Chapter 8 – Juxtaposing the timeless and the ephemeral: staging festivals and events at World Heritage Sites

The aim of this chapter is to explore the complex relationship between World Heritage Sites (WHS) and temporary festivals and events, analysing some of the impacts and implications of staging ‘ephemeral’ arts projects in the context of ‘timeless’ heritage environments. While the physical impacts of visitation to both World Heritage Sites and festivals have been well documented in recent years, this chapter also seeks to consider some of the more intangible and symbolic aspects of management. Many of these relate to the often-dissonant juxtaposition of global status symbols (e.g. WHS), international tourism attractions (e.g. festivals and events), and local cultural provision. Cultural providers within urban environments are becoming more adept at programming a range of arts events for local communities, however, these are frequently delivered in isolation from heritage or tourism developments. In the contexts that have been chosen for analysis in this chapter (Edinburgh and Greenwich), the entire historic centres are designated WHS, and both were busy tourist attractions, even before designation. Thus, any analysis of cultural and arts developments – in this case, multivenue festivals spanning several days – cannot be considered in isolation from heritage and tourism. It is the intersection of these elements that provide the key challenges for these and many other WHS: in short, how to conserve physical structures, while promoting tourism, at the same time as fostering local cultural engagement and understanding.