Friedman Kohls 1 Michael Friedman Kelly Kohls 17 July 2013 Barcelona: Past & Present The Impact of the

1992 Barcelona Olympics The 1992 Olympics provided Barcelona with an international platform to demonstrate its ability to function as a thriving, multicultural metropolis. Once the Franco dictatorship had finally come to an end, the city had the opportunity to redefine itself and become what we know it as today. During the pre-Olympic era, Barcelona had a multitude of unresolved issues, ranging from infrastructure to tourism to unemployment. The process of revitalizing Barcelona was a feat accomplished in a relatively short period of time. It included restoring the beaches, fixing the sewage system, and completing the four main Olympic facilities. This worldwide event had a range of effects on Barcelona, both positive and negative. While Barcelona was able to increase its international reputation in comparison with other past Olympic host cities, its main detriment was the housing crisis caused by property price increases. The Barcelona city council implemented many different projects to spruce up the city, resulting in a memorable and overall, extremely positive reputation that spread far beyond Spain and Europe as a whole. One of the main reasons that Barcelona had such a successful Olympic experience is due to the struggles the city underwent prior to winning the bid to host the Games. Before the 1979 democratic elections held in Spain, Francisco Franco ruled as a fierce, tyrannical dictator. With widespread propaganda and censorship, Catalan citizens experienced cultural repression, for Franco was only concerned about upholding his reputation and dominance over the general public. This backlash occurred due to Francos lingering anger regarding the Catalan populations resistance during the Spanish Civil War, which occurred between 1936 and 1939. Since Franco made Barcelona his marionette, the city was not able to reach its full potential during this time period, and became an industrial backwater as a result. Once Franco kicked the bucket in 1975, there was a four-year transition period, which led up to the democratic elections held in 1979. For the first time in Spains history, political administrators from Barcelona, Catalonia,

Friedman Kohls 2 and Spain were all able to work together by putting their ideological differences aside to finally accomplish progress in restoring the city. After the tyranny of Francos regime, Barcelona had adopted a negative image that the rest of the world looked down upon, which resulted in a great under appreciation of the city, despite its rich and meaningful history dating back over 2000 years. In order to improve the citys reputation, the Barcelona city council wanted to host the Olympic Games to ultimately increase revenue and tourism. The Barcelona city council was aware that such a feat could not be achieved without significant planning and investments. As a result, projects were implemented about a decade before the potential Games to have an edge over other competitive host cities, which included Amsterdam, Birmingham, Brismane, Belgrade, and the biggest competitor, Paris. Due to intense lobbying and infrastructural preparations, Barcelona was named as the host city for the 1992 Summer Olympic Games on 17 November 1986. In order to successfully host the Olympics, Barcelona had many improvements that were needed to get the city up to par. According to Busquets, [The Olympics] called for substantial improvements in the urban development standards of the city in the form of its communication, drainage and transport infrastructures, particularly the railways and the airport, and the sport and leisure infrastructures most closely linked to the Olympic programme, and a more dynamic approach to strategic hotel and company services (404). Prior to the Olympics, it was clear there was much work to be done in a short amount of time in order to have a successful event. One key area that was in need of drastic redevelopment was the citys beaches. While most people imagine a beach to be a relaxing, peaceful spot to relax, Barcelonas pre-Olympic beaches were far from this perception. In fact, people used the beaches as restrooms and baths, which posed many health and sanitation issues, leaving locals and tourists with no desire to spend time there amid the sandy pigsty. Another aspect that needed to be addressed was the lack of tourism that had been impacted by the poor image displayed during the reign of Franco. A boost in the tourism industry would result in an increase in revenue for the city to spend on more infrastructural improvements and projects. While tourism was an insignificant industry for Barcelona, what negatively impacted the city to an even higher degree was the high unemployment rates, at 18.4%. Harming the health and well-being of Barcelona residents, the deficiency of proper sewage and drainage systems demonstrated

Friedman Kohls 3 a lack of urban development. In fact, when it would rain, the city would flood, resulting in overflowed streets, which is unsafe environment for both locals and tourists. One of the most critical elements of improvement requisite to orchestrate the Olympic Games was the citys infrastructure. Barcelona had been in need of upgrading its buildings and roadways for a couple of decades, and became even more urgent so that the city had proper venues and means of transportation to host the Games. With the public and private sectors simultaneously contributing investments, all of the citys desired enhancements could be addressed. As mentioned previously, there was much work to be done to prepare Barcelona for the Olympics, and the revitalization process would need to be completed in a matter of a few short years despite the fact that it would take decades under normal circumstances. Although it was an overwhelming task, Barcelonas cit y council leveraged a portion of its Olympic budget to rejuvenate its overlooked shoreline. A new two-mile stretch of sandy shores were made accessible to visitors and locals alike. The Barceloneta beach area was no longer used as dumping grounds, but instead became the beautiful seaside we know it as today. Not only were the beaches dramatically improved, but the city also worked to open up more green spaces to be used as meeting spots and to give Barcelona a more positive image. These green areas included renovated space like parks, gardens, and playgrounds for young children. In regards to the increase in tourism, Rowe notes that Tourism and other related service businesses were on the rise, bringing many visitors and sojourners to the city, attracted by its risen reputation for urban vitality, amenity and chic. Cultural life had also improved correspondingly, especially with the completion of several major venues, put on hold during the frantic latter days of Olympic preparation. The palpable identity of Barcelona, well and truly spiffed up in so many ways, was now at an all time high, placing it more than ever on the rest of the worlds must see list (103-104). In comparison to other Olympic host cities, including Seoul, Atlanta, and Sydney, Barcelona dominated in terms of its increase in foreign visitors form two years before the Games to two years after. Another issue that the Olympic Games facilitated to resolve was the high unemployment rate. Due to the need for venues and infrastructural improvements, there was a rise in available jobs in construction and planning, which ultimately caused the unemployment rate to drop from 18.4% to 9.6%

Friedman Kohls 4 (Brunet). To address the issue of flooding due to improper drainage, the city designated a portion of the Olympic budget to revamp the existing sewage systems to improve functionality. The most prominent and essential element to prepare for the Olympics was the completion of the four main facilities to host the Games and their particpants. The four [principal] sites were the Olympic Ring on Montjuc, to the south-west of the old town; the Olympic Village and Port in Poblenou, to the north-east; Vall dHebron to the north-west among the hillsides; and an area along the Diagonal, near the university campus, well to the south-west of the city center (Rowe 88). Unique to Barcelonas Olympic experience was the close proximity between the events main venues, which gave the city an edge over other potential host cities during the bid process. Additionally, Barcelona had planned for its future with these facilities. Special projects were used to address difficult, delicate parts of the city, urban rears and abandoned areas, for use as first-rate urban spaces (Busquets 408). For example, Poble Nou, which previously had been a shabby part of the city, had been designated as the Olympic Village space, where apartments were built not only for Olympic athletes, but for future residents as well. Another venue, the Olympic Stadium on Montjuc, had been originally used for the 1929 World Fair, had been expanded to accommodate an Olympic crowd; furthermore, it is still used today for athletic and musical events. Lastly, the areas around Diagonal and Vall dHebron were worked on in order to contribute to Barcelonas overall appeal. All of these revitalization projects significantly propelled the city forward by leaving a lasting impression while under scrutiny on the global stage. Due to the magnificent success of the Olympic Games, Barcelona experienced many lasting positive outcomes even years down the line. One of the most notable improvements was the citys gain in popularity around the world. According to Hillier and Isn, Barcelona jumped from Europes 12th most popular city to the 5th over a period of 20 years. Also, the city is currently the 12th most popular global tourist destination, boasting over 20 million visitors per year. Busquets mentions Many of the services developed for the Olympic Games led to the constant flows of foreign visitors, promoting hotels, business and services (411). Had not Barcelona had the opportunity to host the Olympics, it still could have been overlooked by the world as it had been before; however, the Games gave the city a tremendous opportunity to showcase all it has to

Friedman Kohls 5 offer, from its culture to its gastronomy to its friendly people. Due to the prominence of many Spanish athletes at the time, including a #1 tennis player, a World Cup winning football team, and a Tour du France winner, many among the younger generation were inspired to take up athletic activities, resulting in increased participation in sports. While Barcelona experienced many positive effects as a result of hosting the Olympics, it did, however, suffer a few negative consequences. The main issues Barcelona faced after the Games were a housing crisis and shortterm increased unemployment. Since the city aimed to be more well rounded in terms of socioeconomical distribution, gentrification occurred in many parts of Barcelona. The Centre for Housing Rights also reported that forced displacement increased in each successive city, it disproportionally affected the homeless, poor, and ethnic minorities and it had long term effects on adjacent working class areas due to accelerated real estate inflation (Alexander). Although the city had spruced up previously disregarded areas, it resulted in excessive property price increases, beyond average affordability. In fact, housing prices rose by 139%, while rental prices increased by 145%. Additionally, public housing availability dropped by 76%, according to Alexander. The previous low-income residents of the gentrified areas were unable to keep up with the ridiculously high cost of living. One other negative aspect caused by the 1992 Olympics was the increase in unemployment rates immediately following the Games. Since there was so much work to be done to prepare for the events, there were many construction jobs available to improve infrastructure and to put together the venues. However, the amount of building construction had been immense and, once completed, there remained substantial excess capacity largely in place. This left construction firms and allied trades scrambling for work, with not enough to go around. Many architects also found themselves without work and the building industry, generally, fell into recession (Rowe 104). In the long run, on the other hand, employment eventually recovered, for the Olympics had facilitated an economic boost for Barcelona. Overall, the incredible positive gains Barcelona underwent after hosting the Games definitely overshadowed the detriments. Because of the Olympic Games, Barcelona left big shoes for the subsequent host city to fill. While there were some downsides, the drastic increase in tourism and the citys image as a whole far compensated for them. In June 1999, the Royal Institute of

Friedman Kohls 6 British Architects (RIBA) awarded Barcelona its prestigious Gold Medalthe first time awarded to a place, not professionalsin honor of the citys commitment to urbanism over the last 20 years including its mix of eye-catching landmark projects, small scale improvements to plaza and street corners, and the team work between politicians and urbanists (60-61). This was the first occurrence in which this prestigious honor was awarded to city rather than a person. Clearly, Barcelona established a model for the ideal strategy of how to revamp its city in preparation for the Olympics to not only leaving a stunning impression around the world in 1992, but for many more decades to come.

Friedman Kohls 7 Works Cited Alexander, Rahcel, The Olympics and Preservation III: Imagine All the People. Bricks + Mortar. 15 Aug. 2012. Web. 15 July 2013. <http://bricksandmortarpreservation.wordpress.com/2012/08/15/the-olympicsand-preservation-iii-imagine-all-the-people/>. Brunet, Ferran. An economic analysis of the Barcelona 92 Olympic Games: resources, financing, and impact. The Keys to Success. UAB, 1995.

Busquets, J, Barcelona, The urban evolution of a compact city, Harvard, 2005. Hillier, Iris, and Rafael Isn. "Barcelona: Before and After the 92 Olympic Games." Tourism Insights. N.p., Feb. 2010. Web. 15 July 2013. <http://www.insights.org.uk/articleitem.aspx?title=Barcelona:+Before+and+After +the+92+Olympic+Games>.

Rowe, Peter. Building Barcelona: A Second Renaixena, Actar, 2006.

Marshall, Time, Transforming Barcelona, 2004.