AAA White Paper The political economy of informal events, 2030 | Page 69

“ In recent years, Bristol has changed
its approach to events. In the past,
there was not enough coordination,
management or leadership. That
has now all changed, which is very
encouraging.
“ New and additional events are in
development. Today there is a queue
of event organisers approaching the
City Council, who are very positive and
in the mood for partnership working
around events.
“Ironically, now that local authority
funding is such an issue, the different
players involved in making an event
happen are working together more
closely than they did in the past.
That should make for better events,
as well as happier visitors and event
organisers.
“ Tourism is very important for the
Bristol region, and events are one of the
key attractions for many of our visitors.
Yet the truth is that we have only
tapped into a very small percentage
of all the people who have still to
experience Bristol. In the evenings, the
city still needs more and better events,
as we aim for a centre that’s active 20
hours a day.
CEO John Hirst, of the public/
private sector tourism agency
Destination Bristol, on the
potential of events to improve
the fabric of the city
“ In assisting events, we always
need to respect the requirements
of businesses and residents. With
the correct level of consultation and
discussion, that can nearly always be
done effectively. The trick is to hold the
right kind of events, at the right times,
and in the right locations. We need to
keep everyone informed and involved,
constantly and throughout the whole
process.
“ In Bristol, events have a great deal
of potential. They can grow visitor
numbers and spend. On top of that,
given the crisis of local authority
spending, some of the revenue from
future events may well be used
directly to upgrade infrastructure and
safety in the city, and bring the whole
community other rewards, too. ”
69