Istanbul “took the stage” as one of the three European Capital of Culture (ECoC) cities in 2010. In this spectacle, the urban spaces were projected as the theatre décor while residents and visitors became the spectators. The images of Istanbul pile up in videos and posters to show the city in every aspect in which everything becomes mishmash and the message gets lost in the chaos. While Istanbul is depicted as a mystified city through Orientalist representations, this image of Istanbul moves between the opposite ends of the contrasting pairs, and in contestation. IMAGE OF ISTANBUL, IMPACT OF ECOC 2010 ON THE CITY IMAGE by Evinç Doğan is a unique analysis of the city image of Istanbul during the 2010 ECOC mega event.