How can cities rich in culture host mega-events without putting their own heritage at risk? How can mega-events become effective ways to promote and protect tangible and intangible heritage in Europe and beyond? Drawing on the HOMEE Research Project – winner of one of the European Heritage Award / Europa Nostra Awards 2022 in research – the seminar discusses these questions and their practical implications.
Cultural heritage has become increasingly connected to globalisation flows – from mass tourism to the involvement of transnational actors and networks such as UNESCO, international experts, policy knowledge-sharing networks and the growing calls for heritage-based narratives, projects, and solutions. The COVID-19 pandemic illuminated many of these trends by ultimately slowing down or halting them. This situation provides an opportunity to reflect on critically, and perhaps even improve, the local/global links of heritage sites, their tangible and intangible cultural heritage, in urban contexts and beyond. Within this framework, the track welcomes a variety of research approaches and methods.
The multiple issues addressed by the contributors include actors, policies and projects connecting local cultures and identities to global flows through processes of recognising and appreciating heritage sites and practices. Moreover, some contributors reflect on governance issues and regulation of heritage policy and cultural offerings responding to internationalisation goals or standards or city branding, including potential side effects in terms of Disneyfication, touristification, gentrification and more. The track is further concerned with the role of international players and initiatives (UNESCO WHS, cultural and other types of mega-events such as the European Capital of Culture) for the preservation/transformation of historical cities and landscapes.
Within the context of transnational cooperation networks focusing on heritage experts and policy knowledge, the track will promote a reflection on the nexus between global experts and local heritage knowledge, as well as on how international actors collect and use information and meanings regarding local places and their customs.
Eventually, the track promotes a multiscalar understanding of landscape heritage, focusing on transborder and transnational aspects (e.g. Alpine region, Balkan region) and aims to investigate the welfare policies needed today to reduce old and new socio-economic status inequalities.
The track welcomes contributions, including theoretical discussions and reflections based on case studies or other methods of investigation, from all quadrants of Europe or other situations relevant to the topic.
Mega-events in heritage-rich cities: From research to principles and policy recommendations (2021)
The online conference launched the Charter for Mega-events in Heritage-rich Cities. Mega-events have been changing their relationship with the city, now more commonly using existing infrastructures and facilities. In Europe and other parts of the world, this may put historic city centres and broader heritage assets under stress. How can cities rich in culture host mega-events without putting their own heritage at risk? How can mega-events become effective ways to promote and protect tangible and intangible heritage?
The webinar will introduce and launch the “Charter for Mega-events in Heritage-rich Cities” that responds to these questions. The Charter derives from the HOMEE research project that investigated case studies across Europe and involved organizations, experts and professionals in the field. It provides principles and policy recommendations for decision makers and event organisers to avoid typical pitfalls while cooperating with the heritage sector.
During the webinar sessions, leading international experts and policy-makers will discuss the Charter and engage with current and future challenges regarding mega-events, heritage and the city.
Participants
Ana Kočegarova (Head of Programme of the Kaunas 2022 ECoC)
Maria Gravari-Barbas (Professor, Paris 1 Sorbonne Sorbonne University; Director of the “Tourism, Culture, Development” UNESCO Chair); Pascal Liévaux (Chair of the EU Joint Programming Initiatives on Cultural Heritage)
Chryssa Martini (Eleusis 2023 ECoC)
Marco Edoardo Minoja (Cultural Director, City of Milan)
Jordi Pascual (Coordinator of the Secretariat of the Committee on Culture of United Cities and Local Governments)
Robert Piaskowski (Plenipotentiary of the Mayor of Krakow for Culture, on behalf of the Organization of World Heritage Cities)
Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović (Secretary General, Europa Nostra)
The webinar will introduce and launch the “Charter for Mega-events in Heritage-rich Cities”. During the sessions, leading international experts and policy-makers will discuss the current and future challenges regarding mega-events, heritage and the city.
Mega-events have long been synonymous with the creation of mass investments in iconic venues, new infrastructures and large development schemes. Yet many cities have come to question this model, either by rejecting mega-events altogether or instead seeking smaller, less expensive and more sustainable models. The last several bidding cycles for the Olympic Games in particular have seen many candidate cities abruptly cancel their bids, leading to the unprecedented move of both the 2024 and 2028 Games being awarded simultaneously. In particular, the plans for the upcoming Paris 2024 and Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Games clearly demonstrates a change in thinking and approach to hosting mega-events as both events will largely utilize existing venues while also involving heritage sites in varying ways. At the same time, cultural mega-events, like the European Capital of Culture program, have become increasingly popular in recent years. Though comparatively smaller in size and budget, such events also have come to have an important impact on the infrastructure, urban fabric and promoted image and development of these cities.
In this context, the ”Mega-events and the City” series draws on multiple kinds of mega-events, their similarities and differences to pinpoint which lessons and learning can be translated among different experiences and how the plans for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics as well as others may benefit from the past cases. The seminars will be clustered to investigate 3 specific perspectives: – Urban governance and legacy – Cultural heritage and landscape – Urban regions and networks
The video of each seminar will be posted online the day prior on this webpage, with a live online discussion taking place at 17.00 Please request access to the online discussion by sending an email to: zachary.jones@polimi.it; nicole.detogni@polimi.it
