In this exploratory research, multiple case studies of various types of festivals in two countries reveal how festival managers work with stakeholders and who they are. Stakeholders' roles are categorized as regulator, facilitator, coproducer, supplier, collaborator, audience, and the impacted, and the results show clearly that key stakeholders take multiple roles affecting the organization. Practical implications are drawn for event managers regarding the identification, evaluation, and management of stakeholder relationships. Drawing on resource dependency and stakeholder theories, a conceptual model is presented that illustrates the conclusion that festivals and events are produced within and by a set of managed stakeholder relationships. Recommendations are made for development of this line of research and theory building.

Events are organized by several different actors with individual interests. In order to perform the project task at hand, actors form relationships aimed at cooperation. Relationships involve political processes, which can be understood from a consensus and a conflict perspective. From the consensus perspective, mutual commitment, trust, and conversation are important to build fruitful relationships. From the conflict perspective, tensions, conflicts, and power games are considered unavoidable aspects of social interaction, which create change and renewal. This article aims at describing and understanding political processes in event project networks. The findings suggest that processes within project networks are predominantly based on either a consensus or a conflict perspective. However, consensus and conflict are not to be regarded as poles apart. Instead, they are intertwined and coexist in relational interaction. Actors use different strategies to manage political processes, aiming at building either legitimacy or mutual commitment.

This article argues that festival innovation is a highly cooperative endeavour among many actors in an inter‐organizational network. The aim is to understand how collaborative festival innovation is performed and who takes part in the process. Material from case studies of three Swedish festivals showed that innovation takes place in complex networks involving many actors having various interests. Innovation networks are often highly dynamic and changing: innovation often takes place in new partnerships. The innovation work is hard to plan: it is to a large degree an emergent process and sometimes innovation originates from improvisation. Some innovation can, however, become institutionalized and embedded in the routines of the partnership interaction. Festival organizers need to reflect on their network and relate strategically to how their partners can contribute to successful festival innovation.