About
Dr Beatriz García
Independent researcher and strategic advisor on cultural strategy and impact for cities and mega events. Founder of Beatriz García Research & Advisory.
Biography
Dr Beatriz García is an independent researcher and strategic advisor on cultural strategy and impact for cities and mega events. Through Beatriz García Research & Advisory she advises cities, governments, organising committees and international bodies on cultural strategy, programme architecture, impact evaluation and legacy.
Originally from Barcelona, where the four-year Cultural Olympiad began, she has followed the cultural programmes of the Olympic Games since Sydney 2000, the subject of her PhD. She directed the Cultural Olympiad evaluations for London 2012 and Paris 2024, edited the Milano Cortina 2026 report, and has sat on the International Olympic Committee's Culture and Olympic Heritage Commission since 2015. In Europe she directed Impacts 08, the study of Liverpool 2008 that became the reference model for cultural impact evaluation; wrote the European Parliament's review of three decades of European Capitals of Culture; served as member, chair and rapporteur of the European Capital of Culture Selection and Monitoring Panel; and chairs the international board of Monitor 2024, assessing Bodø 2024.
She is a member of the Culture Next Policy Task Force, Associate Director of the UK Centre for Cultural Value, Chair of the outdoor arts company Walk the Plank and Senior Research Fellow in Mega Events and Cultural Policy at the University of Liverpool. She has raised over £2.5 million in research funding and given more than 300 invited talks in 45 countries, in English, Spanish, Catalan and French. She writes Euphoric Cities, on cities, major events and culture.
Three ways of working
Academic, advisor, communicator: one loop.
I work in three ways that feed each other. As an academic I build the evidence. As an advisor I put it to work inside cities, governments and organising committees. As a communicator I carry it to the people who decide, and to the publics who live with the results.
- AcademicBuilds the evidence: long-run studies of what culture does for the cities that host major events.Gives every talk its evidence →
- CommunicatorCarries it to decision-makers: keynotes, interviews and Euphoric Cities.Each talk opens the next commission →
- AdvisorPuts it to work for cities, governments and organising committees.Real decisions keep the research current →
Two arcs
At the centre of the Olympic Games and the European Capitals of Culture
One of very few people to have worked inside both.
The Olympic arc
- 1997–2002PhD on the Sydney 2000 Olympic Arts Festivals, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
- 2004–2005London 2012 bid, Culture and Education advisory committee
- 2008–2014International Olympic Committee, research grant selection committee
- 2011–2013Directed the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad evaluation
- 2015–2026Member, IOC Culture and Olympic Heritage Commission
- 2019–Culture advisor to the International Olympic Committee
- 2024Directed the Paris 2024 Cultural Olympiad evaluation
- 2026Editor, Milano Cortina 2026 Cultural Olympiad report
The European arc
- 2002–2005The long-term legacy of Glasgow 1990, University of Glasgow
- 2006–2010Director, Impacts 08, the research programme for Liverpool 2008
- 2009–2010Led the European Commission's Capital of Culture knowledge exchange network
- 2013European Parliament study of three decades of Capitals of Culture
- 2017–2022Member, chair and rapporteur, European Capital of Culture Selection & Monitoring Panel
- 2024–2025Chair, international board of Monitor 2024, assessing Bodø 2024
- NowThe Culturometer for Nikšić 2030 · Member, Culture Next Policy Task Force
Programmes, introductions and articles
Approved bios, photos and a one-page fact sheet are in the press kit.