The Olympic Games as a global media event

Abstract

The Games of the XXXI Olympiad were held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and were the first celebrated in South America, culminating a decade in which Brazil hosted the world’s main sporting events giving the country greater international visibility. This chapter seeks to present new elements of interpretation of the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games of 2016. To do so, it analyses the influence of the political and social situation in Brazil on the megaevent during the mandates of Presidents Lula da Silva (2002-10), Dilma Rousseff (2011-16) and Michel Temer (2016-18). The methodology applied combines non-participant observation (trips to Rio de Janeiro in 2012, 2016 and 2017); the consultation of academic references; and the analyses of a compilation of news from the newspapers Folha de S.Paulo and El País. The text reveals how circumstances beyond the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games decisively influenced news coverage of the event.