City identity transformation: F8’s role in changing Makassar’s image from “city of demonstrators” to “city of festivals”

Abstract

This study analyzes how F8 Makassar is represented in Tempo.co news and constructed as part of the city branding of Makassar City. Using Paul du Gay's Circuit of Culture approach, this study explores the five elements of culture; Representation, Identity, Production, Consumption, and Regulation, in understanding the changing image of the city. The method used was qualitative descriptive with observation techniques, online news documentation, and direct interviews with the Mayor of Makassar. For this reason, in the perspective of urban anthropology, a festival like this, is not only providing entertainment for the public, but a festival as well, able to become a medium of the production of social meaning about what a city imagines itself like in front of its citizens. The results show that F8 is represented as a symbol of urban modernization, which promotes cultural diversity and local creativity on the international stage. From the production aspect, this festival is managed as a marketing strategy involving the government and the media in shaping a positive narrative about Makassar. Festival consumption involves local and global communities and has a significant impact on the MSME sector and the creative industry. The identity of the city that was originally associated with demonstrations shifted to a creative city based on cultural economy. In terms of regulations, government policies support this festival as a strategy for urban development. Thus, F8 is not just a tourism event, but also a cultural discourse that continues to be constructed in the transformation of Makassar's identity.