Research On Strategies Of Promoting City Image By Holding Large-scale Sports Events In Shanghai

Different problems reveal more obvious with China’s urbanization level gettinghigher. Since the20th century, western scholars have considered that there wasintimate relationship between urbanization and large-scale urban events. Nowadays,large-scale sports events, as one of the spokesmen of city events, have become animportant symbol of urban modernization. Meanwhile, with the high-speeddevelopment of modern sports, sports events gradually show the characteristics ofdiversified functions. For instance, the comprehensive benefits including economic,social and cultural aspects brought by sports events, in turn, push the very eventsbecoming the main carrier of city marketing, as well. No doubt that more and morecities begin to choose domestic and international sports events as means of promotingthe city image, forging city brand, and accelerating urban development. Shanghaisports events are vigorously developing, yet the survey shows that there is vaguecorrelation with large sports events and city image. The most wanted result of holdinglarge sports events to shape a city’s image is to bury the collective memory intocitizens, promote the activities as an events that generally recognized by the nationand the states. Therefore, how to combine a large sports event closely with the city ofShanghai and to how effectively enhance the city image of Shanghai are the keyproblem needed to be solved together by events workers and government officers.In this study, the strategy of how to enhance the city image by holdinglarge-scale sports event was researched. The large-scale sports event is around thesports competition project, multi-agent (including government, sponsors, organizers,athletes, spectators, media and so on) participation, which has significant far-reachinginfluence on many aspects like the society, economics, culture, etc. The image of thecity includes three aspects. They are city landscape, city concept and city behavioridentity, respectively. The study mainly uses the method of literature, questionnairesurvey, mathematical analysis and case analysis, by which the background, currentsituation, and existing problems of the major sports events held in Shanghai wereinvestigated. Also, related theory of city cultural capital was adopted to analyze therelationship between the city image and resources of large scale sports events. Finally,concrete strategies were put forward.The contents of the research mainly consists of four parts:(1) large-scale sportsevent situation analysis in Shanghai at present;(2) the cognitive status of Shanghaicity image;(3) the main problems existed while holding major activities like largescale sports events in Shanghai according to the results of the questionnaires;(4) incombination with the questionnaire investigation and case analysis, in-depth researchon different ways to enhance city image by holding major sports events wasconducted, and then strategies were put forward accordingly. The shortcomings oflarge scale sports events in Shanghai are:(1) Shanghai’s sports atmosphere is tooweak to meet public demands;(2) The correlation between sports events and cityimage is not as strong as the samples’ good perception to the city image, but theevents and city image correlation is weak;(3) The publicity for sports events isrestricted to relatively unitary form, rarely combined with the image of city.In thelight of which, five strategies were put forward:(1)Reasonable planning and usinglarge sports venues, to shape the city visual image characteristics. People focus on thesubsequent utilization of large sports venues. Before the venue construction, after thegame to use reasonably, scientifically planning will effectively shape the visual imageof city characteristics.(2) Using a variety of related sports activities to maintainingpeople’s enthusiasm in the game. Using the large sports events to stimulate people’s memory be too costly, Against competition atmosphere is not thick can adopt a seriesof rich variety of mass sports activities continue to effectively maintain theenthusiasm of the citizens to participate in sports, paying sustained attention to sports;(3) Put the city spirit into sports propaganda, shape the concept of city characteristics.The correlation is weak between game and city image, the image of the event shouldpay attention to combine the elements in the city, for example, combined withenvironmental element to enhance city image;(4) Select the appropriate propagandaform, improve the behavior image of the city. Micro films, plays and other forms canalso be used, which runs through the city’s image promotion, let more audience toaccept sports, make sports more creative.(5)Brand sports events can shape the citycultural characteristics. City characteristic of the brand will form a unique sportsculture, and combined with local city culture dissemination of local characteristicculture, brings to the city’s rich cultural resources, cultural legacy, inheriting regionalculture, shape urban cultural characteristics.