Dr Steve Brown, Head of the Department of Tourism at Flinders, has been appointed to the Board of the Adelaide Festival Corporation.

The strategic role seems almost a natural progression for Dr Brown (pictured), who has not only been involved with numerous aspects of the Festival going back to 1976, but is a huge fan of the event.

Dr Brown said the Festival has not only made a major contribution to the life of the city of Adelaide since 1960, but has, from an event tourism perspective, had an important economic impact for South Australia, both in its own right and as a catalyst.

“The other festivals that have developed around, and with initial support from, the Adelaide Festival, such as the Fringe and Womadelaide, have also contributed to that real financial input into the State’s economy,” Dr Brown said.

”But it is because the city changes so positively when the Festival is staged, the ambience and the sense that Adelaide is the festival city and South Australia the festival state, that provides so much for those of us fortunate enough to live here and that brings so many cultural tourists from across the globe,” he said.

Among his previous roles in the Festival, Dr Brown worked in design and event management for the Festival’s Outdoor Program in 1988, 1990, 1992 and 1996, and was the Festival’s assistant administrator from 1982 to 1984. He was also a member of the Adelaide Fringe Board from 1978 to 1982.

His term on the Festival Board runs until May 2015.