ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to explicate the processes at play and to draw preliminary conclusions by replacing such highly divisive image-construction endeavours, carried out under the specific circumstances posed by the hosting of highly mediatized mega-events, within the broader context of contemporary critical urban theory. It suggests that, as products of neoliberalist excess, event-led urban image-construction practices are inherently predisposed to violence, and are marked by a growing intolerance for democracy and a profound disregard for equal rights and opportunities. The great paradox in the historical construction of Rio de Janeiro's urban image lies in the denial of its reality as a black city and the refusal of the white minority to conceive of blacks as permanent members of society, deserving equal rights and opportunities. Throughout the history of Rio de Janeiro, campaigns initiated to improve the city's image have aimed for the utopian realization of an advanced White City by erasing its black, uncivilized and primitive components.
