On a scorching hot August day, in the middle of the Spanish summer, a professor takes students to visit the Olympic stadium. In front, there is a large esplanade where there is also a gym, the Palau Sant Jordi. Friends walk their dogs, and one of them happily dives into a lake to cool off. Two gentlemen, soaked in sweat, have fun playing “frontón” or “wall”, similar to squash. Tourists, like me, walk around and take pictures. The area is open to the public, and access is free.
Thirty years ago this was the heart of the Barcelona Olympic Games, one of the most successful in history in terms of legacy. After spending a few days in the city, I have no doubt that the idea worked. My first Olympic memory was watching the men’s volleyball team gold at Palau Sant Jordi on television. So it was a happy coincidence to be there exactly three decades later.
On October 17, 1986, the then president of the International Olympic Committee, the Spaniard Juan Antonio Samaranch, announced Barcelona as the host of the 1992 Games. It was the catalyst for a gigantic transformation.
The port area was revitalized and became one of the liveliest places in the city, with bars and restaurants. There was investment in road and telecommunications infrastructure, construction of parks and squares, restoration of historic monuments. A study by architects and urban planners on the future needs of Barcelona helped to choose the place to build some Olympic arenas, along with encouraging the practice of sports.
Not everything was made from scratch. The stadium for the opening, closing and athletics ceremonies, for example, dates back to 1927 and has been renovated. A guide explained to me this week that the world discovered Barcelona thanks to the Olympics, and residents made a habit of going to the beach, an area that was previously degraded. “Suddenly we started seeing tourists going to Sagrada Familia, it wasn’t that common.” Last month alone, the city welcomed more than a million visitors.
The then mayor, Pasqual Maragall, said that there are two types of Games: those that use the city and those in which the city uses them. The “Barcelona model” served as an inspiration for future Olympic bids, such as the one in Rio, which tried to imitate good examples. He regrets that, in many ways, our politicians have not learned the lesson left by the Spaniards.
With investment in athletes, Spain jumped from four medals in Seoul-1988 to 22 in the home Games, 13 gold. It was an Olympic edition that reflected the new world order: the unification of Germany, the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the return of South Africa to the list of participants, with the end of apartheid.
It was the chance to see American basketball’s “Dream Team” in action and one of the most moving scenes in Olympic history, when Briton Derek Redmond was injured in the 400m hurdles and his father invaded the track to help his son, who cried in pain, finishing the test. Today, a museum next to the Olympic stadium remembers important moments of the Games with photos, videos and objects.
Barcelona-1992 was a dream project that, of course, had problems, like any edition. But I hope that the students I came across enjoyed the visit, because the true Olympic legacy is what the population sees live and enjoys, years later. A sensation that cannot be replicated in the classroom, not even in the best history books.
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