THE IMPACT OF ORGANIZING 2012 UEFA EUROPE LEAGUE FINAL UPON CITY BRANDING AND INTERNATIONAL PROMOTION OF BUCHAREST CITY

Deciding 3 years ago to organize the 2012 Europa League Final in Bucharest was a major challenge for the local administration of the city. The article presents, from various perspectives, the impact that organizing the most important sporting event ever in Romania and in Bucharest had on the city brand and the international promotion of the Romanian capital city. The article analizes the event’s visual and promotion concept, the infrastructure offered by the local administration and the event’s impact, as reflected in classical mass-media and in the new media. The impact analysis is both qualitative and quantitative. The research covers the online consumer’s behaviour and the visibility Bucharest had during the event, and an analysis of the connection between the number of articles in international press that mention Bucharest and those referring to Europa League. Based on these results, the article demonstrates that the image of Bucharest did improve, spurred by international promotion despite the period of economical crisis and fierce competition between brands of cities all around the world.