How successful were the 2016 Rio Olympics according to the Brazilian media? How did the country market itself during this mega-event? What do we associate Brazilian culture with now in the UK?

Taking the 2016 Rio Olympics as its focus, this workshop will explore how Brazil has been branded in the run-up to, during, and after the Olympic Games. It will discuss ways in which official narratives produced in this context, such as cultural programmes, affect representation in local, national, and international media.

The research at the heart of this workshop is the outcome of a Newton Fund knowledge exchange project being led by Dr. Beatriz García (School of the Arts, University of Liverpool) and Professor Paulo Nassar (School of Communications and Arts, University of São Paolo). Professor Nassar, his research team, and Dr. García will be contributing to this workshop which provides the opportunity to learn more about research methodologies such as media content analysis, the differences of branding Brazil in Brazil and the UK, and to engage with the effects of socio-political issues which do not feature as part of official narratives despite the efforts of the Olympic Committee’s cultural programme.

Dr. Beatriz García is the UK’s leading researcher on the cultural impact of mega-events such as the Olympics. Dr. García has let and delivered some of the most high profile projects in culture-led regeneration, first working on the Sydney 2000 Olympic cultural programme; then studying the legacy of the Glasgow 1990 European City of Culture; directing the pioneering Impacts 08 research framework on the multiple impacts of Liverpool as 2008 European Capital of Culture (ECoC), and reviewing the first three decades of ECoC legacies throughout Europe. Beatriz has conducted primary research across the ECoC programme and at every Olympic Games – Winter and Summer – since 2000, funded by such organisations as the British Council, British Academy, the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council, the UK Social and Economic Research Council, the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, the European Commission, and the International Olympic Committee. .

Professor Paulo Nassar has a degree in Journalism from the Pontific Catholic University of São Paulo, and Master and PhD degrees in Communication Sciences, from the School of Communications and Arts of the University of São Paulo (ECA-USP), where he has been Senior Assistant Professor since 2013. Professor Nassar also holds a postdoctoral degree from IULM-Libera Universitá di Lingue e Comunicazione (Milan) and coordinates the Study Group of New Narratives (GENN - ECA / USP) and is CEO of Aberje – the Brazilian Association for Business Communication. In 2012 he was awarded the Atlas Award for Lifetime Achievement for International Public Relations granted by Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), an award that recognizes individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to the practice and profession of public relations on a global scale.

The workshop will take place between 2.30pm and 6.00pm, and will be followed by an opportunity to network over a wine reception and nibbles.