Carmen VÁZQUEZ-VARELA, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Spain
A festival can perform different functions or roles, sometimes even simultaneously. An analysis of the literature and existing policies suggests that a festival can serve as a showcase, a creative destination and an attraction for visitors. Supporting a festival often means supporting a stagnating town and the companies based there. In this vein, festivals become a part of the restructuring strategies introduced, for example in post-industrial areas or lagging rural territories, called culture-led regeneration strategies. When connected to a certain location, a festival provides the town with a particular image. For this reason, ‘many places have seen in festivals a sort of “quick fix” solution to their image problems’. However, although town festivals rely on place-differentiation and place-specific characteristics, they often offer similar and homogenized experiences and become ‘formulaic’.
In this contribution we will analyse the characteristics of music festivals held regularly until 2019 in cities with between 10,000 and 50,000 inhabitants. To do so, we will consider their date of creation, the dominant musical style, the number of editions held and the characteristics of their organisers.
Mots clés : Music festivals|Spanish towns|local development|cultural economy|festivalization
A105560CV