Vassilios Ziakas holds a PhD in Sport Management from the University of Texas at Austin. Vassilios studies sport and leisure policy through the lens of an interdisciplinary approach that seeks to create linkages among the sectors of sport, recreation, leisure, tourism and events. His primary emphasis is on strategic planning for obtaining a range of sustainable community benefits. His research has been published in a broad range of peer-reviewed journals and is widely cited. Vassilios sits on the Editorial Advisory Boards of the International Journal of Event and Festival, the Journal of Sport and Tourism, the International Journal of Hospitality and Event Management, and the Athens Journal of Sports. Finally, he is the author of the monograph Event Portfolio Planning and Management: A Holistic Approach (2014, Routledge) and co-editor of the Routledge Handbook of Popular Culture and Tourism (2018).