30th Anniversary of Barcelona 92′: evercom launches the project “À la ville de…Barcelona”
30 years ago the dream came true: Barcelona was the venue for the 1992 Olympic Games. Barcelona 92′ It was the first stone of the success of the sport that we live today.
This sporting event opened the doors to the development of Paralympic sport and the presence of women in sport, at the same time as it stimulated the transformation of communication on a large scale, which, among many other aspects, made this celebration the largest sporting event never before organized in our country.
These are just some of the conclusions drawn from the analysis of the evolution of the Barcelona Olympic Games carried out by evercom from its office located in Barcelona.
Barcelona, a city that fulfills a dream
For this project, the consultant wanted to pay tribute to Barcelona and, specifically, to, Juan Antonio Samaranch, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) between 1980 and 2001, for being one of the key personalities in the opening and development of the Barcelona Olympic Games. Therefore, the project is entitled, ‘À la ville de… Barcelona (30th anniversary of a dream)‘, as it is the phrase with which Juan Antonio Samaranch announced that the Games would be held in Barcelona on October 17, 1986.
Through a video format, and from an institutional, sports and journalistic perspective, the agency has compiled the testimonies of top-level speakers who have helped to delve into the most relevant aspects of Barcelona 92′.
the protagonists
Among the participants, evercom has had David EscudeBarcelona councilor for sports and president of the Barcelona Olympic Foundation; jose manuel francopresident of the Higher Sports Council; alexander whitepresident of the Spanish Olympic Committee; louis leardyDirector of Communication and External Relations of the Spanish Paralympic Committee and participant in the Barcelona Games in the swimming category; Olga VizaSpanish journalist who covered the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games; Theresa ZabelSpanish politician and athlete who competed in sailing in the 470 class; Jesus Angel Garcia Bragado “Chuso”, former Spanish athlete specialized in race walking; Y adriana cherryyoung promise and Spanish taekwondo athlete, medalist in Tokyo 2020.
“At evercom Barcelona, we wanted to join the celebrations of this anniversary with a very personal project and with the main objective of valuing communication and its evolution over the years. Without a doubt, this initiative has been a great challenge that we have faced with great enthusiasm from evercom. Leading a tribute with speakers who have experienced the Olympic Games first-hand and learning about their experiences has been a real pleasure”, he points out. lola estebandirector of the evercom office in Barcelona.
A breakthrough in Paralympic sport and innovation
Enthusiasm. Success. Emotion. Undoubtedly, these are some words that define Barcelona 92′. “With this event, we began to be the first world sportingly speaking“, it states Olga Viza, Spanish journalist who covered the Olympic Games in Barcelona 92′. Three decades after Barcelona achieved the dream that lit up the city, the participants continue to record it with the same enthusiasm for its great progress in terms of sport and innovation.
In relation to Paralympic sport, louis leardy, director of Communication and External Relations of the Spanish Paralympic Committee and participant in the Barcelona Games in the swimming modality, assures that “Barcelona 92′ represented a before and after for athletes with functional diversity”. What jose manuel francoPresident of the Higher Sports Council, adds “as a result of these Olympic Games, public transport adapted for people with disabilities began to be seen, and this was transported to different territories”.
Women’s sport opened doors
The year 1992 is known as a revolution for Spanish women’s sport. “In Barcelona, women began to stand out and have first-rate sports visibility”, indicates Olga Viza. In general, names like the sailors Theresa Zabell Patricia Guerra and Natalia Vía-Dufresne; judokas like Miriam Blasco and Almudena Muñoz; tennis players like Arantxa Sánchez Vicario and Conchita Martínez; the gymnast Carolina Pascual; or the national hockey team, contributed to swell the Spanish women’s Olympic medal table, thus becoming the promoters of the sport in Barcelona 92′.
Theresa Zabel, politician and Spanish athlete who competed in sailing in the 470 class comments: “I had the enormous privilege of being inside the Olympic village in the middle of the competition stage, making a dream come true that I had been pursuing for a long time.” And she adds: “When you have been preparing for the Olympic Games for so long, the day you participate and win the gold medal you are afraid of waking up from a beautiful dream. It was a very tense Games for my partner Patricia Guerra and for me, and after a while is when I began to value everything we had achieved”. by her side, adriana cherryyoung promise and Spanish taekwondo athlete, medalist in Tokyo 2020, coincides with Theresa, and both definitely the Olympic Games with the word “Illusion”.
Likewise, Jesus Angel Garcia Bragado “Chuso”Spanish ex-athlete specialized in race walking, affirms that “the main characteristic that changed Barcelona 92′ was the creation of a plan that is still in force that helped many athletes like me to participate in the Olympic Games and turn sport into our profession ” .
The transformation of communication to a 360º model
From the relations between communication, culture and the Games, to the role of telecommunications and information technology, Barcelona 92′ was a milestone at a communicative level that put Barcelona at the center of the world.
“If we look back at the communication of 30 years ago, it will seem to us that we are in prehistory. In this sense, communication is an aspect that changes at great speed and, for this reason, on numerous occasions we are not able to see its evolution and what Barcelona 92′ really meant in this area”, he says alexander whitePresident of the Spanish Olympic Committee
Paraca Olga Viza: “At the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, it was the first time there was an Intranet. I was in charge of covering the sporting event from Spanish Television and there was a very big change at a communicative level: digitization. In fact, it was the first time I had a computer.” And he adds: “Currently, we have been able to see the last Games held in Tokyo 2020 from our mobile, but this is just an evolution, perhaps in a few years, we will be able to enjoy them through the metaverse.”
From his experience and trajectory, David Escude, Barcelona councilor for sports and president of the Barcelona Olympic Foundation, comments on the future of the Olympics: “For the generations that speak to us and who have not heard about it, it is important to continue fighting to once again host the Olympic Games. There are chances”.
As is extracted from the different testimonies that participated in the project, the year that Barcelona was the capital of the world with the Olympic Games, many aspects of the city changed. In this sense, thirty years after its celebration, it is a sporting event that has once again put the city of Barcelona at the center, leaving on the table the possibility of organizing other Games soon.
We will continue to communicate…