Summary. There has been a remarkable rise in the number of urban arts festivals in recent decades. The outcomes of cities ’ engagement with arts festivals, however, remain little understood, particularly in social and cultural terms. This article reviews existing literature on urban festivals and argues that city authorities tend to disregard the social value of festivals and to construe them simply as vehicles of economic generation or as ‘quick fix ’ solutions to city image problems. While such an approach renders certain benefits, it is ultimately quite limiting. If arts festivals are to achieve their undoubted potential in animating communities, celebrating diversity and improving quality of life, then they must be conceived of in a more holistic way by urban managers. Currently, the tasks of conceptualising the problems at issue and devising appropriate policies are hampered by the scarcity of empirical research conducted in the area. ‘What is a festival? It’s something excep-tional, something out of the ordinary... something that must create a special atmosphere which stems not only from the quality of the art and the production, but from the countryside, the ambience of a city and the traditions... of a region (de Rougement, quoted in Isar, 1976, p. 131; author’s translation).1 1.

Summary. The landscape of the north-east of England, both urban and rural, is perhaps most notable as a deindustrialised landscape. Indeed, the world in which we live is determined as much by what it was as by what it is. Perhaps this is no more evident than in the case of NewcastleGateshead which is often portrayed as an exemplar of the revitalising benefits of culture-led regeneration. The, as yet unproven, success of NewcastleGateshead Quayside is founded upon a massive financial investment in iconic projects. But under what conditions is, if at all, such iconography succeeding? This article addresses the impact of flagship regeneration projects and their role in radically rearticulating the meaning of place and space in a so-called post-industrial world. It is suggested that the success of investment in iconic cultural projects depends above all upon people’s sense of belonging in a place and the degree to which culture-led regeneration can engage with that sense of belonging, whilst balancing achievements of the past with ambitions for the future. The de-industrialisation of cities has created a set of circumstances in which policy-makers throughout Europe and beyond have despe-

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