals necessarily appear as holes or discontinuous
canals in the substance of the calcareous wall. The manner of
occurrence of the specimens points to the abundance of this genus
in the Triassic seas, and suggests that the calcareous tubes of
Diplopora may have been important factors in the building up of
limestone sediments[323]. In many instances no doubt the carbonate
of lime of the thallus has been dissolved and recrystallised, and the
original form completely obliterated. As in the rocks built up largely of
calcareous Florideae (p. 185) which have lost their structure, it is a
legitimate inference that some of the limestone rocks which shew no
trace of organic structure may have been in part derived from the
calcareous incrustation of various algal genera.

Gyroporella. Fig. 35, C and D.


In this genus from the Alpine Trias the structure of the calcareous
tube is very similar to that in Diplopora, but in Gyroporella the canals
form less distinct whorls and are closed externally by a small plate,
as seen in figs. 35, C and D.
As Solms-Laubach has pointed out, the branch-systems of
Diplopora, Gyroporella and other older genera are much simpler
than in the Tertiary genera Dactylopora and others[324].
A species of Gyroporella, G. bellerophontis, has recently been
described by Rothpletz[325] from Permian rocks in the Southern Tyrol.
The thallus is tubular in form and has a diameter of ·5–1 mm.

Dactylopora.
The genus Dactylopora was founded by Lamarck[326] on some
fossil specimens from the Calcaire Grossier and included among the
Zoophytes. D’Orbigny afterwards included it among the
Foraminifera, and the structure of the calcareous body has been
described by Carpenter[327] and other writers on the Foraminifera. In
a specimen of Dactylopora cylindracea Lam. from the Paris basin,
for which I am indebted to Munier-Chalmas, the tubular thallus
measures 4 mm. in diameter; at the complete end it is closed and
bluntly rounded. The wall of the tube is perforated by numerous
canals, and contains oval cavities which were no doubt originally
occupied by sporangia. The shape of the specimens is similar to that
of Diplopora, but the canals and cavities present a characteristic and
more complex appearance, when seen in a transverse section of the
wall, than in the older genus Diplopora. Gümbel has given a detailed
account of this Tertiary genus in his memoir on Die sogenannten
Nulliporen[328]; he distinguishes between Dactyloporella and
Gyroporella by the existence of cavities in the calcareous wall of the
tube in the former genus, and by their absence in the latter. The oval
cavities in a Dactyloporella were originally occupied by sporangia; in
Diplopora and Gyroporella the sporangia were probably borne
externally and on an uncalcified portion of the thallus.
• • • • •
In addition to the few examples of fossil species described above
there are numerous others of considerable interest, which illustrate
the great wealth of form among the Tertiary and other
representatives of the Verticillate Siphoneae.
Reference has already been made to Vermiporella as an example
of a Silurian genus. Other genera have been described by Stolley
from Silurian boulders in the North-German drift under the names
Palaeoporella, Dasyporella and Rhabdoporella[329]; the latter genus is
compared with the Triassic Diplopora, and the two preceding with the
recent Bornetella.
Schlüter has transferred a supposed Devonian Foraminiferal
genus, Coelotrochium[330], to the list of Palaeozoic Siphoneae.
Munier-Chalmas regards some of the fossils described by Saporta
under the name of Goniolina[331], and classed among the
inflorescences of pro-angiospermous plants, as examples of
Jurassic Siphoneae. The shape and surface-features of some of the
examples of Goniolina suggest a comparison with Echinoid spines,
but the resemblance which many of the forms in the Sorbonne
collection present to large calcareous Siphoneae is still more
striking. A comparison of Saporta’s fig. 5, Pl. xxxiii. and fig. 4, Pl.
xxxii. in volume iv. of the Flore Jurassique, with the figures given by
Solms-Laubach[332] and Cramer[333] of species of Bornetella brings
out a close similarity between Goniolina and recent algae; the chief
difference being the greater size of the fossil forms. The possibility of
confounding Echinoid spines with calcareous Siphoneae is illustrated
by Rothpletz[334], who has expressed the opinion that Gümbel’s
Haploporella fasciculata is not an alga but the spine of a sea-urchin.
Among Cretaceous forms, in addition to Goniolina, which passes
upwards from Jurassic rocks, Triploporella[335] and other genera have
been recorded.
Uteria[336] is an interesting type of Tertiary genera; it occurs in the
form of barrel-shaped rings, which are probably the detached
segments of a form in which the central axial cell was encrusted with
carbonate of lime, but the sporangia and the whorls of branches
differed from those of Cymopolia in being without a calcareous
investment.

b. Confervoideae.
Without attempting to describe at length the fossil forms referred to
this division of the Chlorophyceae, there is one fossil which deserves
a passing notice. Brongniart in 1828[337] instituted the generic term
Confervites for filamentous fossils resembling recent species of
confervoid algae. Numerous fossils have been referred to this genus
by different authors, but they are for the most part valueless and
need not be further considered. In 1887 Bornemann described some
new forms which he referred to this genus from the Cambrian rocks
of Sardinia. He describes the red marble of San Pietra, near Masne,
as being in places full of the delicate remains of algae having the
form of branched filaments, and appearing in sections of the rock as
white lines on a dark crystalline matrix. In fig. 35, G, one of these
Sardinian specimens is represented. This form is named Confervites
Chantransioides[338]; the thallus consists of branched cell-filaments,
having a breadth of 6–7µ, and composed of ovate cells. It is possible
that this is a fragment of a Cambrian alga, but the figures and
descriptions do not afford by any means convincing evidence. From
post-Tertiary beds various genera, such as Vaucheria and others,
have been recorded, but they possess but little botanical value.

C. INCERTAE SEDIS.
Fossils in Boghead ‘Coal’ referred by some authors to the
Chlorophyceae.
During the last few years much has been written by two French
authors, Dr Renault and Prof. Bertrand, on the subject of the so-
called Boghead of France, Scotland, and other countries. They hold
the view that the formation of the extensive beds of this
carbonaceous material was due to the accumulation and
preservation of enormous numbers of minute algae which lived in
Permo-Carboniferous lakes.
In an article contributed to Science-Progress in 1895 I ventured to
express doubts as to the correctness of the conclusions of MM.
Renault and Bertrand[339]. Since then Prof. Bertrand has very kindly
demonstrated to me many of his microscopic preparations of various
Bogheads, and I am indebted to Prof. Bayley Balfour of Edinburgh
for an opportunity of examining a series of sections of the Scotch
Boghead. The examination of these specimens has convinced me of
the difficulties of the problems which many investigators have tried to
solve, but it has by no means led me to entirely adopt the views
expressed by MM. Bertrand and Renault.
BOGHEAD.

The Boghead or Torbanite of Scotland was rendered famous by a


protracted lawsuit tried in Edinburgh from July 29th to August 4th,
1853. A lease had been granted by Mr and Mrs Gillespie, of
Torbanehill, in Fifeshire, to Messrs James Russell and Son, coal-
masters of Falkirk, of “the whole coal, ironstone, iron-ore, limestone,
and fire-clay (but not to comprehend copper, or any other minerals
whatsoever, except those specified) with lands of Torbanehill[340].”
After the Boghead had been worked for two years the Gillespies
challenged the right of Messrs Russell, and argued that the valuable
mineral Torbanite was not included among the substances named in
the agreement. The defendants maintained that it was a coal, known
as gas-, cannel- or parrot-coal. A verdict was given for the
defendants. Some of the scientific experts who gave evidence at the
trial considered that the Boghead afforded indications of organic
structure, while others regarded it as essentially mineral in origin.
The Torbanite or Boghead is a close-grained brown rock, of
peculiar toughness and having a subconchoidal fracture. It contains
about 65% carbon, with some hydrogen, oxygen, sulphur, and
mineral substances. A thin section examined under the microscope
presents the appearance of a dark and amorphous matrix,
containing numerous oval, spherical and irregularly shaped bright
orange-yellow patches. Fig. 36, 1 shows the manner of occurrence
of the yellow bodies in a piece of Scotch Boghead, as seen in a
slightly magnified horizontal section. Under a higher power the light
patches in the figure reveal traces of a faint radial striation, which in
some cases suggests the occurrence of a number of oval or
polygonal cells.
The Autun Boghead possesses practically the same structure. The
yellow bodies are often sufficiently abundant to impart a bright yellow
colour to a thin section. If the section is vertical the coloured bodies
are seen to be arranged in more or less regular layers parallel to the
plane of bedding.
The Kerosene shale of New South Wales agrees closely with the
Scotch and French Boghead; it is approximately of the same
geological age, and is largely made up of orange or yellow bodies
similar to those of the European Boghead, but much more clearly
preserved.
The nature and manner of formation of the various forms of coal
should be dealt with in a later chapter devoted to the subject of
plants as rock-builders, but in view of the recent statements as to the
algal nature of these bituminous deposits it may not be out of place
to state briefly the main conclusions of the French authors.
MM. Renault and Bertrand regard each of the yellow bodies in the
European and Australian Boghead as the thallus of an alga. To the
form which is most abundant in the Kerosene shale they have given
the generic name of Reinschia, while that in the Scotch and French
Boghead is named Pila.

Reinschia. Fig. 36, 3.


A section of a piece of Kerosene shale at right angles to the
bedding appears to be made up of fairly regular layers of flattened
elliptical sacs of an orange or yellow colour. Each sac or thallus is
about 300µ in length and 150µ broad (fig. 36, 3). A single row of
cells constitutes the wall surrounding the central globular cavity. The
cells are more or less pyriform in shape, and the cell-cavities are
filled with a dark substance, described by Renault and Bertrand as
protoplasm, and the cell-walls are fairly thick. In some of the larger
specimens there are often found a few smaller sacs enclosed in the
cavity of the partially disorganised mother-thallus. In the larger
specimens the wall is usually invaginated in several places, giving
the whole thallus a lobed or brain-like appearance. The supposed
alga, which makes up ⁹⁄₁₀ths of the contents of a block of Kerosene
shale, is named Reinschia Australis; it is regarded by the authors of
the species as nearly related to the Hydrodictyaceae or Volvocineae.
Fig. 36, 1. Section of a piece of Scotch Torbanite. Slightly enlarged. 2. Pila
bibractensis from the Autun Boghead, × 282 (after Bertrand). 3.
Reinschia Australis, from the Kerosene shale of New South Wales, ×
592 (after Bertrand).
In the Kerosene shale from certain localities in New South Wales
Bertrand recognises a second form of thallus, which he refers to the
genus Pila, characteristic of the European Bogheads.

Pila. Fig. 36, 2.


The “thallus” characteristic of the Scotch Boghead has been
named Pila scotica, and that of the Autun Boghead, Pila
bibractensis.
In the latter form, which has been studied in more detail by MM.
Renault and Bertrand, the thallus consists of about 6–700 cells, and
is irregularly ellipsoidal in form, from ·189–·225mm. in length, and
·136–·160mm. broad. The surface-cells are radially disposed and
pyramidal in shape, the internal cells are polygonal in outline and
less regularly arranged (fig. 36, 2). The Pila thalli make up ¾ths of
the mass in an average sample of the Autun Boghead. The Autun
Boghead often contains siliceous nodules, and sections of these
occasionally include cells of a Pila in which the protoplasmic
contents and nuclei have been described by the French authors. The
evidence for the existence of these supposed nuclei is, however, not
entirely satisfactory; sections of silicified thalli which were shown to
me by Prof. Bertrand did not satisfy me as to the minute histological
details recognised by Bertrand and Renault.
The species of Pila are compared with the recent genus
Celastrum, and regarded as most nearly allied to the
Chroococcaceae or Pleurococcaceae among recent algae. Prof.
Bornet[341] has suggested Gomphosphaeria as a genus which
presents a resemblance to the Autun Pila.
In addition to the Bogheads of Autun, Torbanehill, and New South
Wales, there are similar Palaeozoic deposits in Russia, America, and
various other parts of the world. Full details of the structure of
Boghead and the supposed algae referred to Reinschia, Pila, and
other genera will be found in the writings of Bertrand and Renault[342].
The Kerosene shale of New South Wales affords the most striking
and well-preserved examples of the cellular orange and yellow
bodies referred to as the globular thalli of algae. It is almost
impossible to conceive a purely inorganic material assuming such
forms as those which occur in the Australian Boghead. On the other
hand, it is hardly less easy to understand the possibility of such
explanations as have been suggested of the organic origin of these
characteristic bodies.
The ground-mass or matrix of the Boghead is referred to a brown
ulmic precipitate thrown down on the floor of a Permian or
Carboniferous lake, probably under the action of calcareous water. In
this material there accumulated countless thalli of minute gelatinous
algae, which probably at certain seasons completely covered the
surface of the waters, as the fleurs d’eau in many of our fresh-water
lakes. In addition to the thalli of Reinschia and Pila the Bogheads
contain a few remains of various plant fragments, pollen-grains, and
pieces of wood. Fish-scales and the coprolites of reptiles and fishes
occur in some of the beds. On a piece of Kerosene shale in the
Woodwardian Museum, Cambridge, there are two well-preserved
graphitic impressions of the tongue-shaped fronds of Glossopteris
Browniana, Brongn. There can be little doubt that the beds of

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