Reimagining multicultural festivals: The Influence by Stakeholders

Abstract

Festivals have become places for people to undergo a social experience and feel a sense of belonging (Kitchen & Filep, 2019). Different stakeholders get involved in the design of event experiences based on their specific interests. For example, Destination Management Organisations develop events as experiences to attract not only the local community but also tourists from other cities or countries in order to reach positive economic outcomes (Mair, 2019). Stakeholder interests may vary, and their engagement may depend on the type of consultation required (Robertson et al. 2018). As the event industry has reset since the Covid-19 global pandemic it is important to explore how stakeholder interests and motivational factors have also changed and how they may influence the attendee experience. Authors have discussed how festivals contribute to identity and a sense of belonging (Ong et al. 2025). In multicultural festivals where ethnicity is celebrated, key concepts that arise in the experience are family togetherness, escape, cultural exploration, socialisation and curiosity (Sunny et al. 2012). In a cultural festival in Thailand, it was found that the key elements that contributed towards a memorable experience were a) activities b) uniqueness c) distinctiveness and d) authenticity (Meeprom & Talawanich, 2024). Additional factors that contribute to rejuvenating cultural festivals are authenticity and storytelling elements (Wyatt & Rossetti, 2024). It is important to identify the key elements that affect the experience as an immersive cultural experience can influence word of mouth recommendation and further promote and develop the festival brand (Mair, 2019). As organisations have attempted to innovate, it is just as important for festivals to innovate (Strickland et al. 2024). A model developed by Ali-Knight et al. (2023) highlights the need for festivals to innovate based on a three R model: Respond; Resilience and Reimagine with communication and support being highlighted as key contributors for festival rejuvenation. However, there is limited research on how festivals have undertaken new approaches for rejuvenation (Ali-Knight et al., 2023). These different priorities can potentially influence how multicultural festivals rejuvenate in transformative times (Steriopoulos & Wrathall, 2021). This research plans to uncover the type of co-created experience sought by stakeholders and will highlight elements that contribute to festival rejuvenation. Methods The study employs a mixed methods autoethnography to synthesise a unified understanding, analysis, and interpretation of the subject matter (Crede & Borrego, 2013; Hitchcock & Onwuegbuzie, 2020) throughout three phases: Phase 1: Autoethnographic approaches exploring our own experience during a festival. Phase 2: Quantitative research – survey instrument - predominantly focusing on attendee and host community perspectives. The survey will focus on multiple perspectives but predominantly it will explore views from three key stakeholders: 1. Event attendees 2. Host community 3. Businesses. Phase 3: Follow up interviews will be conducted to delve deeper in the stakeholder experience specifically targeting views in relation to exhibitor or business engagement. The context of the study is a multicultural festival, Antipodes festival, which is organised by the Greek Orthodox community and held at the last weekend in February in Melbourne (Australia). Conclusion Various stakeholders contribute towards the development of the festival experience in different ways. Different interests such as an economic boost in the community and local/international tourism development can influence stakeholder engagement. COVID changes have led to change in human behaviours, industry re-setting and this may also include changes on how cultural festivals are offered as experiences. Since these forced adaptations, the re-design of cultural festivals has been on the forefront of event manager’s discussion. Preliminary insights into re-imagining multicultural festivals include a mixture of traditional and modern program elements; an expansion of food stalls featuring traditional Greek food and performances by high profile Greek artists. Reimagining the multicultural festival with a combination of traditional and modern elements demonstrates authenticity as key element in the festival rejuvenation. Further, the paper highlights that multicultural festivals may need to adapt their marketing techniques towards targeted generational approaches. The authors will present the Reimagine phase as part of preliminary insights of phase one. Feedback will be sought for the next phase of the research.