Olympic Stadium (Estadi Olimpic) Montjuic is a multisport stadium in Barcelona, the main sports arena of the 1992 Olympics. Although he got his name long before that, back in 1936. The Civil War prevented the holding of the Olympic Games, but the name of the stadium paid off later after more than half a century. The Barcelona football club has never played here, but Espanyol has played at this stadium for over 10 years, completing its appearances at the Olympic only in 2009. Now the old Barcelona football team is playing at Cornella-El Prat.
Dossier
Full name - Lewis Companyis Olympic Stadium. Opening date - 1927. The author of the project is Pere Domenech. Capacity - 55900 spectators. The location of the stands is 2 tiers. The shape of the arena is oval. There are treadmills (in the amount of 10 pieces of 400 m). The area of the arena is 17,000 square meters. Home teams - football teams of Spain, Catalonia and Andorra. The dimensions of the field are 105x67 meters. The coating is grassy. Location - Montjuic Hill (southwestern part of the city). Category - 5 stars (UEFA qualification).
A bit of history
The Olympic Stadium (Barcelona) was designed and opened in 1927. It is named for the President of Catalonia, who ruled during the Spanish Civil War. In 1936, the arena was supposed to accept the games of the People's Olympics as an alternative to the Berlin Summer Olympics-1936. But, in connection with the outbreak of civil war, this event did not take place, and the name of the Olympic stadium was preserved. And only since 1992, when the 1992 Olympics took place in Barcelona, the name of the arena began to fully correspond to the status.
Arena in the period of 50-90s
In the 50s, the stadium of Barcelona was the place where the Mediterranean Games were held. In the 60s and 70s, the arena fell into decay. Nobody needed it and gradually collapsed. The construction received a new life thanks to the 1992 Olympic Games. The arena has been completely remodeled. And although the capacity of the stadium decreased, it retained the original original facades.
Barcelona Stadium witnessed the grand opening and closing ceremonies of the 1992 Olympic Games.
During the Olympics, he became one of the venues for athletics competitions. It is worth noting that before the games a complex of works was carried out to increase the seating capacity of the seats. As a result of reconstruction, their number was brought to seventy thousand.
Olympic stadium today
Currently, the Barcelona stadium is the place where a variety of competitions are held. In addition to football matches, there are competitions of police and firefighters, concert performances of the world's most popular pop stars are held. At different times, the Barcelona stadium gathered an audience of forty thousand at the concerts of the Rolling Stones and Bon Jovi.
By the way, from 1997 to 2009, the arena was the venue for home football matches of the Hispaniol club. Today, the Olympic Stadium is part of a whole range of sports facilities that have the common name of the Olympic Ring. This, in particular, includes the Museum of the Olympic Games and Sports, souvenir shops.
Nevertheless, Olimpiyskiy (photos of the Barcelona stadium are presented in the article) can hardly be compared in popularity to the modern Camp Nou stadium, which attracts tourists from all over the world.
Camp Nou Arena
Sometimes inexperienced football fans, or even just tourists, confuse Barcelona's Estadi Olimpic Stadium with the grand Camp Nou Arena. This football stadium in Barcelona was built in 1957 and has since been owned by the Catalan football club Barcelona. On the eve of the 1982 World Cup, the capacity of the arena reached 120 thousand people. It has become one of the largest stadiums in the world. And only in 1998 after the introduction of the UEFA regulation on equipping all sports facilities with individual seats, the Camp Nou capacity began to reach 98 thousand 930 spectators.
Note that in contrast to the free visit to the Olimpiysky, FC Barcelona stadium will not be allowed for free. Those wishing to see its sights (club museum, mixed zone, interactive room) will pour out 20 euros.
New stadium
Recently, information appeared that the Spanish football grand is planning to build the Barcelona Club stadium with the former Camp Nou name in 2017. It will be an arena that can accommodate 105 thousand fans. The initial project cost is about 400 million euros. The new Barcelona stadium will be part of an entire sports complex, which will include two more football stadiums. Their capacity will be 2,000 and 12,000 spectators. Work on the construction of a new site should be completed by 2021.
A bit about tourism
But back to the Olympic stadium. As mentioned above, it is located on the hill (mountain) of Montjuic. Translated from Spanish Montguic - "Jewish mountain." Once upon a time there was a Jewish ancient city cemetery. In ancient times, the hill was a strategic military site, from which magnificent views of the sea. On the other hand, here is a good overview of most of the city itself.
In 1929, an international exhibition was held in Barcelona, in connection with which several monumental objects were built on the hill. Later, new places of culture were created (in order to attract tourists and vacationers), sports facilities, amusement parks were built.
In the Montjuic area there are green areas, which include both small parks and the famous Jardins Joan Brossa Park, the Botanical Garden (Cactus Park). Entrance to the park is free.
The main attractions of Montjuic are:
- Barcelona Museum named after H.A. Samarancha - a place of expositions of sports achievements and popularization of sports;
- telecommunication tower - a symbol of the park, an architectural structure depicting an athlete holding an Olympic torch;
- the palace of San Jordi is a masterpiece of architecture and the embodiment of greatness, a venue for concerts, exhibitions, conferences.
The main attraction of the hill is the Lewis Kompanis Olympic Stadium, the entrance to which is guarded by two equestrian statues made of bronze. These and other sculptures were performed by the sculptor Pau Gargallo.
In general, the infrastructure of the Barcelona Olympic Park is ideally designed for a romantic and active pastime. Here there is a sun terrace, a large movie screen, cosmetology and massage rooms, pools, cafeterias.
How to get there
The Olympic Stadium in Barcelona is a work of the highest architectural art. Therefore, thousands of tourists visit the territory of Montjuic, not least to see this magnificent building. What is the best way to get here? There are three convenient ways:
- From the nearest metro station Espanya (green line L3), go to the final destination “Olympic Park”. Next, you need a little walk. Move along Reina Maria Christina street to the fountain, then turn (left) onto Rius I Taulet, then right along Guardia Urban past the Museum of Art and the J. Miro Foundation. The reference points for the Olympics-92 will be the bus stops No. 13, 50, 150.
- The second way is a funicular ride to the Park de Montguic station. A funicular ticket applies to a funicular similar to travel in another public transport: bus, metro.
- By Bus Turistic bus to the bus stop located near the Olympic Stadium.
In conclusion, a few words about the hotels located near the stadium. This information will not be superfluous to tourists.
- Hotel AG Apartments is a hotel providing services of using free Wi-Fi, air conditioning, heating, TV, bathroom, balcony, elevator. There is always fresh clean linen included in the price.
- Apartamento Gran Via Fira Montguic - a hotel where you can use a fully equipped kitchen, a microwave, a dishwasher, a room with a shower, a balcony with a view of Montjuic.
- Alcam Molino is an apartment located two kilometers from Montjuic Castle. It has double rooms, TV with Internet connection, air conditioning. Nearby is the Paral metro station.