Large international events like the Olympic Games put cities on the world map. CityEvents, place selling in a Media Age addresses the question how cities have been raising their profile internationally by hosting large international events throughout the twentieth century. It explores this question by introducing the CityEvent model. This model allows for the study of large international events from a threefold perspective, analytically integrating the roles of the media, host cities and event owners with each other. By means of this model, developments and transformations in the hosting of events are reconstructed in relation to historical developments in the media. This thesis provides a history of event-based place selling and simultaneously offers insights into the hosting of current and future events. The cities of Amsterdam, Berlin and Helsinki, both as hosts of the Olympic Games and as European Capitals of Culture, feature as case studies.