Gameplan
Home and Away Events
Big events come in all shapes and sizes and interact with communities in different ways. To increase the social benefits of big events or an event portfolio , it is important to think carefully about how communities will be involved.
Enable local people to engage in big events inside and outside of their communities.
Events should include not exclude
Some events bring the action to communities. For example, community participation in free events such as the Tour de Yorkshire may be more evident as the event passes freely through different communities. However, for events which require a stadium or other fixed venue, community participation requires greater consideration, as not everyone will want or be able to attend the event. Naturally, some communities will be geographically closer to the action than others, but focusing only on specific venues limits the potential social impacts an event can have. For events to be inclusive, efforts should be made to overcome barriers or Sludge , such as finance, access to transport, cultural, physical, venue capacity and levels of interest, which deter some audiences from taking part.
Celebrate communities not just the event
Research on the Tour de Yorkshire in Doncaster showed that many of the social impacts experienced by communities resulted from this event providing an occasion for the community to come together. The excitement created by the race route passing through communities, and the sense of belonging generated by taking part in locally organised events, had a very positive impact on personal wellbeing, sense of community spirit and local pride. Successful events engage communities, strengthening the ‘social glue’ and enhancing the sense of belonging. However, many of those who took part in celebrating the event were not necessarily fans of cycling, but they were fans
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