L' ANELLA OLIMPICA

In 1992, Montjuic was temporarily renamed 'Mount Olympus' and became Barcelona's main venue for the Olympic Games. Atop its western crest lies the Anella OlImpica (Olympic Ring). a vast complex of concrete and marble that contains some of the city's most celebrated new buildings; Ricardo Bofills' neoclassical sports university; the Institut Nacional de Educacion Fisica de Catalunya.

Barcelona had bid for the games three times previously and had built Europe's biggest stadium for the 1929 World Exhibition with the clear intention of using it for the 1936 'People's Olympics' (organized as an alternative to the infamous Berlin Games).

These never took place due to the outbreak of Spanish Civil War the day before the official opening. For the 1992 games, local architects managed to preserve the stadium's original facade, while increasing the seating capacity from 25,000 to 70,000 by excavating deep into the interior. It is now mainly used for large-scale sporting and music events, though highlights of the 1992 games can be relived through video clippings and souvenir showcases in the Galerfa Olimpica, located beneath the stadium.