Mike is the Founder and Chair of the Centre for Events & Festivals (CEF); CEO of Legacies (the official consultancy arm of CEF); and a Professeur des universités at the University of Paris 1. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of Event Management Journal – the leading academic journal for the study and analysis of events and festivals, founded in 1993, and based in New York (USA), and Editor of Routledge’s book series: ‘How Events Transform Society’.
Over the past 15 years, Mike has held a mix of university and private sector roles. He has been the Director of Research, Intelligence and Education at Trivandi, where he created the organisation’s flagship training: Major Events 101 (ME101); Head of Department and Reader at the University of Surrey, where he also served as the Director of the UK Olympic Studies Centre; and an Associate Professor at the University of Central Florida (USA) – the #1 UK, European and USA universities for the study of events and festivals. For the past 5 years he has also been part of the Centre for Science and Policy’s network of trusted international scholars (profile) who provide policy advice to governmental and non-governmental organizations, based at the University of Cambridge (UK).
Throughout this period, Mike has been researching, analysing, commentating, writing, publishing, and teaching on the economics and social impacts of staging major events, with the view to improve delivery and leave a sustainable legacy for the communities, people and places that play host. He is the author of 50+ articles, chapters, and thought pieces, and Editor of numerous books, including three in 2025: ‘Events and Society’ (Routledge, 2025), ‘Events and Economic Development’ (Routledge, 2025), and ‘Events and Politics’ (Routledge, 2025).
Visit www.MikeDuignan.com for a full overview of Mike’s portfolio.
