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Over the past years, our society has been overwhelmed by marketing principles. The economic, social and political sector have been overrun by a spirit of selling and promoting. Consequently, it is not surprising that cities and local authorities are using strategic planning to promote their city. This phenomenon is not entirely new, as cities, regions, communities and countries have always wanted to differentiate themselves from others in a creative and pleasant way. Though, the fact that they work on a well-organized and consistent basis, is what makes city marketing these days so unique. The notion of city marketing finds its roots in the Netherlands. A study in 1981 in the city Apeldoorn used the word city marketing for the first time. Three decades later, the notion has taken over the world. One of the most important marketing tools, that is used to promote cities is the organization of a city event. This paper goes back to the country of origin. On the basis of a casestudy and a quasi-experiment, this paper tries to contribute to the theories and the insights that exists concerning city marketing-policy, the image of a city and the influences of a city-event on that image. Concretely, this study investigates the city marketing policy of the city Maastricht. Moreover this paper examines the image of the city and the effect of the event The European Fine Art Fair on that image. The study focuses on the perceptions of the tourists, hence they are the most important party concerned.This thesis starts with a review of the existing theories and realizations in the field of city marketing. After the literature study, the most important hypotheses and research questions are introduced. These will be explained by the research itself that is divided in two parts. The first part is an interview. The second part exists of a quasi-experiment with written questionnaires. The study ends with a presentation of the most important results and a discussion. A short reflect