1992 Summer Olympics


The 1992 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994, the International Olympic Committee decided to hold the Summer and Winter Olympics in alternating even-numbered years. The 1992 Summer and Winter Olympics were the last games to be staged in the same year. These games were the second and last two consecutive Olympic games to be held in Western Europe after the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, held five months earlier. It is also the second Olympic Games to be held in a Spanish-speaking country, following the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.
The 1992 Games received universal acclaim, with the organisation, volunteers, sportsmanship, and Spanish public being lauded in the international media. Some media describe the Barcelona Games as one of the best Olympics ever. The Games showed a renewed image of a democratic Spain and projected Barcelona and Catalonia to the world. Owing to the Games, the city of Barcelona was remarkably transformed. All the venues are still active, and the legacy of the 1992 Games was taken as an example for future Olympic events, such as London 2012.
The 1992 Summer Games were the first since the end of the Cold War, and the first unaffected by boycotts since the 1972 Summer Games. 1992 was also the first year South Africa was re-invited to the Olympic Games by the International Olympic Committee, after a 32-year ban from participating in international sport due to apartheid. The Unified Team topped the medal table, winning 45 gold and 112 overall medals.

Host city selection

Barcelona is the second-largest city in Spain and the capital of the autonomous community of Catalonia; it is also the hometown of then-IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch and the famous European club FC Barcelona. The city was also a host for the 1982 FIFA World Cup. On 17 October 1986, Barcelona was selected to host the 1992 Summer Olympics over Amsterdam, which hosted the 1928 games; Belgrade, Yugoslavia; Birmingham, United Kingdom; Brisbane, Australia; and Paris, France, during the 91st IOC Session in Lausanne, Switzerland. New Delhi, India, had announced a bid for the games, but withdrew in March 1986. With 85 out of 89 members of the IOC voting by secret ballot, Barcelona won a majority of 47 votes. Samaranch abstained from voting. In the same IOC meeting, Albertville, France, won the right to host the 1992 Winter Games. Paris and Brisbane would eventually be selected to host the 2024 and 2032 Summer Olympics respectively.
Barcelona had previously bid for the 1936 Summer Olympics that were ultimately held in Berlin, Germany. As an anti-fascist response against the Games being organized by Nazi Germany, the Government of Catalonia and the newly elected Spanish Popular Front government advocated for the boycott of the Spanish Republic to the Berlin Games and the organization of an alternative games in Barcelona, known as the People's Olympiad. However, the same day of its planned inauguration, the Spanish Army carried out a coup d'état which led to the Spanish Civil War.

Highlights