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This study aimed to assess whether sociodemographic variables explain significant differences in attitudes towards transforming academic conferences into more sustainable events.

An analytical model of participants' attitudes towards sustainable conferences based on literature review as well as the theories of reasoned action and planned behaviour was developed and applied to a sample of 532 surveyed individuals from 68 countries who regularly attended academic conferences in the last five years prior to 2020. The results were refined using statistical and computational techniques to achieve more empirically robust conclusions.

Results reveal that sociodemographic variables such as attendees' gender and age explain differences in attitudes. Women and older adults have stronger pro-environmental attitudes regarding event sustainability. On the other hand, attitudes towards more sustainable academic conferences are quite strong and positive overall. More sustainable events' venues, catering, conference materials and accommodations strongly influence attendees' attitudes towards more sustainable conferences. The strength of attitudes was weaker towards transportation.

First, the analyses focused on only aspects related to the attendees' attitudes. Assessing their real behaviour would complete this research. The geographical areas defined by the U.N. and used in this study have the limitation of combining highly developed countries and developing countries in the same geographical area, for example, the Americas and Asia and the Pacific.

Specific socio-demographic variables' effects on attitudes towards sustainable academic conferences can indicate how organisers can best promote these events according to attendees' characteristics and develop differentiated marketing campaigns. For women and older adults, event sustainability should be emphasised as a competitive strategy to promote events and attract these audiences. Marketing strategies for younger attendees (under 30 years old) could focus on technology, networking or attractive social programmes. Sustainable venues, catering, conference materials and accommodations are easier to promote. Event organisers should encourage participants to make more environmentally friendly decisions regarding more sustainable event transport.

A strategy based on promoting the event as contributing to sustainable development could educate attendees and put them on the path to developing stronger positive attitudes regarding sustainability and more sustainable behaviours. Sustainable academic conferences can educate students, organisers, service providers and delegates through their involvement in sustainable practices.

To our best knowledge, this research is the first to assess whether sociodemographic variables explain significant differences in attitudes towards the sustainable transformation of academic conferences.

The contradiction between the purpose of the water-splashing tradition, the use of water in a water-stressed destination and overconsumption during a time of water shortage led the researchers to question the spirit of the Songkran Festival. It is important to keep the spirit of the festival alive without interrupting the livelihoods of the community and to critically engage with opportunities and challenges related to water-saving practices during the festival. Thus, this study aims to investigate the opportunities and challenges to responsible practices of water-saving at a cultural festival, using a case study of the water-splashing practice at the Songkran Festival in Thailand.

This study used the cultural practice, namely, the water-splashing tradition at the Songkran Festival in Thailand, as a case study. The researchers conducted document analysis on local newspapers, the Bangkok Post specifically and participant observation at the Songkran Festival in the Khao San Road area in Bangkok, to gain first-hand insights to develop comprehensive results which answers the study’s objectives.

The key findings show three significant themes representing the opportunities for implementing sustainable water-saving practices; a call for a water-saving campaign, education on water saving and water-splashing restrictions. In terms of challenges to implementing water-saving practices, two key themes emerged; a lack of water stress and drought awareness and the hedonistic characteristic of water splashing. The study findings provide important implications to theory and practice for sustainable event management and provide considerations for event stakeholders to minimise water overuse in festivals.

Environmental degradation is a key global issue that the United Nations addresses in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) scheme (United Nations Development Program, 2016). According to Pereira et al. (2009), water scarcity can be caused by both human activities and natural causes. Factors such as unlimited water consumption, population growth and climate change are some of the contributing factors that not only affects resident's access to water but also on events hosted within communities. It is crucial that event managers critically re-think the way festivals are designed in water-stressed destinations.

This study explores (1) the impacts of COVID-19 on the environmental sustainability of Australian events; (2) the measures undertaken to minimise the impacts of COVID-19 on environmental sustainability; (3) the key impediments to incorporating COVID-Safe measures in an environmentally sustainable way; and (4) the expected long-term impact of the COVID-19 situation on the development of the environmental sustainability of the Australian events industry.

The study follows a qualitative approach by undertaking semi-structured interviews with (N = 23) event industry professionals. The data collection phase took place between November 2020 and May 2021 and the study was completed in February 2022.

Adverse environmental impacts included increased waste output and the stagnation of planned or existing environmental practices. The study reveals positive effects such as reduced carbon emission outputs and increased environmental awareness of event participants. Financial costs, time pressure, uncertainty and sourcing issues are significant impediments to organising events in an environmentally sustainable manner during a global pandemic situation.

Understanding how COVID-19 impacts the environmental sustainability of events will help the industry to preserve previous progress made, overcome similar obstacles during future crises, and capitalise on opportunities for positive environmental change.

This is the first study to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the environmental sustainability practices of Australian events.

This article attempts to provide a concise overview of the approaches towards managing events in a changing market environment and summarises issues of responsibility, sustainability and quality management within events organisations.

In doing so, the paper will reconcile elements of corporate social responsibility and sustainable development within organisations. Whilst within a context of the events industry, the article will synthesise total responsible management and concepts of sustainable events management and provide an introduction towards a premise of responsible events management.

A mapping of management models found parallels that can be drawn upon to create a responsible event management approach, embedded by an amalgamation of quality management and sustainable principles.

In essence, the combination of approaches enables a business value and ethical led development towards responsible management and one which represents a holistic understanding and strategic intent to reduce event organisation impacts.

This article represents a theoretical introduction to concepts that underpin the development of knowledge towards sustainable management within the events industry and will allow students, academics and practitioners to develop an introductory awareness.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate and discuss the involvement in sustainable development of French event companies, mostly by identifying facilitators and barriers to their sustainability strategy. Based on the results, some recommendations are provided, which aim at increasing the sustainability of French event companies.

The paper is based on face-to-face and semi-structured interviews with six directors and top managers of French event companies and a consultant in sustainable tourism. The data collected were analysed through a content analysis.

This paper identified different motivations and barriers regarding the involvement of French event companies in sustainability. The main motivations are personal conviction, a greater satisfaction for clients and a cost similar to the one of non-sustainable events. The main barriers are a difficulty in comparing the cost of sustainable and non-sustainable events, a low demand for sustainable events, a lower quality of materials and greenwashing, the issue of measuring sustainability and a profusion of labels.

As the directors of French event companies interviews do believe in the value of sustainability, they should educate their clients and employees towards sustainability. They should also find ways to demonstrate that the price of a sustainable event is not higher than a non-sustainable one.

This paper focusses on the sustainability of event companies in France, comparing companies that are highly involved in sustainability and others that are not involved. In the field of events research, most studies focussed on the degree of sustainability of specific events, whereas this study deals with the sustainability of corporate events companies.

While sustainability issues in the tourism industry have been the subject of substantial research, such issues have not been well discussed in the field of events which is increasingly supporting tourism plans. The environmental sustainability of events in particular has not been thoroughly addressed, and sustainable tourism accreditation schemes have generally omitted events from their scope. Green Globe, an environmental accreditation scheme for tourism, suggests 25 different types of schemes to benchmark different sectors of the industry but fails to directly address events. This chapter evaluates the adaptability of Green Globe's environmental accreditation scheme to the event sector. Eight different indicators can be applied to special events. Six are suitable for events in their current state while two others require some adjustment.

This research provides a bibliometric review of the state-of-the-art information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the context of events, and maps out an agenda for future directions on how innovations in the technological realm can help fostering sustainability in the events industry.

To explore the progress of ICTs and future applications in events, this study conducts a two-fold method of a bibliometric analysis and a modularity clustering technique based on 293 papers published in the last 30 years.

The findings offer a snapshot of the past progress to offer a glimpse into the future by formulating novel areas for research that merit attention. By interweaving the past, present and future towards sustainability, an agenda with four concrete areas for research is identified, including (1) virtual events, (2) the use of artificial intelligence, (3) big data technology, and (4) virtual reality and augmented reality in the events industry.

The current global challenges together with the rapid technological progress can particularly give rise to innovations in the technological sector. Through a bibliometric review of past research, this study offers a future research agenda of ICTs in the events sector in light of the Sustainable Development Goals. It contributes with a discussion on how to harvest the technological progress to create more sustainable events.

One of the most significant shifts in contemporary business thinking in the tourism and event industry is co-creation and the framework for adopting this collaborative approach is integral for achieving the fundamental goal of value creation. The purpose of this paper is to enhance the understanding of sustainable events by analysing value co-creation processes from the attendees’ perspective.

The methodical framework comprises two steps. First, the study analyses the literature related to festivals and value co-creation, with a focus on sustainable festivals. Second, data rooted research based on grounded theory is conducted, using 12 semi-structured interviews with music festival attendees.

Three distinct festival attendee categories were identified: the sustainable co-creation type, the calculating type and the experience type. Within each category, attendees have different attitudes, personal values and experiences as well as individual assessments of what exactly constitutes value and value creation. These three categories are regarded as key factors in describing different kinds of value co-creation processes in the festival context.

Considering these three types and addressing their personal values, beliefs and value perceptions will allow festival organisers to better manage the development of sustainable festivals and their role as value co-creators.

This paper addresses the need to better understand how value is created in a festival context. The application of grounded theory also considers scholarly calls for a deeper search into the meaning and essence of value for festival attendees.

This paper aims to examine the negative effects of events on residents’ quality of life. Particularly, the paper analyses the specific negative effects generated via “overtourism” for the duration of large-scale music festivals.

The paper uses a case study method approach to examine the negative effects that UNTOLD, the largest music festival in Romania, has on residents’ quality of life. The case is analysed via a comprehensive desk research of secondary data from industry and academic sources.

Despite its success and the positive economic impact UNTOLD festival had on the host city, several issues have a negative impact on residents’ quality of life and well-being. The negative impacts are noise pollution, vandalism and crime, traffic and parking issues, waste and damages to the natural environment, pressure on and over usage of local services and infrastructure and the increased cost of living.

Whilst organisers, local businesses and local authorities are the main parties benefiting from events, residents mainly feel the negative impact. Organisers, local authorities and businesses need to minimise the negative effects residents’ experience during the event by building sustainable partnerships and taking a more hands-on approach to sustainable and socially responsible practices. Current and potential initiatives are discussed in the paper.

This paper examines the negative impacts events may have on residents’ quality of life and discusses the case of a large-scale music festival, an under-researched context. The analysis and discussion may assist scholars and industry experts alike in generating new debates in sustainable event management practices, as well as festival organisers and public authorities in developing strategies for avoiding, containing or minimising the negative effects of events.

Changes to the economic and social fabric of rural communities in Australia have resulted in an outmigration of residents, shifting economies and disenfranchisement with rural life styles. As a result, events provide important social and recreational opportunities for residents. However, rural communities are constrained by limited resources, such as the number of individuals who are willing and able to participate in event organizations; therefore, it is essential for the sustainable organization of events that stakeholders are attracted and retained. This paper aims to apply a stakeholder theoretical approach to the organizing and planning of rural events to identify event stakeholders, monitor satisfaction and ensure stakeholder retention within rural events.

A qualitative research design using a multiple case study approach examined event stakeholders in three rural communities of Southwest Queensland, Australia. In total, 54 in‐depth interviews were undertaken with event stakeholders and analyzed using an iterative thematic content analysis.

The findings reveal that rural‐event stakeholders fulfill multiple roles, differentiated by risk, and fraught with competing or conflicting agendas. The paper identifies strategies that event organizers utilize to manage relationships, and that facilitate stakeholder satisfaction and continued involvement.

There is limited understanding of event stakeholders, particularly in rural communities. Involving rural residents in organizing and planning events develops individual skills, knowledge and capacity. Rural communities benefit from an ability to deal with adverse conditions based on improvements in capacity of individuals and the community.