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Barcelona 1992 Legacy

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Barcelona 1992 Legacy - https://olympics.com/ioc/legacy/living-legacy/barcelona-1992

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Barcelona used the platform of the Olympic Games 1992 to transform the face of the city and to carry out large-scale projects to promote the practice of sport and boost the local economy. The benefits that the Games left behind are often cited as a positive example of Olympic legacy.

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Barcelona 1992: A model of Olympic Legacy

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Sports development

The Olympic Games Barcelona 1992 triggered the development of “Sport for All” programmes, ensuring that children and young people, regardless of their social and economic background, origin or gender, would have every opportunity to engage in sport after the Olympic Games.  

One of these projects, “Campus Olímpia”, offers children the opportunity to practise various sports in many of the Olympic venues during their summer vacation. Another one, “Convivim Esportivament”, uses sport to encourage the social integration of communities living in different areas of the city. 

There is also “Schools practise sport in the city” project, where every year 40,000 children participate in competitions organised by the School Sports Council of Barcelona (CEEB), adding up to around 72,000 young people actively involved with the programme.

The city runs programmes for adults as well, such as “Activate”, a free-to-join initiative that offers people aged over 40 physical activation opportunities across the city’s public parks, gardens and squares. 

Urban development 

The hosting of the Olympic Games was part of a wider ambition to modernise and transform the city of Barcelona. 

Instead of building a concentrated area for all sports facilities, such as an Olympic Park, it was decided to spread the facilities around the city and across additional sub-sites in the Catalonia region. A study undertaken by city planners and architects on the current and future needs of the city guided the choice of the location for each sports facility, which was an integral part of a larger urban development plan. 

A classic example is the Port, a former industrial zone, where the sailing competitions took place.  The regeneration work involved decontaminating the seawater and creating new beaches and leisure areas for the public. After the transformation, the site became a lively residential area, and a major tourist attraction. The new marina built for the Olympic Games has since been used by tourist boats and a local sailing school.

Other examples include the old Estacio del Nord railway station, which was transformed into as a multi-sport venue; the Pavello de l’Espanya Industrial buildings converted into a sports centre with indoor swimming pools; and the artificial Olympic Canal in Castelldefels built for the canoeing competition and now used for international sports competitions and leisure activities. 

The ring roads – the most important transport project accelerated by the Games – resulted in a 15 per cent reduction in traffic in the centre of Barcelona immediately after the Games. In addition, several road sections were recovered for use by pedestrians and cyclists and as public spaces.

Sources:

"1992 Barcelona – Architecture Of The Games". Architectureofthegames.Net, 2018, https://architectureofthegames.net/category/1992-barcelona/. Accessed 26/11/2018.
"20 Anys Després Dels Jocs Paralímpics De Barcelona". Xarxanet, 2012, http://xarxanet.org/comunitari/noticies/20-anys-despres-dels-jocs-paralimpics-de-barcelona. Accessed 28/11/2018
"Associació". Voluntaris 2000, 2017, https://www.voluntaris2000.org/associacio/. Accessed 27/11/2018.
"Barcelona 1992; 25 Years Later – Tourism Statistics". Architecture Of The Games, 2018, https://architectureofthegames.net/1992-barcelona/barcelona-1992-25-years-later-tourism-statistics/. Accessed 27/11/2018.
 "Barcelona: What Next For Abandoned Olympic Stadium?

The organisation of the Olympic Games mobilised people in different spheres of Catalan society.  Special incentives were created to encourage recruits, including grants to study French in France and English in the United Kingdom.  Out of the 103,000 applications, 34,000 volunteers were recruited by the Organising Committee, all of whom received specific training which gave them skills for a lifetime.

Creating a volunteer culture  

The School Sports Council of Barcelona, through the Foundation for Sport and Education of Barcelona, manages social, educational and sporting programmes for children using the Barcelona 1992 Olympic venues, which are now municipal sports centres. 

One of the most successful programmes is “Fantastic Summer” (Estiu Fantàstic), which organises sports activities for children aged from 5 to 12 in districts of the city that are most affected by economic challenges. Another one is “Live Together with Sport” (Convivim Esportivament) which seeks to use sport to integrate young people who face social exclusion.

Sport for All 

In line with the traditions of the ancient Olympic Games in Greece, the IOC officially reintroduced the Olympic Truce for the duration of the Games, during which all military action was to be halted. Although this did not bring about a ceasefire in Yugoslavia, it allowed athletes from Serbia and Montenegro to participate in the Olympic Games, while athletes from Yugoslavia were banned.

Solidarity with Sarajevo 

The Olympic Games accelerated urban projects to regenerate the seafront and surrounding areas, including 40km of coastline, creating new beaches and making them accessible to the local population and tourists.

For this purpose, the railway tracks that had been a physical barrier between the city and the beach were moved underground, the Olympic Village was strategically built to start the revitalisation process, 6km of beachfront were regenerated and large boulevards and green areas were created in the vicinity.

Coastline renewal 

Based on the 1976 General Metropolitan Plan, a well-coordinated system of roads and ring roads was built to connect the four zones of the city where the main Olympic facilities were built: Parc de Mar, Montjuïc, Diagonal and Vall d'Hebron.

Improved road links 

Barcelona’s general unemployment rate fell from 18.4 per cent to 9.6 per cent between 1986 and 1992, while Spain’s national figures in the same period fell from 20.9 per cent to 15.5 per cent.

Investment in urban infrastructure was a key factor, but the Olympic Games also produced other important benefits, such as the establishment in 1993 of Turisme de Barcelona, the organisation responsible for promoting tourism in the city.

Economic Growth and Tourism 

Thanks to the city’s investments in the Olympic Games, a brand-new building for the National Institute of Physical Education of Catalonia was built inside the Olympic Ring at Montjuïc in 1991. The building hosted the wrestling competitions and the main press centre during the Olympic Games.

The power of sports science 

The Olympic Games Barcelona 1992 defined the strategy to improve sport in Barcelona and stimulated the development of sports policy in the city to meet the needs and demands of the population.

Strategic plans for sport 

For example, the Palau d'Esports has become home to BM Granollers, one of Spain’s most revered handball clubs. Likewise, the multi-purpose venue, Pavelló de la Mar Bella, has become part of a wider sports complex, and is considered the centre of school sport in Barcelona. The Castelldefels Olympic Canal and the Parc del Segre in La Seu d'Urgell are busy competition venues for water sports, and are also used as leisure sites. 
Another 28 existing facilities were refurbished for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Barcelona. Among these, 26 are in use for sport, culture and entertainment. The RCD Espanyol Stadium was demolished a few years after the Games, whereas the Olympic Stadium was used for sport, music concerts and city events during the two decades afterwards. Its future is currently under discussion due to the fact that no significant sports events have been held at the venue since 2012.

Olympic venues overview 

Since the Olympic Games, the Olympic Stadium has been used for both sporting and non-sporting events.

The Olympic Stadium  

Since the Olympic Games, 18 International Canoe Federation (ICF) World Cup races have been held at the venue, including the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships in 1999 and 2009. In 2010, the centre hosted the Pirineus Cup, a canoeing event stretching over the months of March and April. The venue also plays host to numerous national and regional canoe competitions.

White Water Centre 

Covering a large area (1,250 x 130m), the Canal was designed by the engineer Josep Masso and financed by the Institut Català del Sol and the Organising Committee.

Olympic Canal 

Estacio del Nord was built in 1861 and stopped being used as a station in 1972.

From railway station to sports venue 

Legacies

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The Olympic Games are all about their legacies. The benefits that the Games create – from increased sports participation and educational programmes to a boosted economy and an improved urban environment – are numerous.

Barcelona 1992 Legacy

Barcelona 1992: A model of Olympic Legacy

Legacies

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