Mega-events And City Image Communication

With the fierce globalization of competition and the urbanization process,urban competition has become fiercer,and city image elements in urban comprehensive competitiveness have received more and more attention.Organizing Mega-Events can significantly attract attention and form an effective boost to the city’s image transmission,thereby enhancing the city’s overall competitiveness.Therefore,the use of Mega-Events to organize the city’s image communication has become a way to promote urban development.In this context,this paper focuses on the issue of the impact of Mega-Events on the spread of city image,combs the relevant theories of city image communication,the seventh Military Games as an example,specifically studies the impact of the Seventh Military Games on urban image communication in Wuhan.Through the content analysis of the reports of People’s Daily,Hubei Daily,and Changjiang Daily during the Military Games,the media construction of Wuhan’s image was explored.The questionnaires and in-depth interviews were used to summarize the city image of Wuhan from the perspective of college students.By comparing the differences between the media image and the perception of the audience,it summarizes the impact of the military games on the image of Wuhan city and reflects on the lack of image communication in Wuhan.The gathering effect of Mega-Events is remarkable.As a "media-like event",the military games have the typical characteristics of ritualization and mediaization,which have played a positive role in the spread of Wuhan’s urban image.The media image of Wuhan during the Military Games highlights the livable environment and enthusiasm of the citizens in Wuhan.It focuses on Wuhan’s advantageous industries and well-known corporate brands to jointly portray Wuhan’s vibrant economic development prospects,but on the tourism image of Wuhan weakened.Undergraduates’ perception of Wuhan’s city image is more recognized for Wuhan’s economic development level and central city’s positioning,but the city’s characteristics are insufficient,and it has raised many objections to the city’s livable image,focusing on traffic congestion and poor sanitation.Through a questionnaire survey,it was verified that there is a transfer of image between Mega-Events and the host city,that is,the image of the Military Games has a positive impact on the image of Wuhan City,and the image of Wuhan City is significantly related to the involvement of festivals and events.Image and attitude can have a significant positive impact on the involvement of the host city’s festival activities.After the outbreak of the COVID-19 pneumonia,the administrative actions of the Wuhan government damaged the image of the city,but with the orderly control of the outbreak and the post-disaster reconstruction in an orderly manner,the disaster trauma formed a new collective memory in the city and deepened the public’s sense of belonging and identity.The restoration of the city’s image requires the media to assume an important responsibility to strengthen Wuhan’s ‘safe image’.The impact of the Military Games on the image of Wuhan City is mainly reflected in the construction of urban infrastructure and natural environment to enhance the comprehensive competitiveness of the city.The dedication of volunteers and the enthusiasm of the citizens to build a civilized and confident image of citizens,international sports events promote the external dissemination of Wuhan city image.However,there are still many deficiencies in the current city image communication in Wuhan.In the future,urban image communication should focus on the excavation of urban cultural connotation and create a unique urban image connotation;actively cultivate civic awareness and promote the transformation of citizen image to citizen image;diversified and open exhaustive communication City image bridges the gap between audience perception and media image.