58. Information and Communication Technology in Event Management

This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of information and communication technologies (ICTs) used by event organizers and attendees. The ways that ICTs are integrated into event administration, design, operations, marketing, and risk management, both back-stage and in plain sight, are considered from an applied perspective and through the lenses of theories applied in the literature. Currently, events and festivals use diverse ICTs to enhance utilitarian aspects, such as ticket purchasing, safety procedures, wayfinding and scheduling, as well as hedonic visitor experiences, like virtual and enhanced reality, gamification, and innovative programming using social media. How ICTs influence attendees’ experiences is discussed in-depth by exploring the contribution of ICTs to “communitas,” “liminality,” sense of place, mindfulness, memorableness, and co-creation. Throughout the chapter, both emerging and established ICTs are described, and real-world examples from festivals are provided to gain insights into the opportunities and drawbacks of ICTs in the event and festival domain. The chapter focuses on ICTs used during the festival experience. However, the importance of the pre- and post-event and festival experience is acknowledged as well.