Paper short abstract:

This paper will attempt to focus on the phenomena of performing arts or festive events. Where can uncertainty arise in these phenomena after the conferral of Intangible Cultural Heritage status?

Paper long abstract:

Performing arts or festive events are specific domains of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH). There may be several uncertainties related to the ICH status granted. One of them is related to tourism. After the conferral of ICH status, these phenomena often become elements of cultural promotion and an object of interest for tourists. Although tourism can contribute to the continuous maintenance of the phenomena, there can also be distortions and inappropriate commercialisation. There may be uncertainty in the perspective of the actors – to what extent do they want to keep the performance or expression unchanged, to what degree can they contribute their creativity or do they want to adapt the form of the heritage to the audience? Another uncertainty connected to the previous one, is the perception of cultural heritage by the actors themselves. Do they perceive what they perform in the final form as cultural heritage?

The paper will focus on the awarded phenomena in the Czech Republic and will ask whether it is possible to find the boundary between commercialisation and sustainability and where actors take certainty about the form of cultural heritage.