25è aniversari dels jocs Olímpics i Paralímpics Barcelona`92

Àngel | Barcelona, EU | July 25th 2017

Avui fa 25 anys de la inauguració dels jocs olímpics de Barcelona de 1992
- 25th anniversary of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Barcelona 1992

- 25ème anniversaire des jeux olympiques et paralympiques de Barcelone de 1992

- 25-jähriges Jubiläum der Olympischen und Paralympischen Spiele von Barcelona 1992

25th July 1992 - - 25th July 2017
 

·     A quarter of a century has passed since 1992.

·     25 years are exactly: 9.131 days. 1.304 weeks. 304 months. 219.144 hours.

 

Voluntaris Barcelona ‘92 dazzled the world

OLYMPIC VOLUNTEERS: AT THE START WE’RE 102.000

-We, the Olympic Volunteers. We played an outstanding role in the well organization and development of the Barcelona‘92 Summer Olympic Games.

Volunteering Barcelona ‘92 was the real McCoy 

The Olympic Games and the Paralympics Games of Barcelona 1992 marked a milestone in which the participation of Volunteers was an essential element for success. Due to us, to the Volunteers, the Barcelona’s Olympics were an absolute success.

The people of Barcelona got really involved in the Games

The Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games created a great euphoria among the Catalan population, there was so much enthusiasm for the Catalan Olympic Games that in 1986, six years before of the Olympics, there were 102.000 citizens who had signed up to take part in the Olympics as volunteers (YES, you do read well: 102.000). 76.000 of them were aged under 23. This means that the Catalan young people were clearly for the Olympics.

In the end after a process of selection, 35.000 Volunteers excelled beyond the call of duty, a number that went far beyond anything that had happened before. Yep, I'd chalk it up to a great experience and what a wild ride it was. The Barcelona's Olympics worked out really well, being us -volunteering 92- the cornerstone of such a success. We were awesome Volunteers! More to the point, the IOC president, Joan Antoni Samaranch in the closing speech said: “without the work of the Barcelona'92 Volunteers these games wouldn't have been possible”.

BARCELONA'S DREAM

 

Barcelona was chosen as the host of the 1992 summer Olympics in 1986   

Before 1992, Barcelona had made three unsuccessful bids for the Olympic Games, in 1924, 1936, and 1972. However, in this occasion the Capital of Catalonia was awarded with the 1992 Summer Olympic Games. On 17th October 1986, during the 91st IOC Session the International Olympic Committee elected Barcelona as the city for the 1992 Summer Olympic Games. After three voting Barcelona received the highest number of votes. The IOC’s members cast 47 votes for Barcelona, 23 votes for Paris, 10 for Brisbane, and 5 votes for Belgrade.

Barcelona Olympic Games took place between the 25th of July and the 9th of August 1992. A total of 9,364 athletes (6,652 men and 2,704 women) were to take part, from a record 169 countries.

In general, the people of Barcelona are more interested in reading about sport than playing it

Barcelona supports two daily newspapers devoted entirely to sports. EL MUNDO DEPORTIVO and SPORT, though during the Olympic Games changed all this; those days everybody seemed to be very sporty. Barcelona Football Club dominates spectator sports in Catalonia, which in addition being one of the World top football club leaded basketball, handball, hockey ice, roller hockey, athletics, rugby, and volleyball teams, for a full Olympic calendar.

In the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games was banned smoking hence, they’ve been the first non-smoking Olympics Games in all its history.

Some non-smoking zones at Olympic village were: Bars - Restaurants – Kitchens – Olympic transport – Public transport – Shops – Arcade - Games room – Sports centers – Customer service – Staff who served athletes – Cinemas...

---   Sites and subsites    ---

 
OLYMPIC VENUES ’92

21 Olympic venues in Barcelona were grouped together in four large areas                                      
There were two weeks of madness: Between 25 July and 09 august Barcelona hosted the biggest Olympics ever. A record of countries had entered, each with the cherished right to march behind their flag in the inaugural parade. The training facilities and stadia for the Olympics Games were grouped in four areas of the city: 1-Montjuïc 2-La Diagonal 3-Vall d’Hebron 4-El Parc del Mar, all within a five kilometer radius and a theoretically within 20 minutes travelling time of each other.

MONTJUÏC OLYMPIC STADIUM IN BARCELONA

The most well-known of these areas was Montjuïc, as it was home to the most significant venues: The Olympic Stadium, Palau Sant Jordi, INEFC, Bernat Picornell swimming pools, Montjuïc swimming pool, Palau de la Metal·lúrgia, Palau d’Esports de Barcelona, Pavelló l'Espanya Industrial, and Circuit de Cross and Pau Negre Stadium.

L'ESTADI OLÍMPIC DE MONTJUÏC BARCELONA

MONTJUÏC OLYMPIC STADIUM

The 1929 Montjuïc stadium has survived three plans of it demolition. Now the Olympic stadium preserves the façade of the old building, but architects lowered the level of the sports track by ten meters in order to increase the capacity to seventy thousand spectators. The stadium lies at the heart of the Olympic ring alongside the architectural masterpiece of the games, Arata Isosaky’s Palau Sant Jordi.

LA DIAGONAL: The Diagonal area. Venue based around the existing facilities of FC-Barcelona and el Reial Club de Polo. The Barcelona Football Club’s stadium Camp Nou, was used for the top football matches.

                                               Àrea Vall d’Hebron, escultura dels mistos

VALL d’HEBRON: Vall d’Hebron area, area sited in the north east of Barcelona. Area used for cycling, tennis and volleyball. The sleek velodrome was built in 1984 for the World Championships. Tennis benefited from the construction of a floodlit, 17-court complex and volleyball of a new indoor sports center.

EL PARC DEL MAR- LA VILA OLÍMPICA

The Parc del Mar area, the site of the Olympic village, was an old industrial district. Two skyscrapers in the village are now the tallest buildings and landmarks in Barcelona; the most striking of two is the Hotel Arts, a 400-room five-star hotel. The other one is a dull office building.

At the Olympic Village during the Olympics there was/were: a hall with regulation bowling alleys and American pool tables. Two cinemas. All films were in original language. The games room offered a variety of games: international known games, such as checkers and chess. Games particular to the different countries and cultures represented at the Olympics. Recreational games: showdown, shuffleboard, darts, videogames. Discotheque, an open air space for entertainment, music and dancing. Disco music. Performances by different national and International groups. Music bar: family-like atmosphere and karaoke, beaches. Once the Olympic Games were over, the Olympic village became a new district called Nova Icària, running seamlessly into the equally new leisure areas of the Olympic Port, the seafront parks and the new beaches. Because of the Barcelona’ 92 Olympic Games improves, the beaches of Barcelona are now claimed to have some of the cleanest sands and water of any in the Mediterranean, and some of the best safety facilities and amenities.

OLYMPIC SUBSITES

 
                                                    Canal Olímpic de Catalunya Castelldefels

 Fifteen secondary-venue hosted events as part of the Barcelona 92 Olympic Games

Apart from Barcelona, there were 15 Olympic subsites. Badalona, a few kilometers up the coast, was the venue for basketball and boxing. Hockey was played at Terrassa (40km) and handball at Granollers (30km), rowing competition took place at El llac de Banyoles (135km). For the canoeing regattas, a new artificial canal was built at Castelldefels, while the wild water canoeing slalom went to El Parc del Segre in la Seu d’Urgell (150km). Mollet del Valles was the venue for the shooting while baseball (made its debut as an Olympic sport) took place at L’Hospitalet de Llobregat and Viladecans, in the suburbs. Reus (110km) Sant Sadurni d’Anoia (40km) and Vic (70km) were the venues for roller hockey and demonstrations sports.

The Catalan IOC president in 1992, Joan Antoni Samaranch, was a former roller hockey player and referee, so it surprised no one when the sport was included in the Olympic programme. In the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games Basque pelota, Taekwondo and Roller hockey were demonstration sports.

Viladecans: baseball matches

Viladecans on the top of everything is a reference in sport which offers top-of-the-range facilities including football fields an Olympic baseball stadium and municipal sports center, in addition to the outdoor activities which are a magnificent option enabled by the lie of the land. Viladecans was where de baseball matches were held during the 1992 Olympic Games and it has an active sporty spirit whit a range of associations enriches sport-related activities

Banyoles: sports for all

Banyoles was the first sport destination officially recognized by the Catalan govt. Now is a certified location for the likes of mountain biking, swimming, rowing, and canoeing. Banyoles is also a major venue for sport competitions and championships, with a full calendar of events that have provided the town with an international reputation since it hosted the rowing during Olympic Games in 1992

Venues for football tournament

1 Barcelona. SITE: Barcelona Football Club’s stadium Camp Nou

2 Sabadell. SUBSITE: Nova Creu Alta stadium

3 Valencia. SUBSITE: Luís Casanova football stadium                                                                     
4 Zaragoza. SUBSITE: La Romareda stadium

THE OLYMPIC FLAME

The Olympic flame was lit in the Greek city of Olympia on 5 June 1992 and reached el Port d’Empúries, Catalonia on 13 June being received by Catalan authorities.

From that moment onwards, the Olympic torch followed a 39-day route through Spain's towns and cities, travelling a total distance of over 6,000 km. 9,500 torch bearers took part. Then, on the evening of 24 July, the flame reached Barcelona.

THE ARROW
 

The Olympic flame at Montjuïc Olympic stadium in the opening ceremony wasn't lit by the archer Antonio Rebollo. The Rebollo’s arrow was the bait to lure viewers.

The Olympic flame made its entry into the stadium carrying the torch Herminio Menéndez who passed the flame to torch on FC Barcelona’s basketball player, Juan Antonio San Epifanio (Epi) who run along the Olympic Stadium’s track and handed the flame to an archer named Antonio Rebollo. He dart to the main cauldron located at the top of the stadium, all the people saw how the arrow lit the flame and all the spectators who were at the Olympic Stadium and those who were watching the opening ceremony on television believed that an arrow shot by an archer lit the cauldron. But in fact, it did not. That was cheating, the arrow only passed over cauldron getting lost far away. What really lit the flame into cauldron was a synchronized timer device which when the arrow pass over the cauldron lit natural gas. Now, 25 year on from Olympics outset many people still believe that an arrow lit the Olympic flame and hardy nobody knows the true.

MASCOTS WERE BY JAVIER MARISCAL

 

Olympic Mascot: Cobi

Mariscal had a comic, in that comic there was a family with a Catalan sheepdog. Mariscal gave human form to that dog to create the Olympic mascot named, Cobi.

Paralympic Mascot: Petra

Mariscal also created the Paralympic mascot, Petra. Petra is an armless girl.

 THE DREAM TEAM

The name,  - The Dream Team-  was created on January 18th 1991 by the American Magazine Sports Illustrated.

Sports Illustrated nicknamed to the USA basketball team for the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games as, The Dream Team. The Dream Team was made up of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, Mullin, Stockton, Malone, Drexler, Pippen, Robinson, and Laettner. The Dream Team beat all rivals by an average of 44 points and scoring an average of 117 points per match. They got Olympic gold beating Croatia, 127 – 80. Soon afterward Catalan journalists steal The Dream Team name and nicknamed so to the Football Club Barcelona. 

F R I E N D S - F O R - L I F E
Amics per sempre

 

AMICS PER SEMPRE - FRIENDS FOR LIFE was the official anthem of the Olympic Games of Barcelona in 1992.
Don Black wrote it and the music was composed by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. Josep Carreras and Sarah Brightman performethe song at Montjuïc Olympic stadium.


FRIENDS FOR LIFE, LYRICS

I don' have to say a word to you
You seem to know whatever mood I'm going thru
Feel as though I've known you forever

You can look into my eyes and see
The way I feel and how the world is treating me
Maybe I have known you forever

Amigos para siempre means you'll always be my friend
Amics per sempre means a love that cannot end
Friends for life, not just a summer or a spring
Amigos para siempre

I feel you near me even when we are a part
Just knowing you are in this world can warm my heart
Friends for life, not just a summer or a spring
Amigos para siempre

We shared memories I won't forget
And we'll share more my friend we haven`t started yet
Something happens when we are together

When I look at you, I wonder why
There has to come a time when we must say goodbye
I'm alive when we are together

Amigos para siempre means you'll always be my friend
Amics per sempre means a love that cannot end
Friends for life, not just a summer or a spring
Amigos para siempre

I feel you near me even when we are a part
Just knowing you are in this world can warm my heart
Friends for life, not just a summer or a spring
Amigos para siempre

When I look at you, I wonder why
There has to come a time when we must say goodbye
I'm alive when we are together

Amigos para siempre means you'll always be my friend
Amics per sempre means a love that cannot end
Friends for life, not just a summer or a spring
Amigos para siempre

I feel you near me even when we are a part
Just knowing you are in this world can warm my heart
Friends for life, not just a summer or a spring
Amigos para siempre.

ATHLOS

Derived from de Greek word Athlos (feat or contest), the triathlon and modern pentathlon are two very complete sports that combine various disciplines in one. Triathlons feature running swimming and cycling (Ironman competitions are an extreme version of this sport). 

The modern pentathlon, on the one hand, comprises five events: fencing, swimming, pistol shooting, cross-country running and show jumping, and is a symbol of the Olympic movement, from which the symbol of the five interlocked rings draws its inspiration.

22 MEDALS FOR SPAIN

 

Barcelona 1992 Olympic games medals

The Spanish Olympic team won twenty-two medals in Barcelona’ 92 Olympics. 13 gold medals. 7 silver medals and 2 bronze medals. One of the gold medals won was in football. The football final held at Camp Nou was Spain VS Poland. In 1992, one of the Spanish Olympic footballers was Pep Guardiola; born in Santpedor, Catalonia- on January 18th 1971. Afterwards he became FC-Barcelona coach.

Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games top medal nations table
GOLD – SILVER – BRONZE = TOTAL

Thirteen gold, seven silver and two bronze medals were won by Spain at Barcelona ’92 Olympics, placing it sixth in the medal table

01. Unified Team (former Soviet Union): 45-38-29= 112
02. The United States: 37-34-27= 108
03. Germany: 33-21-28= 82
04. China: 16-22-16= 54
05. Cuba: 14-6-11= 31
06. Spain: 13-7-2= 22
07. South Korea: 12-5-12= 29
08. Hungary: 11-12-7= 30
09. France: 8-5-16= 29
10. Australia: 7-8-11= 27
11. Canada: 7-4-7= 18
12. Italy: 6-5-8=19
13. United Kingdom: 5-3-12= 20
14. Rumania: 4-6-8= 18
15. Checoslovaquie: 4-2-1= 7
16. North Korea: 4-0-5= 9
17. Japan: 3-8-11= 22
18. Bulgaria: 3-7-6= 16
19. Poland: 3-6-10= 10
20. Nederland 2-6-7= 15



JOAN ANTONI SAMARANCH

 

Joan Antoni Samaranch

The Catalan president of the International Olympic committee in 1992, died in Barcelona on April 21st 2010 aged 89 of cardiac arrest. Samaranch born in Barcelona in 1920, he was the seventh President of the IOC leading it for 21 years from 1980 to 2001.