The Vuelta goes glocal: Changes in the Vuelta a España’s communication strategy and media relations under the new Amaury Sport Organization’s management

The Vuelta Ciclista a España is one of cycling’s three grand tours, alongside the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia. As a yearly sports mega-event, broadcast all over the world, the Vuelta is a relevant object of study. Nonetheless, from a scholarly perspective it remains mostly unexplored and unbroken ground for public relations research in particular. This article analyses the changes in the Vuelta’s communication strategy and media relations since the French multinational company Amaury Sport Organization’s (ASO) takeover of Unipublic (the Vuelta’s organizer) in 2008. The analysis has been carried out on the basis of an extensive review of the academic and non-academic literature regarding the object of study and of in depth interviews with Unipublic’s CEO and press officer. The main conclusion of this research is that the new ASO management has focused on strengthening both the global dimension of the race (by means of expanding its global TV viewership) and its relations with the Spanish regional and local press. This move has meant that Unipublic has aligned with the Tour de France model of relations with the local media, aimed at increasing the visibility of the race throughout the year and not just during the event’s celebration, and at increasing the crowds attending live on the roadsides.