A new approach to the event planning process
It is essential that any potential long-term benefits intended as
attributable to the event be comprehensively covered by strategies
that ensure that long-term success. Firstly, the inclusion of a
cost–benefit forecast at the feasibility stage of the event planning
process would enable organizers to not only forecast the extent of
the benefits of their events and budget accordingly, but through
that forecast gain support for the event at an early and appropriate
stage.
Secondly, implementation strategies for the use of any new facilities
and/or regeneration projects need to be built-in to ensure their
long-term futures.
Thirdly, assessing the impact of such an event requires not only
an evaluation of short- and medium-term economic and cultural
benefits. It also requires a long-term evaluation, possibly even
10 years on or more, of the sustainability and durability, in other
words the success, of the regeneration and the legacies that were
created as a result of staging the event.
Fourthly, in order for objectives to be met there is a case for the
inclusion of mechanisms in the process that will allow continuous
alignment with short-, medium- and long-term plans.
What follows, is a new event planning process that encompasses
both short-term requirements for the implementation of the event
and the long-term objectives that become the legacies of the event
(Masterman, 2003a,b; 2004). The model put forward here is
intended to address the planning process that is required for all
scales of event and whilst this text is concerned with the management
of sports events it is proposed that this process is universally