Rio de Janeiro’s Scenery and its Heritage as a City’s Brand: Analysis of the Visual Identity Project for the 2016 Olympic Games

This presentation is about the construction of representations of Rio de Janeiro and the potential impacts of mega-events, especially the 2016 Olympics, during such a process. This logic occurs in the context of “commodity cities,” where cities are treated as products that need to be sold on an international symbolic market, with the goal of enhancing the tourism sector and attracting investments. In order to do so, in a market economy, it is necessary to develop the city’s brand, taking into consideration the aspects essential to strengthen such symbolic construction. Branding aspects, for example brand managing, are also used in order to raise public awareness. Seeing the importance of heritage, and from the design perspective, the aim is to analyze the 2016 Olympic Games’ visual identity programme. Consecrated symbols of Rio de Janeiro are reinforced in this identity and become forming elements of the city’s brand, which must be broadcasted to a worldwide audience. It is pertinent to discuss how they are being represented within the Olympic brand and their meanings.