It is a joy to greet the great family of tennis and celebrate a new edition of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell–Trofeo Conde de Godó in the year of its 70th anniversary. The creation of the Godó Trophy was the demonstration of the will of Barcelona, ​​of its people, entities and associative fabric, to be at the forefront and broke the isolation that the country lived in those years. Both in sport and in all areas. Seven decades later, the trophy has established itself as one of the most important in the world on clay and, above all, as a sporting emblem of our city and a source of pride for all Barcelonans.
It is the merit of many people, but I want to especially thank the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona and the companies and institutions that support it for their effort and dedication to make it possible. I also want to highlight the organization’s commitment to hold a more sustainable, innovative and supportive tournament each year, opening up to the entire city and bringing tennis closer to the most vulnerable groups through the work done by the Barcelona Tennis Foundation.
This edition comes at an important time for our city, after some difficult years and in an international context marked by a war that has impacted our lives. But in the face of adversity, Barcelona has always shown its ability to overcome. And we are proving it again. It is no coincidence that Barcelona hosts the Sailing America’s Cup next year, and I take this opportunity to celebrate the collaboration provided by the Godó Trophy, a fact that highlights the complicity between these two great events that project us in the world. It is also no coincidence that this year the start of the Cycling Tour is held in Barcelona (which has not been the case for more than 60 years!).
And it’s not just sports. Barcelona will host the Manifesta 2024 Arts Biennial or the World Capital of Architecture 2026. More and more companies are choosing the city to set up their digital innovation centers. And we have managed to get the Mobile World Congress to choose Barcelona as its permanent venue. In short, Barcelona attracts as it had not done for a long time because we have a model, a model for the future.
And the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell-Trofeo Conde de Godó is a valuable piece of this model. Barcelona makes the Godó Trophy great and the Godó Trophy makes Barcelona great. Thanks to the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona-1899 and to all the people who make this new edition of the trophy possible for your dedication and effort to open the tournament to the public and help us make our city the great world capital of sport. And I want to end by inviting everyone to experience the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell and to enjoy, once again, the great tennis party.
