| Summary: | This paper scrutinizes the impact of events in boosting local economic development (LED) in Port St
Johns (PSJ) situated in the Eastern Cape (EC) Province, South Africa (SA). Globally, events are
emerging as a significant and growing sector. Furthermore, over the years, many cultural festivals and
major cultural events have grown, their impacts have increasingly come under the scrutiny from funders,
policy-makers and planners. Additionally, events are seen as having significant socio-cultural impacts
in the communities they are held. For instance, the EC Province has been hosting a number of events
lately which have led to the change of the face of the communities they are held. Such events included
but not limited to the popular annual Standard Bank National Art Festival (event held in Grahamstown)
and the Isingqesethu Wild Coast cultural festival held in PSJ. However, such events do not receive
sufficient support from government, more especially local government level. As such, this study is based
on the social impacts theory. On the other hand, the study utilised a mixed methodology technique to
explore and discuss the role local government could play in community development using events. In
this study, qualitative data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews and quantitative data
was collected by means of questionnaires. The study found that local people were fully cognizant of
events that are taking place in the area of PSJ. This could be attributed to the fact that the PSJ has
numerous annual events taking place. However, a concerted effort has to be undertaken by local
authorities and other pertinent stakeholders in terms of management of such events. This is to ensure
that these events do not have a negative impact in PSJ communities.
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