The Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro at the beginning of the 20th century

an approach based on the texts of the print media

Abstract

This article seeks to introduce a potential field of historical and media research on the “first moments” of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro (from 1890 to 1919). The scenario set in these first three decades analyzed shows how the Olympic Games achieved their space in Rio’s newspapers and by what means the narratives of those media influenced the formation of the reading public opinion. The newspapers studied here provide clues that allow us to reconstruct the spaces occupied by the Olympic Games. These were not only located in the sports field, but also in the field of recreation, entertainment, new corporal practices, ongoing urban modifications. The diversity of uses of the terms “Olympic Games” and “Olympics” suggests the social penetration of the theme and, at the same time, the lack of an explicit concern of the International Olympic Committee to regulate the use of its main brands. Such concern began to emerge timidly only in the 1910s.