good piece. The problem, as Gerry has indicated above, is that year long “festivals” don’t work for artists and audiences but tick boxes for governments (the “Executive”, Kenny, went two elections ago) and state sponsored agencies. As the Year of Highland Culture proved if you don’t follow up it is the land of cultural” so what” you inhabit. Things can be sen to b a success even when they have been a failure. You either strategise cultural provision and fund it accordingly or you engage in the Trotsky idea of permanent revolution i.e. one long festival forever. Either way will bear fruit. The Year of Creative Scotland is just another stunt in a long line of such things by a state which refuses to engage with the arts and culture of the people. One could conclude that they are actually terrified of it. God alone knows, if such an engagement were undertaken, we might just start to think! I also have been deleted by Scottish Provincial Press, so I sympathise with you there. We need to have this debate opened out because in the Highlands and Islands it’s a matter of life and death.

A very thought provoking piece for me.

In 2008 speaking at the International Events and Festivals Association’s European Conference which I attended in Iceland Key Note Speaker Dr Joe Goldblatt argued that Year Long Festivals were a mistake.

He explained in detail why the media and the public have no interest in anything that last for a whole year.

He stressed the importance of giving the customers attracted to these festivals in year one the change to promote them in years two and beyond. Returning tourists recommend things in person and on line,

He stressed that businesses need longer lead in times with these festivals and need to be given the opportunity to use their resources to develop repeat customers.

He spoke of countries like Japan which, having conducted reasearch, had completely turned their backs on them.

He spoke of organisers not having the chance to learn from and build on their mistakes,

As an educator he said that the need to call everything a success and protect reputations had resulted in important information about what could be learned at the debrief stage
not being shared.

The branding of years does provide a means by which some funding can be released,

However, pleasing as that is, we must look beyond that.

Now is the time to have a debate about what will happen in 2013 when this funding is not there.

According to Canadian Donald Getz – who studied why festivals fail in 2002, the definition of failure is when something simply fails to reappear.

Anyone can create memories if they are given pennies.

Any community group can create events if they are given pennies.

The case to “showcase” has no place to go any more,

We need to build on more solid foundations.

Happy New Year.