MEGA SPORTS EVENTS GET MILLIONS, CULTURAL FESTIVALS GETS SCRAPS YET DELIVERS REGENERATION AT THE HEART OF COMMUNITIES
—IT’S TIME TO FLIP THE MODEL

What if the events that truly change lives, unite communities, and heal deep divisions
are the very ones fighting hardest to survive?

Shona McCarthy (Former CEO, Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, UK)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

·       Mega sporting events dominate public investment, yet their promised legacy often proves shallow or short-lived.

·       Cultural festivals like the Edinburgh Fringe or Derry’s City of Culture deliver deep social, economic, and civic benefits over time.

·       Current funding models favour spectacle over substance, sidelining the proven regenerative power of cultural participation.

·       Rebalancing investment towards community-driven, inclusive cultural events builds healthier, more resilient, and cohesive societies.

·       Policymakers must adopt new success metrics, embed cultural participation into social policy, and provide sustained, long-term funding for cultural programmes.

INTRODUCTION

What if the events that truly change lives, unite communities, and heal deep divisions are the very ones fighting hardest to survive? Across cities like Edinburgh, Derry, and Belfast, cultural festivals have proven their ability to spark regeneration, foster dialogue, and breathe new life into fractured societies. Yet these same festivals are forced to scramble for thousands in public funding—while governments easily commit millions, even billions, to mega sporting events with questionable long-term benefits.

Take the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It's the world's largest ticketed cultural event after the Olympics and FIFA World Cup, generating over £500 million for Scotland annually. It provides a stage for emerging artists, sparks new careers, and projects Scottish values of freedom, inclusion, and creativity to the world. But unlike those global sporting spectacles, the Fringe faces an annual fight to secure basic funding and infrastructure—despite its near 80-year track record of sustained cultural and economic impact.

Or consider Derry-Londonderry’s UK City of Culture year in 2013—a modestly funded cultural programme that transformed relationships in a city long divided by conflict. The outcomes were remarkable: increased community cohesion, renewed pride, and tangible peace-building. And yet, as soon as the festival year ended, investment in culture dried up.

Why is it so easy to justify billions for a televised, one-off sporting event, but so hard to invest in long-term cultural change? If policymakers want real, people-centred legacy, it's time to flip our understanding of value—and stop making culture beg for survival.

“If policymakers want real, people-centred legacy, it’s time to flip our understanding of value—and stop making culture beg for survival.”

THE PROBLEM AND/OR OPPORTUNITY

The global events sector is built on an imbalance. Major sporting events—peripatetic, resource-intensive, and driven by fleeting broadcast moments—continue to dominate public investment. Governments routinely allocate vast sums to stadiums, ceremonies, and tourism campaigns in pursuit of global attention. Yet, homegrown cultural festivals, which deliver slow-burn but profound social, economic, and civic benefits, struggle to secure even modest, sustained support.

This is not just a funding disparity—it reflects a deeper misunderstanding of legacy. Politicians and policymakers often chase short-term visibility, measured in visitor numbers or media reach, while overlooking how cultural participation builds healthier communities, fosters innovation, and addresses structural challenges like social isolation, inequality, and division.

The opportunity is clear: redefine how we measure success, rebalance investment priorities, and recognise cultural festivals as engines of long-term regeneration, not optional luxuries.

WHY DOES THIS MATTER NOW?

The stakes have never been higher. Around the world, societies are grappling with polarisation, loneliness, and the lasting scars of economic and social crises—from the global pandemic to deep-rooted conflicts. In these moments, we consistently turn to culture to rebuild connection, foster hope, and catalyse dialogue. Yet when the crisis subsides, cultural investment evaporates, while spending on mega sporting events continues unchecked.

At the same time, cities face mounting pressure to deliver “legacy” from public spending. But true legacy—measured in stronger communities, greater social trust, and more cohesive places—cannot be delivered overnight, nor through one-off spectacles alone.

If we are serious about social and economic resilience, now is the moment to reimagine cultural investment. Festivals like the Edinburgh Fringe and Derry’s City of Culture year show what’s possible: cultural programmes that transform identity, empower communities, and drive change, not for weeks, but for decades. Policymakers must act now to embed this approach, or risk squandering the very tools that create lasting impact.

HOW DOES THIS ADD TO WHAT WE ALREADY KNOW?

The dominant narrative surrounding major events suggests that size, scale, and visibility equate to success. Governments and sponsors routinely justify vast public expenditure on mega sporting events by citing economic boosts, global media exposure, and infrastructure upgrades. But decades of independent research reveal a more complex reality: these events often fall short on promises of sustained economic benefit, inclusive development, or meaningful social change.

What remains under-acknowledged is the quiet, cumulative impact of cultural festivals—those events rooted in place, designed with communities, and delivered year after year. Unlike the transient spectacle of a World Cup or Olympics, cultural festivals often work below the radar, building social capital, fostering creativity, and strengthening community ties.

This article adds to the growing critique of mega-event orthodoxy by elevating cultural festivals as credible, evidence-based vehicles for regeneration. It challenges the assumption that only grand-scale sporting spectacles warrant significant public investment, proposing a more balanced, people-focused approach to event funding and legacy planning.

“Unlike the transient spectacle of a World Cup or Olympics, cultural festivals work quietly below the radar—building social capital, fostering creativity, and strengthening community ties.”

Key Arguments

  • For decades, the success of major events has been measured by numbers that are easy to count but poor indicators of meaningful change—hotel occupancy rates, ticket sales, broadcast reach, or GDP contribution. These are convenient metrics for politicians, media, and sponsors eager to demonstrate “impact.” But they tell us little about whether an event has built social cohesion, fostered inclusion, or left a legacy that genuinely benefits people on the ground.

    Consider the stark contrast between Scotland’s £50 million investment in the UCI Cycling World Championships and the financial struggle faced by the Edinburgh Festival Fringe—despite the Fringe delivering £500 million to the economy annually, supporting thousands of jobs, and elevating Scottish culture on the global stage. The Fringe must beg for thousands in support, while sporting events backed by familiar, flashy metrics secure millions with ease.

    When legacy is reduced to television moments or tourism figures, quieter but deeper impacts—skills development, civic pride, community connection—are ignored or undervalued. Until policymakers adopt metrics that reflect the full social, cultural, and economic value of festivals, we will continue to fund short-term visibility over long-term transformation.

  • Mega sporting events promise legacy. It’s become the buzzword that justifies billions in public spending: new stadiums, revitalised transport, or a fleeting boost in tourism. Yet, more often than not, these promises fall flat. Infrastructure upgrades benefit select districts, visitor numbers surge briefly, and the anticipated social transformation rarely materialises for those who need it most.

    Cultural festivals, by contrast, often deliver the kind of legacy policymakers claim to seek—but they do so in ways that resist quick headlines or glossy PR campaigns. The 2013 UK City of Culture programme in Derry-Londonderry is a prime example. With modest funding spread over three years, it catalysed social cohesion in a city long divided by sectarian conflict. It wasn’t bricks and mortar alone that defined success—it was the dismantling of barriers, literal and psychological, between communities.

    From the police marching alongside Irish traditional musicians, to international artists co-creating with local performers, the City of Culture programme generated a legacy of trust, participation, and pride. These outcomes are hard to quantify but impossible to deny—and they demonstrate how cultural festivals, rooted in place and co-created with communities, achieve change sporting mega-events often only promise.

  • Major sporting events often operate through a top-down model. Decisions are made by international bodies, distant organising committees, or political elites, with local communities left to adapt—or be sidelined. Even well-intentioned sports events can feel like something “done to” a place rather than “done with” its people.

    Cultural festivals, when designed inclusively, flip that model. They foster agency, invite participation, and build connections that last beyond the final curtain. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is a global phenomenon precisely because it resists central control. With over 260 venues, hundreds of curators, and no single gatekeeper, the Fringe remains accessible to anyone with a story to tell, regardless of background or status.

    The same ethos shaped the UK City of Culture programme in Derry-Londonderry. Co-creation was not an afterthought—it was the foundation. Local artists, community groups, and cultural leaders shaped the year’s programming, ensuring it reflected the city’s diversity, history, and aspirations. As a result, residents didn’t just consume culture—they created it, owned it, and reimagined their place within it.

    This grassroots approach doesn’t just produce festivals—it produces empowered communities. That is a legacy no Olympic ceremony or one-off sports tournament can replicate.

  • Cultural festivals are often seen as optional extras—nice to have, but first to be cut when budgets tighten. Yet research consistently links cultural participation to better mental health, stronger social ties, and even higher life expectancy. Ignoring this is not just a missed opportunity; it actively undermines efforts to build healthier, more resilient societies.

    The aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic revealed this starkly. In the darkest days of lockdown, people turned to music, storytelling, and creative expression to stay connected and hopeful. Yet as restrictions eased, cultural funding remained precarious, even as governments fast-tracked spending for major sporting events to drive economic recovery.

    The lesson is clear: culture is not a luxury—it’s infrastructure for human connection. Festivals like the Edinburgh Fringe, the Lammas Fair in Ballycastle, or the community arts programmes in Derry-Londonderry provide spaces where people come together, share experiences, and build understanding across divides.

    Failing to invest in this cultural infrastructure weakens the social fabric. It leaves communities more isolated, cities more divided, and governments scrambling for expensive, short-term fixes when crises inevitably emerge. The time to reverse this neglect is now—before the damage becomes irreversible.

  • When policymakers talk about legacy, the conversation often drifts to physical infrastructure: new stadiums, upgraded transport, gleaming public spaces. These are visible, politically palatable, and easy to photograph. But regeneration is more than construction—it’s about rebuilding relationships, restoring trust, and creating spaces where people feel they belong.

    Belfast’s bid for European Capital of Culture in 1999 illustrates this tension. Though the city ultimately lost to Liverpool, the process sparked civic conversations, empowered local creatives, and led to significant cultural infrastructure projects—the Titanic Centre, refurbished theatres, and arts venues. Yet the harder task—tearing down psychological walls between communities—remained unfinished, because buildings alone cannot heal division.

    Contrast that with Derry-Londonderry in 2013. Modest cultural investment, paired with community ownership and inclusive programming, delivered changes no construction project could: peace-building, dialogue across divides, and a renewed sense of shared identity. Similarly, the Edinburgh Fringe transforms not through new buildings, but by animating the city’s historic spaces with creativity, dialogue, and connection year after year.

    Real regeneration is social, cultural, and relational. Without sustained investment in people and participation, bricks and mortar are hollow symbols of progress, not its substance.

CONCLUSIONS

The global obsession with mega sporting events has skewed how we think about value, legacy, and impact. We’ve been conditioned to believe that bigger is better, that legacy is measured in concrete, and that transformation arrives on the back of a televised opening ceremony. But the evidence tells another story—one where culture, community, and creativity play the starring role in building lasting change.

Cultural festivals like the Edinburgh Fringe and the UK City of Culture programmes demonstrate that real legacy is slow, often invisible at first, but undeniably powerful. They create spaces for dialogue, platforms for unheard voices, and opportunities for communities to reimagine themselves. They foster belonging, drive inclusion, and build the social fabric that holds cities and societies together.

The tragedy is that these proven vehicles for regeneration are consistently underfunded, undervalued, and left fighting for survival—while governments continue to pour billions into short-lived spectacles that rarely deliver on their promises.

If we are serious about legacy, about healthy, connected, resilient communities, the solution is hiding in plain sight. It doesn’t require new stadiums or flashy ceremonies. It requires sustained investment in the people, places, and cultural programmes that deliver meaningful change, year after year.

The time to rethink our priorities is now. Culture doesn’t just deserve parity with sport—it demands it. And if we get that balance right, the rewards will be felt not for a weekend, but for generations.

PRACTICAL ACTIONS

If governments, city leaders, and event managers want to build meaningful legacy, they must stop treating culture as an afterthought and start embedding it at the heart of regeneration. The following actions offer a roadmap for rebalancing investment, policy, and practice:

1. Rethink Legacy Metrics
Stop measuring success solely through tourist numbers, media coverage, or GDP contribution. These indicators overlook the deeper, long-term impacts of cultural events. Develop evaluation frameworks that capture social connection, skills development, mental health benefits, and community cohesion. Importantly, fund independent, longitudinal research to track these outcomes over time—not just in the year of the event.

2. Prioritise Community Ownership and Co-Creation
Cultural festivals thrive when they are shaped by the communities they serve. Policymakers and event organisers must devolve decision-making, empower local voices, and embed participation from the outset. The success of Derry-Londonderry’s UK City of Culture year shows the transformative potential when programming is inclusive, responsive, and rooted in place.

3. Invest in Cultural Infrastructure, Not Just Buildings
True regeneration is about people, not concrete. Infrastructure should support cultural access and participation—affordable accommodation, accessible transport, digital connectivity, and year-round creative spaces. Edinburgh Fringe’s success, and its ongoing challenges, highlight the need for infrastructure that sustains rather than commodifies cultural life.

4. Provide Sustained, Long-Term Cultural Funding
Short-term, project-based funding undermines the ability of festivals and cultural organisations to deliver real impact. Governments should commit to multi-year investment in cultural programmes, recognising that social change takes time. Cultural initiatives need the same stability and scale of funding often reserved for major sporting events.

5. Use Cultural Festivals as Tools for Social Policy
Culture is not just entertainment—it is a proven lever for addressing social isolation, improving mental health, enhancing education, and building more cohesive communities. Policymakers should integrate cultural investment into broader social, health, and economic strategies. Doing so is not only cost-effective but central to creating thriving, resilient societies.

6. Champion Cultural Democracy and Access
Cultural participation must be open to all, not just the privileged few. Events like the Edinburgh Fringe succeed because they offer platforms for emerging talent, prioritise inclusion, and resist centralised control. Leaders must ensure cultural programmes reflect diverse communities, remove participation barriers, and actively promote freedom of expression.

7. Challenge the Sports-Centric Funding Bias
It is time to question why mega sporting events attract disproportionate public investment, often at the expense of equally impactful cultural programmes. Leaders should advocate for funding parity, recognising that both sport and culture can deliver legacy—but only if investment reflects their long-term social value.

In short, building meaningful legacy means backing what works: culture, creativity, and community connection. It requires courage to shift outdated funding models, but the evidence—and the opportunity—are undeniable.

IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES

Rebalancing investment towards cultural festivals is essential—but not without complexities. First, cultural impact is inherently difficult to quantify. Social cohesion, identity shifts, or the confidence built through participation often unfold over years or decades, making them harder to capture in standard economic evaluations. Policymakers driven by short-term electoral cycles may struggle to justify investments without immediate, visible returns.

Second, cultural festivals are not universally inclusive by default. Without intentional design, they risk reinforcing existing inequalities—excluding marginalised groups or amplifying elitist definitions of “culture.” Ensuring accessibility, representation, and community ownership requires sustained effort, resources, and accountability.

Finally, resistance may come from sectors that have historically dominated public event funding. Shifting entrenched funding models will provoke debate, political friction, and competing priorities.

Despite these challenges, the alternative—maintaining an events economy obsessed with fleeting spectacle and superficial metrics—fails to deliver the regeneration, social healing, and resilience our cities urgently need.

AUTHOR(S)

Former CEO, Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, UK

After ten years in Scotland, Shona returned to Northern Ireland in April 2025 and is honoured to have been appointed Chair of the International Fund for Ireland. She is the first woman in the position and looks forward to working with the communities across the North and border counties, who have been doing powerful, grass-roots peace-building work on the island of Ireland since the fund was established in 1986.

For almost a decade Shona was the Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society - underpinning the largest performing arts festival and marketplace in the world. 

A native of Northern Ireland, Shona has dedicated her career to championing and developing access to arts and culture for all.  

Prior to the Edinburgh Fringe, she was Chief Executive of the Culture Company, leading on Derry-Londonderry’s transformational year as the inaugural UK City of Culture. She successfully led the team over 3yrs to raise the funds, create and deliver a year-long, world-class, citywide cultural programme for 2013. 

Previous roles include: Director of the British Council Northern Ireland leading a team of 40 to oversee international programmes of work across arts, schools, and Higher Education, to build positive international cultural relations. She was the CEO of Imagine Belfast, heading up Belfast’s bid to be European Capital of Culture at the turn of the millennium, and was Head of Exhibition at the Northern Ireland Film Council.

Shona was one of the pioneers behind Cinemagic Film Festival for young people in Belfast, establishing it over its first decade, and was the Director of the Foyle Film Festival in Derry. She was the recipient of a prestigious NESTA cultural leadership award which enabled her to live and work in India with Seagull Foundation for the Arts in Calcutta, and in 2014 she was awarded an Eisenhower Fellowship from the US, another prestigious accolade making her part of a global network of leaders and influencers. As well as her Fringe commitments, Shona in the last ten years was, Chair of Walk the Plank, a Salford-based Creative agency specialising in spectacular outdoor arts, and was previously Chair of the Oh Yeah Music Centre Belfast. She is an Honorary Fellow of Surrey University. A visiting Professor at Napier Univeristy and an Honorary Fellow of the Marketing Society of Scotland.

Disclaimer
The views and insights expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and reflect their research and professional expertise. They do not represent the views of the Centre for Events & Festivals CIC or its partners.