City branding through urban mediatization: Vigo’s Christmas as a visual repertoire and an audiovisual resource
This article analyzes how Vigo's Christmas celebrations function as a mediatized visual repertoire and audiovisual resource that strengthens the city's brand through international media circulation and local production, while emphasizing the need for strategic management to convert this visibility into sustainable urban value.
Original paper licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This is an AI-generated explanation of the paper below. It is not written or endorsed by the authors. For technical accuracy, refer to the original paper. Read full disclaimer
Cities have always competed for attention, but in the modern world, that competition often plays out through images and stories that travel far beyond their physical borders. This is the realm of place branding, where a city tries to shape how the rest of the world sees it. It is not just about painting a sign or printing a logo; it is about how a place's identity is built through the repeated circulation of specific sights, sounds, and narratives in the media. When a city hosts a major event, like a festival or a holiday celebration, that event can become a powerful tool for this branding. If the event is covered enough by newspapers, television, and social media, it can create a stable "visual repertoire"—a set of recognizable images that people instantly associate with that city. The question researchers ask is whether this visibility actually changes how people experience the city, or if it simply creates a picture that exists only on a screen.
In the coastal city of Vigo, Spain, researchers decided to investigate exactly how this process works during the Christmas season. For several years, the city has run a campaign under the slogan "Vigo, where Christmas lives," transforming its center with massive light displays, a giant Ferris wheel, and bustling markets. The study looked at how this festive atmosphere was reported in the news, how local business leaders and government officials felt about it, and whether the city's new "look" had started to attract film crews and advertisers. The researchers did not try to prove that the lights caused a sudden spike in tourist numbers or that a specific movie was filmed there because of a commercial. Instead, they wanted to understand the connection between the images of the city, the people who manage it, and the professionals who create content about it. They examined news articles from 2019 to 2025, interviewed seven key local figures, and reviewed official records of filming activity to see how the city's brand was being constructed and used.
The analysis of the news coverage revealed a clear pattern. The story of Vigo's Christmas was not just about the lights themselves; it was about the city's ability to put on a spectacular show that could be seen by the world. The researchers found that media outlets, including many in neighboring Portugal, consistently used a set of familiar images: the glowing streets, the towering Christmas tree in the main square, and the festive crowds. These images were often paired with language that compared Vigo to major global cities like New York or London, suggesting that the event was exceptional and world-class. However, this positive image was not the whole story. A significant portion of the coverage also highlighted the downsides of such a large event, including traffic jams, noise, and the strain on local residents. The city's brand, therefore, was not a simple, happy picture controlled by the government; it was a complex mix of celebration and criticism, where the desire for visibility coexisted with the reality of urban life.
Interviews with local leaders and business owners confirmed that the Christmas campaign had successfully made Vigo more visible to the outside world. Hotel managers noted that people were booking stays specifically to see the lights, often arriving with photos from social media already in mind. Government officials saw the event as a way to put the city on the map, while film industry professionals began to see the festive setting as a potential resource. The researchers found that the visual elements of the Christmas display were starting to be used as a backdrop for advertising and television productions. For instance, major brands began to incorporate the city's illuminated squares into their own holiday commercials, effectively borrowing the city's festive reputation to tell their own stories. This marked a shift where the city was no longer just a place to visit, but a place to be filmed.
The data on filming activity showed a steady increase in the number of productions taking place in Vigo between 2019 and 2025. While the total number of projects fluctuated, the amount of time crews spent filming grew significantly, reaching a record high in 2025. Within this growing activity, a small but noticeable number of productions specifically requested to film during the Christmas period or to use the holiday decorations as a setting. The researchers identified 2024 as a turning point, where producers began to actively seek out the Christmas setting not just for its look, but for the fame and recognition the city had already gained through its media coverage. However, the study also highlighted a crucial limitation: just because a city looks good on camera does not mean it is easy to film there. Production companies noted that the very crowds and traffic that made the event famous could also make filming difficult, requiring careful coordination with city officials to manage the logistics.
Ultimately, the study suggests that Vigo's Christmas has become a form of "symbolic infrastructure" for the city. It is a set of images and associations that circulates through the media, helps define the city's identity, and is now being used by advertisers and filmmakers. The research shows that this process is not automatic; the city's brand is constantly being negotiated between the desire for global attention and the needs of the people who live there. The visual spectacle of the lights has successfully created a recognizable image that travels beyond Spain, particularly into Portugal, but the true value of this image depends on how well the city can manage the practical challenges that come with it. The findings indicate that while the Christmas campaign has successfully built a brand, the next step for the city is to ensure that this visibility translates into sustainable benefits without overwhelming the daily life of its residents.
Drowning in papers in your field?
Get daily digests of the most novel papers matching your research keywords — with technical summaries, in your language.