Events generate both positive and negative impacts on host communities. Significant research attention has been dedicated to these impacts due to their effect on event support. The provision of support by hosting communities is a crucial element in the success of events, given that such support ensures access to local infrastructure, knowledge, volunteers and event promotion. In contrast, community opposition can have irreparable repercussions for event hosting. While positive impacts are welcomed, negative impacts are dreaded. However, although it may be improbable to eliminate undesirable negative impacts entirely, they can be mitigated. Additionally, it is of paramount importance to ensure the sustained longevity of the positive impacts to sustain host community support. In pursuit of an effective means to manage event impacts, researchers have proposed community engagement as a feasible tool.

The concept of community engagement, which was originally confined to public planning studies, has now extended to tourism and leisure planning. Community engagement in its true form is a form of citizen power, where the communities' voices are represented in decision-making. It has been praised for its ability to promote community well-being, community development, social capital, diversity and inclusion, social licence to operate, community support and community empowerment. Engagement can occur at various intensities, which yield a variety of results. The highest level of community engagement occurs when communities are empowered to engage. Throughout history, scholars have presented several engagement models that graph community engagement at these intensities. These models have transformed throughout the years, respecting social changes.

The capacity of community engagement to provide support for leisure developments and promote social acceptance has captured the attention of event researchers. Consequently, community engagement has been suggested as a tool for managing event impacts. By providing a platform for effective communication and collaboration between event organisers and the community, community engagement can help to mitigate the negative impacts of events and promote positive outcomes for all parties involved.

Yet, despite tremendous efforts by researchers, community engagement has not achieved its desired optimal level. Currently, engagement in event contexts is initiated primarily by decision-makers such as event planning bodies, which only request host communities to join in. One fallback of this passive community engagement is its inability to empower the community - in other words, it does not clearly represent authentic community engagement, where community voices take prominence. This PhD thesis aims to contribute to this developing body of literature on community engagement in event planning and operations with the objective of empowering host communities. More specifically, the thesis explores the community engagement antecedents to advance understanding of the engagement process. [...]