This Saturday, Montjuïc Mountain will be more magical than ever. Almost 50,000 fans will gather this weekend to fill the seats at the Lluís Companys and experience the most special night in the Olympic stadium since the Barcelona ’92 Games. It will also be a unique occasion for the Blaugrana players, who will play a classic outside the Camp Nou for the first time since its inauguration. This time, also, wearing the Rolling Stones tongue and lips logo on his first kit.
The official debut of the culés in their current home was in May 1929 following the Barcelona Universal Exhibition. Since then, the Estadi Olímpic has hosted since Barça’s proclamation as champion of the 1957 Cup – at that time the Generalissimo – until the Catalan derby of 2009, the last match that the Blaugrana played at the Lluís Companys before saying goodbye to the Spotify Camp Nou last season until the end of 2024.
Montjuïc has been the common thread of different family generations for the culé parish, as it has witnessed transcendental events for Barcelona fans. For example, Sir Bobby Robson’s debut as Barça coach in the 1996 Spanish Super Cup, Ronaldo Nazário’s first double with the Blaugrana shirt or Leo Messi’s official debut with the first team in 2004. And more than 90 years of history go a long way. Not only for a football team, but also for the stadium that has housed it for years.
The Montjuïc Olympic Stadium mainly entered the history books for hosting the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. It was previously able to do so in the 1936 Olympics, when the Catalan capital presented its candidacy, but it was finally rejected and they were held in Berlin, in the Nazi Germany. At that time, the Estadi Olímpic hosted more than 20,000 displaced people during the Spanish Civil War. Even so, Barcelona promoted the Popular Olympics that same year, but the beginning of the war prevented the initial inauguration, on July 18, despite having carried out general rehearsals in the stadium to do so.
The city underwent an architectural transformation to host the 1992 Olympic event. The team of architects formed by Correa, Milà, Margarit and Buxadé, together with the participation of the Italian Vittorio Gregotti, began the works at the end of 1985: the exterior facades of the enclosure and new stands were built, resulting in the current capacity of the stadium (55,926 spectators).
The urban planning effort was rewarded on the night of July 25, 1992. The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games was already a reality that resonated with the more than 50,000 people present and served to say ‘Hello’ to everyone. The welcome to the international scene culminated with the launching of the arrow by Antonio Rebollo that lit the Olympic cauldron, escorted by the former basketball player, Epi.
The triple Paralympic medalist gave one of the most memorable moments in the history of the Olympic Games, at the same time that the song, Friends Forever, by Montserrat Caballer and Freddie Mercury, played. A song that provided the soundtrack to what are for many “the best games in history.”
The Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium, which was named after the former president of the Generalitat in 2001, is also a living image of professional athletics. Throughout its history, it has hosted events such as the inauguration of the second Mediterranean Games in 1955 and the V World Cup of Athletics in 1989.
Likewise, competitions such as the World Junior Athletics Championships in 2012, the European Athletics Championships in 2010 or the ‘X Games’ in 2013, an annual extreme sports event, which hosts categories such as ‘rallies’, Skateboarding or BMX, have been hosted by Magic Mountain. It was also the home of the Barcelona Dragos, of the NFL Europe, for many years.
RCD Espanyol had the Montjuïc Olympic stadium as its home for more than a decade, between 1997 and 2009, before having the current RCDE Stadium or Stage Front Stadium, popularly known as Cornellà-El Prat, as its headquarters.
The blue and white team spent twelve seasons playing at home on the field designed by the Barcelona architect, Pere Domènech i Roura, due to the debt that the club had more than two decades ago and which led its leaders to sell their facilities in Sarriá, in 1997.
However, that stage gave historical moments that still linger in the memory of the fans of the Barcelona team. For example, the Copa del Rey won in the 1999-00 and 2005-06 seasons, a runners-up finish in the UEFA Cup or the achievement of agonizing stays in the First Division such as the one in the 2003-04 campaign against Real Murcia or the Real Sociedad in 2005-06.
Furthermore, the stay of the blue and white team in the magical mountain coincided with Espanyol’s centenary celebration in 1999. A victory against Marcelo Bielsa’s Argentina, in which footballers such as Pochettino, Berizzo, Solari and Crespo were still active, sealed a festive day memorable for the Spanish parish.
Cultural events have also been part of the Barcelona Olympic venue within the more than 90 years that make up its history. Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Madonna and the Rolling Stones themselves are some of the artists who have made fans vibrate on the Lluís Companys stage.
However, Coldplay’s four concerts are the latest acts that have recently resonated most strongly on the stage of the Estadi Olímpic. The British band made more than 200,000 people vibrate with their music in May 2023. On the other hand, corporate events or family activities such as the Festa dels Súpers have also been held in the stadium.
Sports, cultural and social events make up the memory of the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium. The humble, but transcendental Barcelona field wants to give its magic again this Saturday to all the fans who dare to fill the stands, to record in their memories the first Clásico in history to be played in Montjuïc.
The Olympic flame will not be lit this time, but it will light the throats of the fans willing to let their voice out to cheer on their teams and enjoy one of the best games in world football. All this, demonstrating once again that the Olympic spirit of Montjuïc is more alive than ever and that the magical mountain continues to transcend the history of a club like FC Barcelona.
