Abstract
Cities compete to host the Olympics because it is a unique global public relations opportunity to attract tourism, foreign investment, and international respect. However, hosting an Olympics also entails risks because host cities and countries must survive intensive international media scrutiny. Whether the Sydney Olympics will redefine overseas perceptions of Australia either positively or negatively is still to be established. Our study will address this question through an empirical, cross-cultural profiling of foreign perceptions of Australia from 1999 to 2001 in various countries to see whether responses differ, and/or whether similar patterns of change are observable across cultures at different points in time (pre- and post-Olympics). In parallel, media coverage of the 2000 Olympics (and Australia) is being monitored in the countries being studied. If any attitude shift is detected from 1999 to 2001, explanations can be sought from the recorded media coverage. This article represents the results of the first stage of the study — an examination of overseas attitudes towards Australia and stereotypes of Australians in 1999.
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