As the world was watching Barcelona on 25 July 1992, the city was shown to be open, welcoming, full of life and participative. This was the start of the 25th Summer Olympic Games, which were to become, at least up to that point, the "best Olympic Games ever".

172 national committees took part in the event, with 9,959 athletes competing in 32 sports and 286 specialities. It had been 20 years since the Olympic Games had been held without suffering any kind of boycott; all the athletes that had qualified for the Games were able to take part.

The city and its surrounding area underwent an extensive redevelopment programme in order to host the various competitions. 22 of the city's sports facilities were used as venues.

Those 16 days, from 25 July to 9 August 1992, allowed the world to take a closer look at the city, providing a huge impetus for Barcelona in a wide variety of areas. These included not only sport, but also social, civic, cultural and city planning affairs.

During that period, the world discovered many different Barcelonas.

A month and a half later, the 9th Paralympic Games were held. Between 3 September and 14 September 1992, more than 3,000 athletes from 83 countries took part in 489 competitions in 16 different sports.

9th Paralympic Games

The 9th Summer Paralympic Games were held in Barcelona from 3 to 14 September 1992. During that time, 3,000 athletes from 83 countries took part in 489 competitions in 16 different sports.