Event Experiences: Special, Engaging, Different?
An Expert Meeting of the ATLAS Events Special Interest Group
12-15 September 2017, Viana do Castelo, Portugal (In conjunction with the ATLAS Annual Conference)
The experience of events determines their attractiveness, their effectiveness as tourism destinations and image makers and their effect on the people who attend them and the places that stage them. Although many studies of event experiences have been undertaken at individual events, there has been less research on the extent to which the experience of events exhibits communalities or differences across event locations, types, themes and times. We often refer to 'special' events, but we know very little about the special nature of event experiences.
The next ATLAS Events Expert Meeting is designed to examine the ways in which the experience of events is converging or diverging between location and generations as events become a ubiquitous tool for placemaking and place marketing. Many members of the ATLAS group are participating in research related to the event experience, for example using the Event Experience Scale (EES – de Geus et al., 2015). We want to draw on this experience as well as collecting other perspectives, analyses and methodologies for examining event experiences.
We therefore welcome contributions to this Special Interest Group meeting, which will take place in conjunction with the annual ATLAS Conference in Viana do Castelo, an aspiring 'eventful city' and creative hub in Northern Portugal. We welcome abstract submissions related to all aspects of the event experience, for example:
Dimensions and aspects of the event experience
Virtual event experiences and the relationship between physical and virtual experience
Notions of festivity, ritual and the event experience
The relationship between event experiences and event type (sports, culture, business, etc.)
The effect of event content on event experience
The relationship between event experiences and event location (country, region, urban, rural, etc)
The experience of events for different visitor types
The co-creation of event experiences
The social dimension of event experiences
Extending the event experience over time and space
Curating the event experience
Managing and developing the event experience
Experience marketing for events
The ATLAS Event Group has already staged a number of previous expert meetings (Breda, 2011; Peniche, 2013; Sheffield, 2014; Lecce, 2015; Barcelona, 2016), which have also been developed into a series of publications including books and journal special issues. We anticipate that the Viana meeting will also be linked to publications output.
The meeting will be held on the day before the start of the main ATLAS Conference (September 12th) and will continue as a special track during the conference itself. This will enable us to hold focussed group meetings as well as opening the sessions to a wider audience. Meeting delegates will be expected to register for the main ATLAS conference, which will entitle them to attend all conference session as well as the Events Special Track. Details of the conference can be found on the ATLAS website (www.atlas-euro.org).
Instructions for abstract submission (http://www.atlas-euro.org/event_2017_viana_abstracts/tabid/265/language/en-US/Default.aspx)
The deadline for abstract submission is April 10th, 2017.
More information about the Events Experience Project and the ATLAS Events Group can be found on https://independent.academia.edu/gregrichards#atlaseventsgroup
For any further questions, please contact Greg Richards (
[email protected]).
