The Olympic Games

In 1992 Barcelona hosted the Summer Olympics. This was a major event for a multitude of reasons. First, it was the first Olympics that no nation boycotted since the end of the Soviet Union and it was the first Olympics in which professional athletes were allowed to compete in. But even more evident than the Olympics themselves, was the atmosphere Barcelona projected as host of the Olympics. Less than two decades prior, General Francisco Franco was still in power as the dictator of Spain. The country itself was still recovering form the civil war, and was experiencing retardation of the economy, due to Franco’s isolationist approach. But in the few short years between Franco’s death in 1975 and Barcelona winning the Olympic bid in 1986, The country and the Catalan capital of Barcelona made great strides to replace itself amongst the ranks of the worlds top powers.

            The nomination of the city as possible host for the 1992 games was the spark that initiated the huge urbanization plan throughout the city. In preparation for the Olympics, Barcelona was completely transformed. The rundown and crime filled areas of El Raval and Barceloneta were cleaned up and turned into clean middle class areas. Restaurants and stores began to fill the available spaces and a new population of young people began to inhabit the areas. The orientation of the city as a whole was moved from an inward looking city to a sea facing Mediterranean city, especially with the construction of the Olympic Village and Olympic Port in the Poblenou area. On top of the renovation of the city’s most rundown areas, was the construction of new highways that ran around the city, rather than straight through it, allowing for a less congested city center and a more efficient means of delivery of goods by trucks to places throughout the city. The El Prat Airport was also completely modernized, and a second terminal was created, to facilitate an easier means for tourists to enter and leave the city.

            Another reason why the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona were so successful is due the city’s continued use of Olympic facilities long after the games. The most famous of the centers constructed for the games are on top of Montjuïc;  Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc , used for opening and closing ceremonies as well as track and field events, Palau Sant Jordi , where the American men’s Basketball “Dream Team” had their games, and Piscines Bernat Picornell, the Olympic pool. A main reason Barcelona was awarded the 1992 Olympic games, other than the fact that the then IOC president was Juan Antonio Samaranch, a native of Barcelona, is that it had already begun preparations, such as the Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc, for the 1936 Olympic games which it was supposed to host, until the start of the Civil War the same year.

            The true winner of the 1992 Olympic games seems to be the city itself more so than any competitor. While there were no athletic performances for the ages from the games that have made the games unforgettable, their success seems to stem from the city’s ability to transform itself into a world city and to project Catalan culture on a global level. The true effect of the 1992 Olympic games was the ability for Barcelona to brand itself as a cosmopolitan city and to create the infrastructure to support the mass tourism it now steadily receives.