Events Policy and Strategy: A Strategic Analysis

This essay analyzes the alignment between events and local council's strategic objectives, positive and negative impacts of events, and the type of event support being sought. It also discusses the benefits of events to the local community and how they are measured.

Running Head: EVENTS POLICY AND STRATEGY 1
EVENTS POLICY AND STRATEGY: A STRATEGIC ANALYSIS
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EVENTS POLICY AND STRATEGY 2
Introduction
Events have an appeal that is special because they have a natural simplicity and
because they occur within a limited duration. According to Huang & Zhang (2011) the natural
simplicity of events makes them different from created attractions and permanent institutions.
The event planning process and its execution usually determine the impact in which the event
will have on the memory of people. Well-planned events will usually live to be a good memory
while poorly-planned events just become past events and are never remembered (Müller, 2015).
Additionally, the benefits of events in places which they occur cannot go unnoticed, while the
alignment of the events and the local governing council is given a priority. Therefore, the essay
seeks to compel the local council as to why they should support or approve the event and detail
what the support would look like.
Alignment between the Event and the Local Council’s Strategic Objectives
With the local governments and authorities also being part of the community, the event
aligns with the strategic objectives of the local council to the community. The event supports the
local council’s initiative of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) through educating the
community and creating awareness. However, different political views may affect the
collaboration between the local council and the event organizers (Hall, 2006). The event’s
development is affected by different ideological positions. Additionally, the public policies of
events are affected by the governing political parties’ thrust of ideologies. Although the event
has been publicized well and is now the most popular and renowned around the country, there is
no full support from the local governing authorities a problem which has been linked to the
mayor of the city based on his different political views hence causing the event to suffer. The
local government has provided the event with funding and permission to use public land, hence

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saving the event organizers the problem of reviewing different potential locations which may
lead to the decline of the event. The local authorities have complied with the needs of the event
by providing public space, funding, and security so as to ensure that the event’s activities
proceed without any security hitches.
Additionally, according to Waikayi, Fearon, Morris, & McLaughlin (2012) the event has
complied with the health protection and safety policies. Event organizers put the safety of the
attendants first and seek to ensure that accidents are avoided. To achieve that, services of public
bodies like the Red Cross are sought so as to ensure all medical cases which may occur are
handled swiftly to avoid any casualties (Chalip, 2006). The local governing council and the event
organizers have also partnered with environmental policy and protection agencies, with the
partnership being beneficial to all parties.
Positive Impacts the Event has on the Local Community and How It’s Measured
The event has several benefits to the local community. Some social-cultural benefits
include a more certain sense of ethnic identity, strong cultural identity, community pride, family
bonding, awareness, and appreciation. According to Gursoy and Kendall (2006) events increase
their cultural and social pride by showcasing their local traditions and culture. Events have
important social benefits which are festival-related hence serving to underscore the important
benefits of the festival which leads to civic pride.
Local businesses will be developed as the event brings together a large group of people
who will shop around before, during, and after the event. New businesses will also be developed
with several people trying their luck in business for the first time and finding that it actually
works. Events provide opportunities for business promotion hence providing incentives for the
involvement of businesses (Yeoman, Robertson, Ali-Knight, Drummond, & McMahon-Beattie,

EVENTS POLICY AND STRATEGY 4
2012). Moreover, events improve business activities and amenities in a region or destination and
improve its position in the market. The economic benefit will also be popular among the
organizers of the event since and businesses surrounding or are somehow connected to the event
will benefit from the event including ship and bus companies, waste management, security
services, shops, hotels, and restaurants.
Negative Impacts of the Events and the Mitigations
Despite many positive impacts associated with the event, there are also few negative
impacts that can significantly affect the community. The event is associated with negative social-
cultural impacts. Due to a high number of participants, the event is believed to result in increased
jams and traffic. According to Wang, Lu, Yuan, Zhang & Wetering (2013) events with a higher
number of attendees always result in congestion as participants are likely to depart from events at
the same time. Furthermore, events can lead to overcrowding in town hence raising security
concerns. For example, the Manchester terror attack in 2007 killed more than twenty-two while
others fifty-nine were left with serious injuries when attending a concern in Ariana Grande
(Smith, Craigie, Pollard & Jones, 2017). The attackers will always target the events and there is a
need for risk mitigation. The other negative impacts of events include creating a lot of noise and
disturbance and events participants disturbing the privacy of the local community.
However, to mitigate the negative impacts of the event, the organizations should
consider negotiating with the local council to make sure there is enough security for the event.
Furthermore, the event organizers should look for private security if possible and conduct a deep
search on the entry to make sure nobody enters the venue with any weapons which might disrupt
the event’s peace. Traffic congestion created by the event can be avoided by allowing
participants to leave at their own pleasures hence minimizing the possibility of people leaving

EVENTS POLICY AND STRATEGY 5
the event at the same time. The noise in the event can be minimized by event’s organizers
developing a plan which restricts loud noise or shouting.
Type of Event Support Being Sought
Financial support is needed in this event to facilitate enough resources which are vital
requirements for creating a smooth running of activities and satisfaction of the participants.
According to Wagen & White (2018) for effective implementation of events, there must be well-
organized finances. Therefore if the event is having enough finances and resources it will have
high performance. Additionally, the local council should provide public land and space which
will serve as the event’s location. In this effect, the local council should ensure that the
application for the license of hosting the event has been processed quickly to enhance a quick
planning of the event.
Moreover, security should be provided before, during and after the event so as to
enhance the smooth running of the event and to ensure that law and order have been adhered to
by making sure that any trouble-makers have been arrested and consequently arraigned in court
and prosecuted. County governments should ensure that the fire brigade is at high alert during
events in order to ensure swift response of the fire department in case of a fire occurring (Toohey
& Taylor, 2008). Ambulance services should also be provided at a fee by the local government
so as to cater for any medical emergencies.
VIP guests should be offered special security preferably from the military to protect
them against any security risks that may occur unexpectedly. Mega-events should also be given
the priority of special coverage and live broadcast by the media houses (Boyle & Haggerty,
2009). Any regulations and bans barring media personnel from covering the event should be
lifted so as to allow for a nationwide broadcast of the event. Waste management services should

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also be availed since large amounts of litter is generally expected where there are thousands of
people converging hence managing the waste would be important in the protection of the
environment. The aspect is important since other events are bound to occur at the same venue
hence clearing the place would offer a conducive environment for other forthcoming events.
Conclusion
The benefits and purpose of the event are to ensure all activities run smoothly
according to the plan and ensure the cost and time is used effectively by all event participants
through consideration of thorough communication on the planning stage. Poor planning of the
event is the root cause of negative impacts experienced in communities when, during and after
the events (Richards & Palmer, 2012). The budget allocated for the event should not go
overboard but rather it should be estimated to cater for all expenses without cost-cutting on some
important issues. Effective management of finances is essential to the success of the event as it
avoids the embarrassing situations of some participants not getting satisfied.

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References
Boyle, P., & Haggerty, K. D. (2009). Spectacular security: mega‐events and the security
complex. International Political Sociology, 3(3), 257-274.
Chalip, L. (2006). Towards social leverage of sport events. Journal of sport & tourism, 11(2),
109-127.
Gursoy, D., & Kendall, K. W. (2006). Hosting mega-events: Modeling locals’ support. Annals of
Tourism Research, 33(3), 603-623.
Hall, C. M. (2006). Urban entrepreneurship, corporate interests and sports mega-events: the thin
policies of competitiveness within the hard outcomes of neoliberalism. The Sociological
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Huang, Y., & Zhang, Y. (2011). U.S. Patent Application No. 12/558,089.
Müller, M. (2015). The mega-event syndrome: Why so much goes wrong in mega-event
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Wang, Z., Lu, M., Yuan, X., Zhang, J., & Van De Wetering, H. (2013). Visual traffic jam
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