Social sustainability on European food festival websites: A multimodal discourse analysis

Food festival websites often showcase the commitment of events towards a socially relevant issue. However, it is challenging to communicate how events contribute to the well-being of communities. This paper analyses European food festival websites to explore to what extent events' social benefits are represented in their online communication. The research is based on a multimodal discourse concerned with the interaction between visual, textual, and design elements. Findings show that intergenerational connections, awareness of physical and mental health, and the preservation of local food heritage are the most salient discourses related to social sustainability when these are represented on the websites. In most cases, sustainability initiatives to assure access and inclusion of diverse community members stay hidden. Food festival organizers are advised to use inclusive online communication to foster a sense of community, inclusivity, and social equity.