Opening Ceremony of the Barcelona Olympic Games

July 25th, 1992 was the date of the Opening Ceremony of the Games of the XXV Olympiad. The 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games were about to begin. 

We couldn’t quite believe that the big day had finally arrived. The journey had been a long one, ever since that fateful day on October 17th, 1986 at precisely 1:38 pm, when we all heard Mr. Samaranch, the President of the Olympic Committee, declare those momentous words: “a la Ville de Barcelonne!

First

GETTING READY FOR THE OLYMPIC GAMES

From then on, Barcelonians began all the hard work to get everything ready on time to host the Summer Olympic Games. In this video, you can see how exactly much the city changed in the space of just a few years. The Olympic Port, or Port Olimpic in Catalan, which you can see on many of our tours, and the Olympic Ring are two of the areas that saw the most radical transformation.

Second

ART & MUSIC AT THE 1992 BARCELONA OLYMPIC GAMES

It wasn’t just the waterfront that was revamped, the whole city underwent numerous changes with new roads, subway renovations, the expansion of the airport, and the building of many new hotels. Sculptures designed by prestigious artists adorned the city and welcomed international visitors. One example is “The Head of Barcelona,” a statue designed by Roy Lichtenstein and located at Port Vell, which has become one of the city’s great icons. It offers a very colorful and clear homage to Picasso, Miró, and Gaudi, all great artists who lived in Barcelona during the 20th century.

There are so many great moments to remember from the Barcelona Olympic Games. One particularly special moment actually originated some years before the Games when Freddie Mercury and the Catalan soprano Montserrat Caballé sang the song “Barcelona.”

The song and the show were recorded in October 1988. Sadly, Freddie Mercury passed away in 1991, one year before the Olympics took place. Still, the song became an anthem of Barcelona, and remains to this day one of the most dearly treasured moments of the Games. In fact, we would go as far to say that the song has become the city’s national anthem! But be warned; all us Barcelonians tend to well up with emotion upon hearing it.

Third

OPENING CEREMONY 1992 BARCELONA OLYMPIC GAMES

Another momentous event was when the Paralympic athlete Antonio Rebollo lit the Olympic cauldron with a flaming arrow that he shot all the way across the stadium. Despite the enormous risk it posed, in Barcelona we like to think that all other Olympic cities still look back at this moment when planning their own lighting of the cauldron. The feat seems even more impressive when you enter the Olympic Stadium and see how far the arrow had to travel. The stadium remains open for all visitors to take a look inside and is a frequent stop on our tours.

0
Your trip started in ….

You might not be aware of it yet but while we are now in 2021, your visit to Barcelona actually started in 1986 when we transformed our city to welcome the Olympic Games, and it looks like we did a good job! As a result, the world has fallen in love with Barcelona, and it is a great pleasure for us to show visitors around our beloved city.

All of us on the SKIP THE LINE BARCELONA team are Barcelonians who are extremely proud of our city, and we all still hold exceptional memories of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, even if we were only young teenagers at the time.

We´ll be delighted to show you Barcelona on our HIGHLIGHTS OF BARCELONA or BEST OF BARCELONA TOURS