Matheson, Catherine M.Tinsley, Ross2018-06-292018-06-292014-10-20Matheson, C. & Tinsley, R. (2016) The carnivalesque and event evolution: a study of the Beltane Fire Festival. Leisure Studies, 35 (1), pp. 1-27.0261-4367http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02614367.2014.962591https://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/3592This paper centres on the Beltane Fire Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. The objectives are to: first, identify the stages of the festival's evolution and their respective characteristics; second, distinguish features corresponding to the carnivalesque; and, finally, examine the changes in event evolution, particularly regulatory interventions, and their effect. A qualitative approach comprising interviews with internal and external festival stakeholders was utilised. It is argued that there are three stages in the festival's evolution: revival and early development; development and regulation; and, maturation. The characteristics of these evolutionary stages are identified. As the festival has developed and been subject to increasing regulation, features of the carnivalesque have been reduced.1-27articlehttp://doi:10.1080/02614367.2014.962591