BARCELONA

International Sport Capital 

Barcelona is an international sports capital. And that’s because its Olympic legacy has merged with its unique and exceptional sports context. The 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games highlighted the city’s organisational capacity. And ever since then, Barcelona has succeeded in incorporating this capacity into its DNA. What’s more, it is a city that has become a tourist centre thanks to its culture and open and hospitable nature.

The city currently has a network of top-rate public and private sports facilities. It boasts a historical tradition with sport, as can be seen in its legacy of hundred-year clubs and associations that make it a benchmark name on the international sports scene.  But the city also has an additional asset, namely, an exceptional climate and territory for pursuing sports. Catalonia’s capital is a city that is open to the sea, where water sports combine with other sports that can be done up and down the coast. For that reason it is a nerve centre capable of organising first-class athletics events: the Barcelona Marathon, the Half Marathon as well as the Triathlon, not forgetting the Barcelona World Race and various World Championships.

Social cohesion

Here in Barcelona we also understand sport is an essential social tool. On this premise, work is being done to promote sports values as a fundamental element of social cohesion through school-based programmes for fostering equality, promoting various sports and instilling positive values among children and young people.  Thanks to its local sports policy, Barcelona is at the forefront of social sports and sports-promoting programmes among children and young people.

Economic driving force

Sport is also an economic driving force in the Catalan capital which boosts entrepreneurial and innovative sports projects while also attracting conferences and meetings that foster expertise and research on the pursuit of sport. So much so that it goes beyond the city and helps to drive projects in the rest of Catalonia.

Barcelona has matured its Olympic legacy by turning its organisational capacity and tenacity into its own brand, inspiring confidence in everyone keen to organise sports events and with the know-how to spread sports values. Barcelona is an international sports capital.