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This paper aimed to verify the most important factors (cognitive and affective dimensions) perceived in Rio de Janeiro’s image as the host city of the 2016 Olympic Games and to identify the factors that predict better the overall city image and its affective image dimension in this particular context of a sports mega-event.

This paper employs exploratory factor analysis to define intervening factors in each dimension of Rio de Janeiro’s image. By parting from the initial diagnostic analysis, multiple regression analysis was applied to measure how the intervening factors predicted the overall image of the host city, as well as to whether its cognitive dimension was able to predict the affective dimension. Data collection was conducted by applying structured questionnaires with a sample of international respondents (n = 274).

Rio’s image as a sports mega-event host city presented two intervening factors for each dimension. For image composition, the most important cognitive factor diagnosed was “Services and Attractions.” For the affective dimension, the most important factor diagnosed was “Positive Feelings.” The investigation concluded that the cognitive dimension was capable of predicting the affective dimension, as “Positive Feelings” was the factor that better predicted Rio’s overall image as the host city of the 2016 Olympic Games, while the “Services and Attractions” factor was not significant in predicting the host city’s image.

The main focus of the investigation was the host city’s international image as presented by primary sources. The sample for investigation was therefore composed exclusively of foreign students, nonresidents in Brazil, who did not participate in said events. Although this approach provides a partial diagnostic of the host cityvs image, for an overall and accurate image diagnostic it is also relevant to investigate the national residents’ point of view, which is beyond the scope of this investigation.

The findings suggest that destination marketers would obtain better results investing in the affective dimension, employing actions that stimulate positive feelings about the host city, especially when relating to sports mega-event. Investment in general infrastructure is also presented as a relevant factor.

The host city’s image can guide policies to improve local capacity to attract investments and new events that contribute to change in urban areas, as well as to reinforce positive aspects of that image. Investment in general infrastructure, again, is presented as a crucial issue.

The value and originality of the presented investigation lie in a lack of specific studies on Rio’s image as a travel destination, despite its being the most important touristic city in Brazil and the host for the 2016 Olympic Games. A separate analysis of individual image dimensions and the examination of intervening cognitive factors in the affective dimension are also not common in a sports mega-event context.

This paper aims to verify the brand image effects of holding a sport mega-event by investigating the host city's influence on the country's branding, as a tourist destination.

This research considered the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and uses quantitative methods: exploratory factor analysis and regression. Data were collected by structured questionnaires with a sample of (n = 274) international respondents with high international travel experience.

Rio de Janeiro's 2016 host city image positively predicted Brazil's tourist destination image. Both cognitive and affective image dimensions of Rio as a host city predicted Brazil's destination image, but the cognitive image dimensions demonstrated more impact.

Even in a mega-event context, city marketing strategies should be planned and executed with a focus on the country's destination image.

The study contributes by focusing on presenting the importance of the host city image dimensions to the host country destination image in a sports mega-event context. The study investigated a new approach, the impacts of affective and cognitive dimensions in the overall destination image considering two connected destinations and the hosting of a sport mega-event, a condition not found in the literature thus far.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of service quality on perceived positive and negative social impact of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.

A field study was conducted in Rio de Janeiro, and data were collected from residents who attended the Olympic Games through a self-administered questionnaire (n=519). The questionnaire included measures of perceived service quality, positive and negative social impact. A confirmatory factor analysis analysed the psychometric properties of the constructs, and a subsequent structural equation model examined the relationships between service quality and social impact perceptions.

The results show good psychometric properties of a multidimensional construct of service quality composed of the technical, functional, aesthetic, access, accommodation and complementary events dimensions. The service quality construct was significantly related to both positive social impact (city image and community pride enhancement, social experiences and public infrastructures) and negative social impact (social conflicts and costs) perceptions.

This study contributes to the literature by examining the role of service quality in sport mega-events and testing on different facets of social impact. The findings highlight that social atmosphere and new experiences in the Olympic Games are critical when planning these events.

Despite the recognition that citizens' perceptions of mega sport events' social impact is critical for the sustainable development of these events and host cities, most previous studies have not taken into consideration how these perceptions may change over time. This study examines citizens' social impact perceptions of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games before and after the event.

Data were collected amongst local residents of Rio de Janeiro pre- and post-event (n = 256). A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) analysed the psychometric properties of the proposed social impact constructs. Subsequently, a multigroup analysis and latent mean comparisons were conducted to test social impact perceptions pre- and post-event.

The multigroup CFA showed factorial stability of the social impact model in both periods, while the latent mean comparisons revealed significant differences in the dimensions of social experiences, city image and community pride enhancement, public infrastructures and social conflicts. Results indicated that the perception of positive impacts tends to increase, while perceived negative impacts decrease from pre- to post-event.

The social effects of hosting sport mega events result in a short-term change in attitudes towards the local community, leading to a better comprehension on how communities perceive the event's impact on their lives.

In a highly complex mega event such as the Olympic Games, any change may influence residents' perceptions. The findings of this study demonstrate the importance of residents for determining support or opposition in hosting the event, allowing a better understanding of the exchange effects.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the image of Brazil and Rio de Janeiro as a blended tourism destination (TD) image, by examining the categories of the image, and whether it is positive or negative and cognitive or affective.

A quantitative approach was employed to verify the relations between the image of Brazil and Rio de Janeiro by visit, location, categories and subcategories and dimensions. Data were collected online from a “snowball” sample and were analyzed applying non-parametric hypothesis testing. Statistical analysis was performed with Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software version 25.0 for Windows.

Results reveal that respondents share the same image of the city of Rio de Janeiro and Brazil, a conclusion that is partially confirmed by statistical findings. The quantitative results also showed that the image is positive and “natural attractions” and “unique city attractions” are, respectively, the most mentioned subcategory and category. Cognitive attributes of the image have been more mentioned than affective ones.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the image of Brazil and Rio de Janeiro as a blended TD image has never been explored before, however, it has been assumed as being the same.

Olympic Games provide an arguably unparalleled amount of opportunities for the host city and country in relation to economic and socio-cultural growth and development. However, the achievement of such long-term success measures lies with the holistic involvement of community groups, specifically residents, in the planning of the mega event. The purpose of this paper is to examine the residents’ attitudes of the 2016 Olympic Games and to verify moderating effects of place of residence in support of the Games.

The data were collected in Brazil in the months leading to the Rio Olympic Games using non-probabilistic convenience sampling. A total of 501 responses were collected prior to the opening ceremony of the event. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were applied.

The socio-cultural and economic dimensions had a positive and significant effect in support for the Olympic Games; however, the environmental dimension did not have such strong effect. Furthermore, differences between host and non-host city residents tested positive in support of the Olympic Games.

This study aims to contribute to the developing application of country branding by examining attitudes of internal stakeholder groups in the form of residents.

This research presents a conceptual model to further establish the importance of such attitudes for organizers and government authorities involved with the bidding, planning and management of mega events from a country branding perspective, particularly in developing countries such as Brazil.

Planning and managing the transportation services for Olympic host cities is a complex task. This paper contributes to the event management literature by presenting empirical evidence of the public transportation issues using a case study of a local community-focused Olympic host city. Key factors underpinning transportation issues outcomes are identified.

The Rio 2016 Olympic city was selected as a case study. To develop a scale of public transportation issues, four stages of scale development were conducted: a construct definition and content domain; item generation and expert review; a quantitative study for the purification of the scale; and a quantitative study to validation of the scale. Data were collected among local citizens who lived in the Olympic host city (n = 513).

The construct of public transportation issues was assigned to five main categories: planning, infrastructures, information, insecurity and urban mobility. The scale shows internal consistency, reliability, construct validity and nomological validity. Transport issues perceived of Olympic host city tend to increase the negative social impact perceived among local citizens.

This study contributes to the harmful impacts discussion of hosting sport mega-events and introduces the transportation issues that the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) needs to know when hosting the Olympic Games. The scale application for the future Olympic host countries is discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to identify how a city as a brand discursively conceives and articulates relevant meanings in order to build its identity.

The study follows a discursive semiotic approach using content from the Visit.Rio website and posts from its Facebook page.

It was possible to organize the values and meanings that structure the Rio de Janeiro brand in the semiotic square. Narrative schemes that concretize the value proposition guided mainly by contemplation and experimentation situations were identified. The discursive construction of the Rio de Janeiro brand is primarily marked by the relation between nature and culture, where contrasting meanings are explored by the City Hall managers.

This study is limited to the analysis of the enunciator (Rio de Janeiro brand managers) in their process of creating and articulating the city’s meanings. Future research could investigate the enunciate (public) perspective.

Managers should consider the discursive approach since it provides a more holistic perspective on the brand-building process. The findings may contribute to the understanding, selection and articulation of the correct meanings that should be communicated to the public in order to make the city a relevant and desirable place to visit.

This paper is based on the concept of a brand as a set of discourses grounded by meanings that are culturally conceived, which, thus, presents itself as a different approach from the traditional one, especially in research on place branding.

The purpose of this study is to examine the post-event perceptions of Rio de Janeiro residents regarding the legacies left to them from hosting the 2016 Olympic Games. Additionally, this study examines how perceptions of Olympic legacies differed amongst demographic groups.

Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, participants were asked to complete a survey questionnaire and answer three open-ended questions. An adapted version of Fredline et al. (2003)'s General Scale to Measure Social Impacts (GSMSI) was selected for this study. In total, 156 useable responses were collected. An exploratory factor analysis was utilized for the survey items while the three open-ended questions were coded abductively as positive, negative or mixed feelings.

The quantitative results shows that Rio residents believe that hosting the 2016 Olympic Games had a mostly negative impact on their perception of legacies. Through reading open-ended responses, participants expressed disappointment over the legacies left to them. These findings suggest that hosting the Olympic Games may not have been beneficial to the life of Rio de Janeiro residents, and it may have been particularly worse for members of the middle class.

Due to the recency of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, a few studies have explored the long-term legacies left to the local population. However, the uniqueness of this study lays on the perceptions of legacies from hosting the Rio 2016 after a full Olympic cycle has passed.