Press coverage of first Olympic Games by Rio de Janeiro press to be discussed at lecture

The so-called Modern Olympics started in 1896 in Athens, Greece. Since then, the interest in the largest sporting event on the planet has been growing, as a result of massive global press coverage. To address the interest of Rio de Janeiro journalists in the event in the late 19th century and early 20th century, the Laboratory for Sports Studies (LESP) of FGV’s School of Social Sciences (CPDOC) welcomes professor Fausto Amaro (Uerj) for the lecture ‘The Olympic Games in the capital of the Republic: Press narratives and sports field in Rio de Janeiro (1890-1935)’, on May 17, at 2 p.m.

The presentation will address the creation of narratives about the Olympic Games among the Rio de Janeiro press between the 1890s and 1930s, discussing the establishment of an Olympic field in Rio de Janeiro. The presentation will include as documentary sources the journalistic texts of periodicals from Rio de Janeiro, selected based on their relevance and the emphasis given to the Olympic Games. To understand the arrival and spread of the Olympic movement in Brazil, we follow the arguments of the press to encourage Brazil’s involvement with the international Olympic circuit, which revolved around three basic pillars: modernity, civilization, and race.

A researcher in the field of Social Communication, Fausto Amaro holds a Master’s and a PhD in Communication from Uerj. He is currently a Qualitec fellow in the Communication, City, and Consumption Lab, and worked as a visiting researcher at the State University of New York (College at Brockport). A researcher in the project ‘Media, Idolatry, Identity, and Popular Culture’, he is one of the editors of the blog ‘Communication, Sports, and Culture’, and an associate researcher at the Sports Research Group of the Brazilian Society for Interdisciplinary Communication Studies, Media and Sports Studies Lab at Uerj. Member of the International Society of Olympic Historians and Red de Historiógrafos de la Comunicación (RHC).

Go to the website to learn more about the event.