Dr Henrik Linden

Henrik started working at UEL in 2015 and is a Senior Lecturer in Tourism, Events and Cultural Industries Management at the Institute of Hospitality and Tourism (IoHT). He joined from London Metropolitan University, where he worked between 2010 and 2015. His research interests include cultural tourism, media representations, consumerism, fan cultures, art criticism and arts management. Henrik holds a PhD in Culture, Media and Creative Industries (CMCI) from King's College London, an MA from Uppsala University and a BA from Stockholm University. He is a Fellow (FHEA) of Advance HE.

Henrik's experience includes organising and managing a variety of events, mainly in a non-profit museum context but also concerts and club nights. Among Henrik’s previous employers are The Nobel Museum and The Swedish Institute for Children’s Books (both in Stockholm), and he has also worked on a project for The Morgan Library & Museum (New York).

Henrik's doctoral research focused on the art critic as mediator of contemporary African art in Britain and he has co-written a book about fans and fan cultures in relation to tourism, consumerism and social media. He has published papers and book chapters and presented conference papers on a variety of topics, including football fandom and the meaning of place, the Eurovision Songs Contest and travelling fans, fashion as a destination branding tool, and media representations of contemporary art and culture.

Henrik is currently exploring consumer collecting practices in the context of vinyl record collections (with Dr Aidan Kelly of the Royal Docks School of Business and Law at UEL)

Representations of cultures and ideas; City and destination branding, with a particular focus on cultural aspects and strategies; Consumer culture and cities as places of consumption; Consumer collecting practices; Cultural tourism; Arts management; Fans and fan cultures (particularly in relation to popular culture, social media and the experience economy); Cultural events; Contemporary visual art and global art markets; Art criticism.

Henrik is a PhD supervisor and would like to hear from PhD candidates with an interest in any of the above areas, and in events and tourism management more broadly.

Culture, Heritage and the Tourist Landscape
Research Project
Destination Marketing
Service and Experience Marketing
Communication Management in Hospitality, Events and Tourism

Henrik contributes expert views (particularly on fans and fandoms, popular culture, place branding, consumerism and culture) in various media contexts.

Here are some examples:
TRT World (2019), Eurovision Song Contest 2019: Pop culture meets politics [television interview with Dr Henrik Linden], Showcase, TRT World, 21 May. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbT7scPINm8

Linden, H. and Linden, S. (2019) Eurovision: UK quitting the song contest would only be bad for brand Britain, The Conversation, 24 May. Available at: https://theconversation.com/eurovision-uk-quitting-the-song-contest-would-only-be-bad-for-brand-britain-117758

Jones, A. (2017) Why Being Twee Makes so Much Business Sense for Music YouTubers [expert views given by Dr Henrik Linden], Noisey/Vice, 21 February. Available at: https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/4xbx5n/why-being-twee-makes-so-much-business-sense-for-music-youtubers

Linden, H. and Linden, S. (2016) Switched-on city: how London learned to love Christmas lights, The Conversation, 21 December. Available at: https://theconversation.com/switched-on-city-how-london-learned-to-love-christmas-lights-70609