• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.263-280
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• 2007

Recently, many cities and regions of the world attempt to promote cultural and arts activities in order to vitalize regional economies and strengthen local identity. Some old industrial cities of the advanced economies in particular often introduce cultural and arts activities in renovating obsolete urban infra-structure, revitalize urban economy, clean polluted urban environment, and advertise various development projects. A small Canadian city, Stratford, Ontario, has shown a spectacular success in such efforts. By hosting Shakespearian festivals every year since 1953, the theatre company, the Shakespearian Festival of Canada in Stratford, sells about 600 thousands tickets, attracting 2 million visitors to the area. With the festivals, the city became able to host a large cultural cluster composed of the theatre company, chef school, summer music festival, and Chicago Associates. The city has also able to maintain one of the most competent theatre companies in the North America.