In October 2021, the Italian National Association of Cities (Associazione Nazionale Comuni Italiani – ANCI), an organization that represents over 7,000 City governments in Italy, endorsed the Charter for Mega-events in Heritage-rich Cities. Click here to see the news. On November 11, 2021, about 100 among Italian mayors, deputy mayors, and city council members received a copy of the Charter for Mega-events in Heritage-rich Cities during an event organized by the ANCI in Parma.
On November 19, 2021, the “Carta per i grandi eventi nelle città ricche di patrimonio culturale: Dagli eventi culturali alle Olimpiadi Invernali 2026 ” event was held as part of the UrbanPromo annual conference in Milan. Click here to see the program. The website of the main Italian financial newspaper, Sole24Ore, reported the event, click here to read the news.
Background
In the past, many cities used mega-events to support capital and revenue investments and boost tourism while harnessing their competitiveness on a global scale. Until recently, the emphasis has been placed by and large on the creation of new infrastructural components, new stadiums and other public facilities to host events. In many instances today, on the contrary, mega-event organizers have opted for the re-use of existing facilities, the conversion of inner-city areas and the regeneration of neighborhoods.
For heritage-rich European cities, this shift in paradigm – driven in part by contraction in public budgets and by the reduced pace of expansion of cities – represents both an opportunity and a threat.
How can we bring mega-events back into the urban historic fabric while fostering positive synergies with urban heritage and cultural landscapes? What are the common issues and main tradeoffs to be addressed in European cities? How to improve urban and cultural planning tools for mega-events in heritage-rich cities?
The HOMEE project brings together leading research centers working in the fields of cultural heritage preservation and mega-event planning, in close contact with key institutions and policy officers who have already had or will have direct responsibility for planning and implementing mega-events in Europe.
