Paper short abstract:

In the contemporary search for visibility, local communities do not rely only on (invented) traditions, but also on new markers of difference. Festivals have proved to be a useful tool for marking uniqueness and providing a context for imagining locality within a wider arena.

Paper long abstract:

Today festivals of various kinds are appearing with rapid speed. The process can be linked with the development of tourism and urban regeneration. As festivals are both attached to a place and with their content also connect it with the wider world, they are nowadays considered a useful tool for branding places. However, while some are produced by professionals, other new (non-traditional) festivals are organised bottom-up. It seems that local inhabitants have joined the game of making "their place" visible by organising festivals.

After the year 2000, when it hosted its first international reggae festival, Tolmin, a town of 3.500 inhabitants in Western Slovenia, has become widely associated with popular music festivals. Following the success of a reggae festival, a metal music festival was introduced into the town. Today the Metal Camp festival is famous throughout Europe. Moreover, other new popular and art festivals have also been added by local associations.

Local inhabitants have recognised festivals as contributing to the liveliness of their town and therefore perceive them through tourism rather than other contexts (e.g. culture, extravagant gatherings, subcultural events etc.). Furthermore, festivals have positioned the town within various imaginary geographies with transnational relevance. As a result, local inhabitants positively identify with events that have suddenly made their place of residence internationally famous.