Governments at all levels are increasingly becoming involved in Essay

Governments at all levels are increasingly becoming involved in festivals and events - Essay Example This paper analyses the reasoning and salient pros and cons associated with the involvement of governments in encouraging events. Government is a set of institutions which Edward Sildow and Beth Henschen (2008, p.4) defined as â€Å"the individuals and institutions that make society’s rules and that also possess the power and authority to enforce those rules." Thus, it can be established that government possesses the ultimate power to influence public, and to impose such rules that are in the best interest of society. Today, governments are increasingly becoming interested in promoting events because these act as a catalyst that has an enormous â€Å"social, economic and cultural impact† (Smith, 2003). This explains that governments are now trying to garner international attraction through hosting local and mega events and basically eyeing on the aspect of economic and monetary profits. For instance, the UK government realised the impact of facilitating events on the c ountry’s economy and has supported the private sector on the reconstruction of new and bigger venues since 70s. The outcome has been in the form of some international standard sites such as the National Exhibition Centre (Birmingham) and Wembley Centre (Bowdin et al, 2012). This was also the main reason behind Prime Minister Tony Blair's strong support to the organisation responsible for holding Olympics 2012, â€Å"London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games," (LOCOG), during the bidding ceremony in 2005. Through ramping up the investments from private sector, governments seek long-term benefits for the whole country and in a variety of spheres. However, it must be acknowledged that it is not the government only that enjoys the benefits involved, but the private sector has another set of interests that is sought through events. The diversity in festivals such as Hallmark and mega-events is an outcome of the government’s involvement. Today, e vents are of various categories with varying prospects. These include business events like meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions, in short MICE. Regional events are cultural or sports related and are organised every year. Every calendar event is a nation’s local festival such as Football or Rugby League matches, or religious/traditional celebrations such as Holi or Diwali in India. Hallmark events represent the customary festivals of a nation and mark an important historical event or anniversary. For instance, the event celebrated in South Africa of â€Å"10 Years of Democracy† in 2004 (Damster & Tassiopoulos, 2006). Mega-events such as Olympics, FIFA world cup or ICC Cricket World Cup; Tennis tournaments like Wimbledon and Common Wealth games, are not annual events and are held in a different part of the world by a particular organisation. Every government has its own specific motive behind pursuing and promoting events, and it can be entitled as an intel ligent strategy. For example, the motive of China's government has been different in comparison to UK because their main focus was on improving economic conditions through promoting travelling and locally prepared Chinese products. Chinese government did not just focus on mega events, but created newer holidays and altered the scale of traditional ones for achieving their goal. The transformation of three