Planning and Leveraging Event Portfolios: Towards a Holistic Theory

Abstract

This conceptual article seeks to advance the discourse on the leveraging and legacies of events by examining the planning, management, and leveraging of event portfolios. This examination shifts the common focus from analyzing single events towards multiple events and purposes that can enable cross-leveraging among different events in pursuit of attainment and magnification of specific ends. The following frameworks are proposed: (a) event portfolio planning and leveraging and (b) analyzing events networks and interorganizational linkages. These frameworks are intended to provide, at this infancy stage of event portfolios research, a solid ground for building theory on the management of different types and scales of events within the context of a portfolio aimed to obtain, optimize and sustain tourism, as well as broader community benefits.

KEYWORDS:

• event portfolio
• holistic approach
• event leverage
• multipurpose development
• event policy
• sustainability

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

An earlier version of this article was presented in November 2011 in the second “Sport Mega-Event Impacts, Leveraging, and Legacies” think tank organized by the Centre for Sport and Sustainability, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. I would like to express my sincere appreciation and gratitude to all discussants and participants for their positive and constructive feedback on the article.