July 25th is the anniversary of the start of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. I remember them with fondness, as probably the most entertaining and the most downright friendly and sincere Olympics of any I’ve watched during my life.
There was something very special about the Barcelona Games. For a start, the political controversies of previous years, which had seen the Western and Eastern Blocs trade boycotts, various other political ructions, the terrorist attack at the 1972 games in Munich, and other negative influences. Barcelona was, in a sense, a healing from those times. They were also the first Games since the fall of the Iron Curtain, with a whole new sense of freedom in the air, and the absence – for the first time – of the highly regimented, indoctrinated teams of the former ‘socialist paradises’. South Africa was back for the first time since 1960, the embryonic nations of the former Yugoslavia were there . . . it was a joyful time.
Most impressive, to me, was the feel of the Games. They were known as ‘the friendly Games’, and it seemed that everyone involved – athletes, organizers, spectators and the residents of Barcelona – went out of their way to make them just that. I’ve certainly never before or since got the feeling of real pleasure I experienced watching the extensive coverage of the Barcelona Games. All those since then have fallen short of that atmosphere.
Here are a couple of highlights. The first is the magnificent lighting of the Olympic torch by paralympic archer Antonio Rebollo, the climax of a wonderful opening pageant that was beautifully choreographed and presented. (There are many video clips of it on YouTube, if you wish to search for them.)
Then, here’s the late Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé singing the famous ‘Barcelona‘.
Great stuff, and happy memories.
Peter