Palau Blaugrana ( Catalan pronunciation: [pəˈlaw ˌβlawˈɣɾanə] , meaning in English " Blue and Garnet Palace") is an arena in Barcelona , Catalonia , Spain , belonging to FC Barcelona . The 7,585 seating capacity arena is home to the basketball , handball , roller hockey , and futsal divisions of FC Barcelona . Palau Blaugrana is located in the same complex that houses the Camp Nou stadium.
111-504: Built in 1971, the stadium originally held 5,696 spectators, but the facility was remodeled in 1994, to fit the current capacity of 7,585. During the 1992 Summer Olympics , the arena hosted several events, including roller hockey , taekwondo and judo . The arena's main court area was renovated in 2016. Several basketball, handball, roller hockey and futsal players have had their jerseys retired: Under Sandro Rosell 's presidency, FC Barcelona announced that by 2013, it planned to build
222-931: A burdensome presence of the royal army, being briefly established as a republic under French protection. By the Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659), the northern parts of Catalonia , mostly the Roussillon , were ceded to France. During the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714), the Crown of Aragon sided against the Bourbon Philip V of Spain , but after the Peace of Utrecht (1713) the Catalans were defeated with
333-490: A capacity of about 12,500 people with an adjacent, smaller court that will seat approximately 2,000. Additionally, the New Palau will have 24 VIP boxes and 4 sky bars with court views. [REDACTED] Media related to Palau Blaugrana at Wikimedia Commons 1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( Spanish : Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992 , Catalan : Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992 ), officially
444-458: A center-right Catalan nationalist electoral coalition, with Pujol re-elected until 2003. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the institutions of Catalan autonomy were deployed, among them an autonomous police force, the Mossos d'Esquadra , in 1983, and the broadcasting network Televisió de Catalunya and its first channel TV3 , created in 1983. An extensive program of normalization of Catalan language
555-644: A major tourist destination. During the Spanish transition to democracy (1975–1982), the Generalitat was reestablished and Catalonia regained self-government , remaining one of the most economically dynamic communities in Spain. In the 2010s, there was growing support for Catalan independence . On 27 October 2017, the Catalan Parliament unilaterally declared independence following a referendum that
666-601: A modernizing and progressive social agenda, despite the internal difficulties. This period was marked by political unrest, the effects of the economic crisis and their social repercussions. The Statute of Autonomy was suspended in 1934, due to the Events of 6 October in Barcelona, as a response to the accession of right-wing Spanish nationalist party CEDA to the government of the Republic, considered close to fascism . After
777-552: A nation. This decision was severely contested by large sectors of Catalan society, which increased the demands of independence. A controversial independence referendum was held in Catalonia on 1 October 2017, using a disputed voting process. It was declared illegal and suspended by the Constitutional Court of Spain , because it breached the 1978 Constitution . Subsequent developments saw, on 27 October 2017,
888-410: A new Palau Blaugrana for its handball and basketball teams, with a capacity of 12,000 seats. Also included in the plan, was a smaller campus with a capacity of 3,000 seats, plus [a special conditions] for hotel partners (operated by a specialist company located on the corner of Aristides Maillol with John XXIII), new parking spaces and an auditorium, with a 2,000 capacity, for the foundation, including
999-690: A province of the Umayyad Caliphate . From the conquest of Roussillon in 760, to the conquest of Barcelona in 801, the Frankish empire took control of the area between Septimania and the Llobregat river from the Muslims and created heavily militarised, self-governing counties . These counties formed part of the historiographically known as the Gothic and Hispanic Marches, a buffer zone in
1110-732: A successful process of economic growth and proto-industrialization , reinforced in the late quarter of the century when Castile's trade monopoly with American colonies ended. After the War of the Spanish Succession , the assimilation of the Crown of Aragon by the Castilian Crown through the Nueva Planta Decrees was the first step in the creation of the Spanish nation state . These nationalist policies, sometimes very aggressive, and still in force, have been and are
1221-1002: A symbolic declaration of independence by the Parliament of Catalonia, the enforcement of direct rule by the Spanish government through the use of Article 155 of the Constitution, the dismissal of the Executive Council and the dissolution of the Parliament, with a snap regional election called for 21 December 2017, which ended with a victory of pro-independence parties. Former President Carles Puigdemont and five former cabinet ministers fled Spain and took refuge in other European countries (such as Belgium , in Puigdemont's case), whereas nine other cabinet members, including vice-president Oriol Junqueras , were sentenced to prison under various charges of rebellion, sedition, and misuse of public funds. Quim Torra became
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#17327762495961332-476: A workforce of 3,083 people, a permanent radio and television installation at the Olympic Stadium and Palau Sant Jordi, and over 50 mobile units for other venues, RTO'92 provided live coverage of all Summer Olympic sports for the first time ever –except for a few preliminary events–, some 2,800 hours of live television footage, to its international rights-holders. The International Broadcast Centre (IBC)
1443-624: Is Cataluña ( [kataˈluɲa] ), and the Aranese name is Catalonha ( [kataˈluɲa] ). The first known human settlements in what is now Catalonia were at the beginning of the Middle Paleolithic . The oldest known trace of human occupation is a mandible found in Banyoles , described by some sources as pre- Neanderthal , that is, some 200,000 years old; other sources suggest it to be only about one third that old. From
1554-610: Is an autonomous community of Spain , designated as a nationality by its Statute of Autonomy . Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran ) is situated on the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula , to the south of the Pyrenees mountain range. Catalonia is administratively divided into four provinces or eight vegueries (regions), which are in turn divided into 42 comarques . The capital and largest city, Barcelona ,
1665-536: Is the second-most populous municipality in Spain and the fifth-most populous urban area in the European Union . Modern-day Catalonia comprises most of the medieval and early modern Principality of Catalonia (with the remainder northern area now part of France's Pyrénées-Orientales ). It is bordered by France ( Occitanie ) and Andorra to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the east, and
1776-933: The 131st President of the Government of Catalonia on 17 May 2018, after the Spanish courts blocked three other candidates. In 2018, the Assemblea Nacional Catalana joined the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) on behalf of Catalonia. On 14 October 2019, the Spanish Supreme court sentenced several Catalan political leaders , involved in organizing a referendum on Catalonia's independence from Spain, and convicted them on charges ranging from sedition to misuse of public funds , with sentences ranging from 9 to 13 years in prison. This decision sparked demonstrations around Catalonia. They were later pardoned by
1887-601: The 1928 games ); Belgrade , Yugoslavia; Birmingham , United Kingdom; Brisbane , Australia; and Paris , France, during the 91st IOC Session in Lausanne , Switzerland . New Delhi , India, had announced a bid for the games, but withdrew in March 1986. With 85 out of 89 members of the IOC voting by secret ballot, Barcelona won a majority of 47 votes. Samaranch abstained from voting. In the same IOC meeting, Albertville, France, won
1998-628: The 1929 International Exposition . After the fall of the dictatorship and a brief proclamation of the Catalan Republic , during the events of the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic (14–17 April 1931), Catalonia received, in 1932, its first Statute of Autonomy from the Spanish Republic's Parliament, granting it a considerable degree of self-government, establishing an autonomous body,
2109-683: The Catalonia region as a whole, including the deadly 1991 Vic bombing . On 10 July 1992, the group offered a two-month truce covering the Olympics in exchange for negotiations, which the Spanish government rejected. However, the Games went ahead successfully without an attack. The celebration of the 1992 Olympic Games had an enormous impact on the urban culture and outward projection of Barcelona. The Games provided billions of dollars for infrastructure investments, which are considered to have improved
2220-480: The European Economic Community and a workforce of over 300 production and technical staff. A total of 225 hours and 45 minutes was broadcast in analog HD-MAC standard in 1,250 lines and 16:9 aspect ratio , with commentary in five languages –Spanish, English, French, German and Italian– in addition to the non-commentary sound track, of eighteen different sports at seventeen venues, as well as
2331-758: The Games of the XXV Olympiad ( Spanish : Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada , Catalan : Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92 , were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona , Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994, the International Olympic Committee decided to hold the Summer and Winter Olympics in alternating even-numbered years. The 1992 Summer and Winter Olympics were
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#17327762495962442-641: The House of Aragon . The expansion was accompanied by a great development of the Catalan trade, creating an extensive trade network across the Mediterranean which competed with those of the maritime republics of Genoa and Venice . At the same time, the Principality of Catalonia developed a complex institutional and political system based in the concept of a pact between the estates of the realm and
2553-785: The International Radio and Television Organisation (OIRT), the Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana (OTI), the Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU), the Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU) and the Union of African National Television and Radio Organizations (URTNA), secured the rights for their member broadcasters in their countries. In other countries, broadcast networks secured the rights directly or pooled to secure
2664-662: The Middle Ages , Byzantine chroniclers claimed that Catalania derives from the local medley of Goths with Alans , initially constituting a Goth-Alania . Other theories suggest: In English, Catalonia is pronounced / k æ t ə ˈ l oʊ n i ə / . The native name, Catalunya , is pronounced [kətəˈluɲə] in Central Catalan , the most widely spoken variety, and [kataˈluɲa] in North-Western Catalan . The Spanish name
2775-522: The Napoleonic and Carlist Wars . In the second third of the century, it experienced industrialisation. As wealth from the industrial expansion grew, it saw a cultural renaissance coupled with incipient nationalism while several workers' movements appeared. The establishment of the Second Spanish Republic (1931–1939) granted self-governance to Catalonia , being restored the Generalitat as
2886-622: The Reapers' War (1640–1652), which saw Catalonia rebel (briefly as a republic led by the president of the Generalitat, Pau Claris ) with French help against the Spanish Crown for overstepping Catalonia's rights during the Thirty Years' War . Within a brief period France took full control of Catalonia. Most of Catalonia was reconquered by the Spanish monarchy but Catalan rights were mostly recognised. Roussillon and half of Cerdanya
2997-747: The Second Punic War and traded with the surrounding Iberian population . After the Carthaginian defeat by the Roman Republic , the north-east of Iberia became the first to come under Roman rule and became part of Hispania , the westernmost part of the Roman Empire . Tarraco (modern Tarragona ) was one of the most important Roman cities in Hispania and the capital of the province of Tarraconensis . Other important cities of
3108-533: The Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC-PSOE), Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) and Initiative for Catalonia Greens (ICV), and the socialist Pasqual Maragall was appointed president. The new government redacted a new version of the Statute of Autonomy , with the aim of consolidate and expand certain aspects of self-government. The new Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia, approved after a referendum in 2006,
3219-669: The Treaty of Utrecht . Philip felt that he had been betrayed by the Catalan Courts, as it had initially sworn its loyalty to him when he had presided over it in 1701. In retaliation for the betrayal, and inspired by the French model, the first Bourbon king enacted the Nueva Planta decrees of 1707, 1715 and 1716, incorporating the realms of the Crown of Aragon, including the Principality of Catalonia in 1716, as provinces of
3330-418: The capitulation of Barcelona on 11 September 1714 . Philip V subsequently imposed a unifying administration across Spain, enacting the Nueva Planta decrees which, like in the other realms of the Crown of Aragon, suppressed Catalan institutions and legislation. As a consequence, Catalan as a language of government and literature was eclipsed by Spanish. In the 19th century, Catalonia was severely affected by
3441-528: The 16th and 18th centuries, the participation of the political community in the local and the general Catalan government grew (thus consolidating its constitutional system), while the kings remained absent, represented by a viceroy . Tensions between Catalan institutions and the monarchy began to arise. The large and burdensome presence of the Spanish royal army in the Principality due to the Franco-Spanish War led to an uprising of peasants, provoking
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3552-406: The 1960s was the second-fastest growing economy in the world in what became known as the Spanish miracle . During this period there was a spectacular growth of industry and tourism in Catalonia that drew large numbers of workers to the region from across Spain and made the area around Barcelona one of Europe's largest industrial metropolitan areas. After Franco's death in 1975, Catalonia voted for
3663-566: The 1992 Summer Games. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union , twelve of the fifteen new states chose to form a Unified Team , while the Baltic States of Estonia and Latvia sent their own teams for the first time since 1936, and Lithuania sent its own team for the first time since 1928. Bosnia-Herzegovina competed for the first time as an independent nation after its separation from Socialist Yugoslavia , and Namibia and
3774-476: The 19th century, Catalonia became an important industrial center, particularly focused on textiles . This process was a consequence of the conditions of proto-industrialisation of textile production in the prior two centuries, growing capital from wine and brandy export, and was later boosted by the government support for domestic manufacturing. In 1832, the Bonaplata Factory in Barcelona became
3885-642: The 19th century and the early 20th century, founding the CNT trade union in 1910 and achieving one of the first eight-hour workdays in Europe in 1919. Growing resentment of conscription and of the military culminated in the Tragic Week (Catalan: Setmana Tràgica ) in Barcelona in 1909. Under the hegemony of the Regionalist League , Catalonia gained a degree of administrative unity for the first time in
3996-673: The 4th century. Although Hispania remained under Roman rule and did not fall under the rule of Vandals , Suebi and Alans in the 5th century, the main cities suffered frequent sacking and some deurbanization . After the fall of the Western Roman Empire , the area was conquered by the Visigoths and was ruled as part of the Visigothic Kingdom for almost two and a half centuries. In 718, it came under Muslim control and became part of Al-Andalus ,
4107-402: The Aragonese Crown's maritime forces, which spread the power of the Crown in the Mediterranean, turning Barcelona into a powerful and wealthy city. In the period of 1164–1410, new territories, the Kingdom of Valencia , the Kingdom of Majorca , the Kingdom of Sardinia , the Kingdom of Sicily , and, briefly, the Duchies of Athens and Neopatras , were incorporated into the dynastic domains of
4218-474: The Barcelona games as one of the best Olympics ever. The Games showed a renewed image of democratic Spain and projected Barcelona and the whole Spain to the world. Thanks to the Games, the city of Barcelona was completely transformed; it is thanks to the Olympics that the Barcelona of today is built. All the venues are still active and the legacy of the 1992 Games was taken as an example for future Olympic events, such as London 2012 . The 1992 Summer Games were
4329-425: The Capetian crown whom they regarded as usurpers of the Carolingian Frankish realm. At the beginning of eleventh century the Catalan counties experienced an important process of feudalisation, however, the efforts of church's sponsored Peace and Truce Assemblies and the intervention of Ramon Berenguer I , count of Barcelona (1035–1076) in the negotiations with the rebel nobility resulted in the partial restoration of
4440-402: The Catalan counties, except the County of Foix , despite the opposition of king James. This treaty confirmed, from French point of view, the independence of the Catalan counties established and exercised during the previous three centuries, but also meant the irremediable separation between the geographical areas of Catalonia and Languedoc . As a coastal territory, Catalonia became the base of
4551-433: The Crown of Aragon, rose up in support of the Austrian Habsburg pretender Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor , in his claim for the Spanish throne as Charles III of Spain. The fight between the houses of Bourbon and Habsburg for the Spanish Crown split Spain and Europe. The fall of Barcelona on 11 September 1714 to the Bourbon king Philip V militarily ended the Habsburg claim to the Spanish Crown, which became legal fact in
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4662-412: The Crown of Castile, terminating their status as separate states along with their parliaments, institutions and public and administrative laws , as well as their pactist politics, within a French-style centralized and absolutist kingdom of Spain. In the second half of the 17th century and the 18th century (excluding the parentesis of the Succession War and the post-war inestability) Catalonia carried out
4773-590: The Crowns of Castile and Aragon maintained distinct territories, each keeping its own traditional institutions, parliaments, laws and currency. Castile commissioned expeditions to the Americas and benefited from the riches acquired in the Spanish colonisation of the Americas , but, in time, also carried the main burden of military expenses of the united Spanish kingdoms. After Isabella's death, Ferdinand II personally ruled both crowns. By virtue of descent from his maternal grandparents, Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, in 1516 Charles I of Spain became
4884-413: The Games for the first time in 32 years. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was banned due to UN sanctions, but individual Yugoslav athletes were allowed to take part as Independent Olympic Participants . Four then-existing National Olympic Committees did not send any athletes to compete: Afghanistan , Brunei , Liberia and Somalia . 9,356 athletes from 169 NOCs The following table reflects
4995-401: The Games. The costs for Barcelona 1992 may be compared with those of London 2012 , which cost US$ 15 billion with a cost overrun of 76%, and those of Rio 2016 which cost US$ 4.6 billion with a cost overrun of 51%. The average cost for the Summer Olympics since 1960 is US$ 5.2 billion, with an average cost overrun of 176%. There were two main musical themes for the 1992 Games. The first one
5106-433: The Generalitat of Catalonia, which included a parliament , an executive and a court of cassation . The left-wing pro-independence leader Francesc Macià was appointed its first president. Under the Statute, Catalan became an official language. The governments of the Republican Generalitat , led by the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) leaders Francesc Macià (1931–1933) and Lluís Companys (1933–1940), sought to implement
5217-448: The Modern era. In 1914, the four Catalan provinces were authorized to create a commonwealth (Catalan: Mancomunitat de Catalunya ), lacking any legislative power or specific political autonomy, which carried out an ambitious program of modernization, but it was disbanded in 1925 by the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera (1923–1930). During the final stage of the Dictatorship, with Spain beginning to suffer an economic crisis, Barcelona hosted
5328-449: The Olympic Village and Olympic Port in Poblenou . New centers were created, and modern sports facilities were built in the Olympic zones of Montjuïc , Diagonal , and Vall d'Hebron ; hotels were also refurbished and new ones built. The construction of ring roads around the city helped to reduce traffic density, and El Prat airport was modernized and expanded with the opening of two new terminals. The Oxford Olympics Study estimates
5439-415: The Organisme de radio télévision olympique '92 (ORTO'92) for the Winter Olympics and the Barcelona Organizing Committee created the Ràdio Televisió Olímpica '92 (RTO'92) for the Summer Olympics. RTO'92 managed the staff and the production and technical resources hired to Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE), the Corporació Catalana de Ràdio i Televisió (CCRTV) and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). With
5550-399: The Principality led to the Catalan Civil War (1462–1472) and the War of the Remences (1462–1486) that left Catalonia exhausted. The Sentencia Arbitral de Guadalupe (1486) liberated the remença peasants from the feudal evil customs . In the later Middle Ages, Catalan literature flourished in Catalonia proper and in the kingdoms of Majorca and Valencia, with such remarkable authors as
5661-403: The Roman period are Ilerda (Lleida), Dertosa (Tortosa), Gerunda (Girona) as well as the ports of Empuriæ (former Emporion) and Barcino ( Barcelona ). As for the rest of Hispania, Latin law was granted to all cities under the reign of Vespasian (69–79 AD), while Roman citizenship was granted to all free men of the empire by the Edict of Caracalla in 212 AD (Tarraco, the capital,
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#17327762495965772-435: The Spanish autonomous communities of Aragon to the west and Valencia to the south. In addition to about 580 km of coastline, Catalonia also has major high landforms such as the Pyrenees and the Pre-Pyrenees , the Transversal Range (Serralada Transversal) or the Central Depression. The official languages are Catalan , Spanish and the Aranese dialect of Occitan . In the late 8th century, various counties across
5883-401: The Spanish government and left prison in June 2021. In the early-to-mid 2020s support for independence declined. The climate of Catalonia is diverse. The populated areas lying by the coast in Tarragona, Barcelona and Girona provinces feature a Hot-summer Mediterranean climate ( Köppen Csa ). The inland part (including the Lleida province and the inner part of Barcelona province) show
5994-440: The Spanish government in 2021. The name "Catalonia" ( Medieval Latin : Cathalaunia ), spelled Cathalonia , began to be used for the homeland of the Catalans ( Cathalanenses ) in the late 11th century and was probably used before as a territorial reference to the group of counties that comprised part of the March of Gothia and the March of Hispania under the control of the Count of Barcelona and his relatives. The origin of
6105-453: The adoption of a democratic Spanish Constitution in 1978, in which Catalonia recovered political and cultural autonomy, restoring the Generalitat (exiled since the end of the Civil War in 1939) in 1977 and adopting a new Statute of Autonomy in 1979, which defined Catalonia as a "nationality". The first elections to the Parliament of Catalonia under this Statute gave the Catalan presidency to Jordi Pujol , leader of Convergència i Unió (CiU),
6216-451: The autonomous government. After the Spanish Civil War , the Francoist dictatorship enacted repressive measures, abolishing Catalan self-government and banning the official use of the Catalan language. After a period of autarky , from the late 1950s through to the 1970s Catalonia saw rapid economic growth , drawing many workers from across Spain, making Barcelona one of Europe's largest industrial metropolitan areas and turning Catalonia into
6327-412: The base and promoter for the Crown's Mediterranean trade and expansionism. In the later Middle Ages, Catalan literature flourished. In 1469, the monarchs of the crowns of Aragon and Castile were married and ruled their realms together, retaining all of their distinct institutions and legislation. During the Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659), the Principality of Catalonia revolted (1640–1652) against
6438-402: The beginning of the construction of copper objects. The Bronze Age occurred between 1800 and 700 BC. There are few remnants of this era, but there were some known settlements in the low Segre zone. The Bronze Age coincided with the arrival of the Indo-Europeans through the Urnfield Culture , whose successive waves of migration began around 1200 BC, and they were responsible for
6549-434: The broadcast. For Japan, NHK also covered the 1992 Summer Olympics in HDTV in their own analog Hi-Vision system. The Basque nationalist group ETA attempted to disrupt the Barcelona Games with terrorist attacks. It was already feared beforehand that ETA would use the Olympics to gain publicity for their cause in front of a worldwide audience. As the time of the Games approached, ETA committed attacks in Barcelona and
6660-415: The century onwards, the Renaixença , among both the working class and the bourgeoisie. Right after the fall of the First Spanish Republic (1873–1874) and the subsequent restoration of the Bourbon dynasty (1874), Catalan nationalism began to be organized politically under the leadership of the republican federalist Valentí Almirall . The anarchist movement had been active throughout the last quarter of
6771-427: The city at the start of the opening ceremony, seconds before the official countdown. " Amigos Para Siempre " ( Friends for Life ) was the other musical theme and it was official theme song of the 1992 Summer Olympics. It was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black , and sung by Sarah Brightman and José Carreras during the closing ceremonies. Ryuichi Sakamoto composed and conducted some musical pieces at
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#17327762495966882-425: The comital authority under the new feudal order. To fulfill that purpose, Ramon Berenguer began the modification of the legislation in the written Usages of Barcelona , being one of the first European compilations of feudal law. In 1137, Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona decided to accept King Ramiro II of Aragon 's proposal to receive the Kingdom of Aragon and to marry his daughter Petronila , establishing
6993-411: The countryside were in the hands of the Carlist faction ; the latter proposed to reestablish the institutional systems suppressed by the Nueva Planta decrees in the ancient realms of the Crown of Aragon. The consolidation of the liberal state saw a new provincial division of Spain, including Catalonia, which was divided into four provinces (Barcelona, Girona, Lleida and Tarragona). In the second third of
7104-451: The creation of the first proto-urban settlements. Around the middle of the 7th century BC, the Iron Age arrived in Catalonia. In pre-Roman times, the area that is now called Catalonia in the north-east of Iberian Peninsula – like the rest of the Mediterranean side of the peninsula – was populated by the Iberians . The Iberians of this area – the Ilergetes , Indigetes and Lacetani (Cerretains) – also maintained relations with
7215-454: The de facto power of the armed popular militias. Violent confrontations between the workers' parties ( CNT-FAI and POUM against the PSUC ) culminated in the defeat of the first ones in 1937. The situation resolved itself progressively in favor of the Generalitat, but at the same time the Generalitat lost most of its autonomous powers within Republican Spain. In 1938 Franco's troops broke the Republican territory in two, isolating Catalonia from
7326-469: The direct costs of the Barcelona 1992 Summer Olympics to be US$ 9.7 billion (expressed in 2015 U.S. dollars) with a cost overrun of 266%. This includes only sports-related costs, that is: (i) operational costs incurred by the organizing committee for the purpose of staging the Games, e.g., expenditures for technology, direct transportation, workforce, administration, security, catering, ceremonies, and medical services; and (ii) direct capital costs incurred by
7437-419: The dynastic union of the County of Barcelona with Aragon, creating a composite monarchy later known as the Crown of Aragon and making the Catalan counties that were vassalized or merged with the County of Barcelona into a principality of the Aragonese Crown. During the reign of his son Alphons , in 1173, Catalonia was regarded as a legal entity for the first time, while the Usages of Barcelona were compiled in
7548-540: The eastern Pyrenees were established by the Frankish kingdom as a defensive barrier against Muslim invasions. In the 10th century, the County of Barcelona became progressively independent. In 1137, Barcelona and the Kingdom of Aragon were united by marriage, resulting in a composite monarchy known as the Crown of Aragon . Within the Crown, the Catalan counties merged in to a polity, the Principality of Catalonia , developing its own institutional system, such as Catalan Courts , Generalitat and constitutions , becoming
7659-415: The electoral victory of the left wing Popular Front in February 1936, the Government of Catalonia was pardoned and the self-government was restored. The defeat of the military rebellion against the Republican government in Barcelona placed Catalonia firmly in the Republican side of the Spanish Civil War . During the war, there were two rival powers in Catalonia: the de jure power of the Generalitat and
7770-452: The first factory in the country to make use of the steam engine . The first railway on the Iberian Peninsula was built between Barcelona and Mataró in 1848. A policy to encourage company towns also saw the textile industry flourish in the countryside in the 1860s and 1870s. Although the policy of Spanish governments oscillated between free trade and protectionism, protectionist laws become more common. To this day Catalonia remains one of
7881-467: The first king to rule the Crowns of Castile and Aragon simultaneously by his own right. Following the death of his paternal ( House of Habsburg ) grandfather, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor , he was also elected Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor , in 1519. Over the next few centuries, the Principality of Catalonia was generally on the losing side of a series of wars that led steadily to an increased centralization of power in Spain. Despite this fact, between
7992-669: The first since the end of the Cold War , and the first unaffected by boycotts since the 1972 Summer Games . 1992 was also the first year South Africa was re-invited to the Olympic Games by the International Olympic Committee, after a 32-year ban from participating in international sport due to apartheid . The Unified Team (made up by the former Soviet republics without the Baltic states ) topped
8103-471: The host city and country or private investors to build the competition venues, the Olympic village, international broadcast center, media and press center, and similar structures required to host the Games. Costs excluded from the study are indirect capital and infrastructure costs, such as for road, rail, or airport infrastructure, or for hotel upgrades or other business investment incurred in preparation for
8214-663: The inhabitants of the Principality. In order to collect general taxes, the Catalan Courts of 1359 established a permanent representative body, known as the "Deputation of the General" or Generalitat , which gained considerable political power over the next centuries. The domains of the Aragonese Crown were severely affected by the Black Death pandemic and by later outbreaks of the plague . Between 1347 and 1497 Catalonia lost 37 percent of its population. In 1410,
8325-534: The king. The legislation of Catalonia had to be passed the Catalan Courts ( Corts Catalanes ), one of the first parliamentary bodies of Europe that, since 1283, obtained the power to legislate with the monarch. The Courts were composed of the three Estates organized into "arms" ( braços ), were presided over by the monarch, and approved the Catalan constitutions , which established a compilation of rights for
8436-524: The last games to be staged in the same year. These games were the second and last two consecutive Olympic games to be held in Western Europe after the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, held five months earlier. The 1992 Games received universal acclaim, with the organisation, volunteers, sportsmanship, and Spanish public being lauded in the international media. Some media describe
8547-613: The last reigning monarch of the House of Barcelona, King Martin I died without surviving descendants. Under the Compromise of Caspe (1412), the representatives of the kingdoms of Aragon, Valencia and the Principality of Catalonia appointed Ferdinand from the Castilian House of Trastámara as King of the Crown of Aragon. During the reign of his son, John II , the persistent economic crisis and social and political tensions in
8658-460: The medal table, winning 45 gold and 112 overall medals. Barcelona is the second-largest city in Spain and the capital of the autonomous community of Catalonia , and the hometown of then- IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch and the famous European club, FC Barcelona . The city was also a host for the 1982 FIFA World Cup . On 17 October 1986, Barcelona was selected to host the 1992 Summer Olympics over Amsterdam , Netherlands (the city also hosted
8769-399: The most industrialised areas of Spain. In the same period, Barcelona was the focus of industrial conflict and revolutionary uprisings known as "bullangues". In Catalonia, a republican current began to develop among the progressives, attrackting many Catalans who favored the federalisation of Spain. Meanwhile, the Catalan language saw a Romantic cultural renaissance from the second third of
8880-502: The name Catalunya is subject to diverse interpretations because of a lack of evidence. One theory suggests that Catalunya derives from the name Gothia (or Gauthia ) Launia ("Land of the Goths "), since the origins of the Catalan counts, lords and people were found in the March of Gothia, known as Gothia , whence Gothland > Gothlandia > Gothalania > Cathalaunia > Catalonia theoretically derived. During
8991-618: The name " Catalonia " for these counties dates to 1117. At the end of the 9th century, the Count of Barcelona Wilfred the Hairy (878–897) made his titles hereditaries and thus founded the dynasty of the House of Barcelona , which reigned in Catalonia until 1410. In 988 Borrell II , Count of Barcelona, did not recognise the new French king Hugh Capet as his king, evidencing the loss of dependency from Frankish rule and confirming his successors (from Ramon Borrell I onwards) as independent of
9102-416: The next period, publishing in Catalan continued throughout his rule. The years after the war were extremely hard. Catalonia, like many other parts of Spain, had been devastated by the war. Recovery from the war damage was slow and made more difficult by the international trade embargo and the autarkic politics of Franco's regime. By the late 1950s, the region had recovered its pre-war economic levels and in
9213-612: The next prehistoric era, the Epipalaeolithic or Mesolithic , important remains survive, the greater part dated between 8000 and 5000 BC, such as those of Sant Gregori ( Falset ) and el Filador ( Margalef de Montsant). The most important sites from these eras, all excavated in the region of Moianès , are the Balma del Gai (Epipaleolithic) and the Balma de l'Espluga (late Epipaleolithic and Early Neolithic). The Neolithic era began in Catalonia around 5000 BC, although
9324-543: The offices of the club. These plans, however, were later dropped in favour of the Espai Barça project. Under the Espai Barça project, the current Palau Blaugrana will be demolished, and a new arena is expected to be built on the site previously occupied by the Mini Estadi , which was demolished to make way for the new arena. Work is expected to start by the 2017–18 basketball season. The Nou Palau Blaugrana will have
9435-552: The opening and closing ceremonies. Events from five venues were covered live –80% of the total broadcast time– and other events were recorded for a delayed broadcast. On-screen text and graphics were shown in HDTV for the first time ever. Nearly 700 viewing sites installed throughout Europe, including the fifty HDTV receivers installed in various pavilions at the Seville Universal Exposition , were able to receive
9546-440: The opening ceremony musical score. The Opening Olympic fanfare was composed by Angelo Badalamenti and with orchestrations by Joseph Turrin. The official mascot was Cobi, a Catalan sheepdog in cubist style designed by Javier Mariscal . He was widely featured in merchandising products and starred his own animated television series, The Cobi Troupe . A renewal in Barcelona's image and corporate identity could be seen in
9657-517: The peoples of the Mediterranean. Some urban agglomerations became relevant, including Ilerda ( Lleida ) inland, Hibera (perhaps Amposta or Tortosa ) or Indika ( Ullastret ). Coastal trading colonies were established by the ancient Greeks , who settled around the Gulf of Roses , in Emporion ( Empúries ) and Roses in the 8th century BC . The Carthaginians briefly ruled the territory in the course of
9768-562: The philosopher Ramon Llull , the Valencian poet Ausiàs March , and Joanot Martorell , author of the novel Tirant lo Blanch , published in 1490. Ferdinand II of Aragon , the grandson of Ferdinand I, and Queen Isabella I of Castile were married in 1469, later taking the title the Catholic Monarchs ; subsequently, this event was seen by historiographers as the dawn of a unified Spain. At this time, though united by marriage,
9879-426: The population was slower to develop fixed settlements than in other places, thanks to the abundance of woods, which allowed the continuation of a fundamentally hunter-gatherer culture. An example of such settlements would be La Draga at Banyoles, an "early Neolithic village which dates from the end of the 6th millennium BC." The Chalcolithic period developed in Catalonia between 2500 and 1800 BC, with
9990-543: The process to turn them into the law and custom of Catalonia ( Consuetudinem Cathalonie ), being considered one of the "milestones of Catalan political identity". In 1258, by means of the Treaty of Corbeil , James I of Aragon King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona , king of Mallorca and of Valencia, renounced his family rights and dominions in Occitania , while the king of France, Louis IX , formally relinquished to any historical claim of feudal lordship he might have over
10101-478: The publication of books on those subjects or simply discussion of them in open meetings, was banned. Franco's regime banned the use of Catalan in government-run institutions and during public events, and the Catalan institutions of self-government were abolished. The pro-Republic of Spain president of Catalonia, Lluís Companys , was taken to Spain from his exile in the German-occupied France and
10212-648: The publication of posters, commemorative coins, stamps minted by the FNMT in Madrid, and the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Official Commemorative Medals , designed and struck in Barcelona. 41°21′51″N 2°09′08″E / 41.36417°N 2.15222°E / 41.36417; 2.15222 Catalonia Catalonia ( / ˌ k æ t ə ˈ l oʊ n i ə / ; Catalan : Catalunya [kətəˈluɲə] ; Spanish : Cataluña [kataˈluɲa] ; Occitan : Catalonha [kataˈluɲa] )
10323-406: The quality of life in the city, and its attraction for investment and tourism. Barcelona became one of the most visited cities in Europe after Paris , London , and Rome . Barcelona's nomination for the 1992 Summer Olympics sparked the implementation of an ambitious plan for urban transformation that had already been developed previously. Barcelona was opened to the sea with the construction of
10434-841: The rest of the Republican territory. The defeat of the Republican army in the Battle of the Ebro led in 1938 and 1939 to the occupation of Catalonia by Franco's forces. The defeat of the Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War brought to power the dictatorship of Francisco Franco , whose first ten-year rule was particularly violent, autocratic, and repressive both in a political, cultural, social, and economical sense. In Catalonia, any kind of public activities associated with Catalan nationalism , republicanism , anarchism , socialism , liberalism , democracy or communism , including
10545-458: The right to host the 1992 Winter Games . Paris and Brisbane would eventually be selected to host the 2024 and 2032 Summer Olympics respectively. Barcelona had previously bid for the 1936 Summer Olympics that were ultimately held in Berlin , Germany. The 1992 Summer Olympic programme featured 256 events in the following 25 sports: A total of 169 nations sent athletes to compete in
10656-472: The rights. The Games were covered by the following television and radio broadcasters: The 1992 Winter and Summer Olympics were the first in which a comprehensive coverage in high-definition television (HDTV) was attempted. The European HDTV broadcast of the Summer Olympics was managed by the joint venture "Barcelona 1250" created by RTO'92, RTVE, Retevisión and PESA, with the financial support of
10767-526: The seed of repeated territorial conflicts within the state. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Catalonia was severely affected by the Napoleonic Wars . In 1808, it was occupied by French troops under general Guillaume Philibert Duhesme after he conquered Barcelona; the resistance against the occupation eventually developed into the Peninsular War . The rejection of French dominion
10878-611: The south of the Frankish Empire in the former province of Septimania and in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, to act as a defensive barrier for the Frankish Empire against further Muslim invasions from Al-Andalus. These counties came under the rule of the counts of Barcelona , who were Frankish vassals nominated by the emperor of the Franks, to whom they were feudatories (801–988). The earliest known use of
10989-425: The top ten nations in terms of total medals won at the 1992 Games (the host nation is highlighted). In order to guarantee that the international signal was produced objectively and impartially, for the first time in Olympic history, a host broadcaster was expressly created for each of the 1992 Olympic Games instead of delegating responsibility to a national host broadcaster. The Albertville Organizing Committee created
11100-533: The unified team of Yemen (previously North and South Yemen ) also made their Olympic debuts. Croatia and Slovenia made their first Summer Olympic appearance at these games, having participated at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville . The 1992 Summer Olympics notably marked Germany competing as a unified team for the first time since 1964 and the first time since 1936 as a single nation following German reunification . South Africa returned to
11211-599: The water, the overhead camera dolly on a track along the canopy of the Olympic Stadium for the 35 metres (115 ft) high zenithal shot of the athletics track, the stabilized optic gyro-zoom cameras, the super slow motion PAL camera and the microcamera on the high jump bar. To cover the Games, major international broadcasting unions such as the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU), the European Broadcasting Union (EBU),
11322-404: Was " Barcelona ", a classical crossover song composed five years earlier by Freddie Mercury and Mike Moran ; Mercury was an admirer of lyric soprano Montserrat Caballé , both recorded the official theme as a duet. Due to Mercury's death eight months earlier, the duo was unable to perform the song together during the opening ceremony. A recording of the song instead played over a travelogue of
11433-519: Was already a colony of Roman law since 45 BC). It was a rich agricultural province (olive oil, wine, wheat ), and the first centuries of the Empire saw the construction of roads (the most important being the Via Augusta , parallel to Mediterranean coastline) and infrastructure like aqueducts . Conversion to Christianity , attested in the 3rd century, was completed in urban areas in
11544-474: Was annexed to France and organized as four departments . The French troops evacuated Catalan territory at the end of 1814. After the Bourbon restoration in Spain and the death of the absolutist king Ferdinand VII (1833), Carlist Wars erupted against the newly established liberal state of Isabella II . Catalonia was divided, with the coastal and most industrialized areas supporting liberalism, while most of
11655-478: Was carried out. Today, Catalonia remains one of the most economically dynamic communities of Spain. The Catalan capital and largest city, Barcelona, is a major international cultural centre and a major tourist destination. In 1992, Barcelona hosted the Summer Olympic Games . In November 2003, elections to the Parliament of Catalonia gave the government to a left-wing Catalanist coalition formed by
11766-475: Was contested by important sectors of the Spanish society, especially by the conservative People's Party , which sent the law to the Constitutional Court of Spain . In 2010, the Court declared non-valid some of the articles that established an autonomous Catalan system of Justice, improved aspects of the financing, a new territorial division, the status of Catalan language or the symbolical declaration of Catalonia as
11877-458: Was deemed unconstitutional by the Spanish state. The Spanish Senate voted in favour of enforcing direct rule by removing the Catalan government and calling a snap regional election . The Spanish Supreme Court imprisoned seven former ministers of the Catalan government on charges of rebellion and misuse of public funds, while several others—including then-President Carles Puigdemont —fled to other European countries. Those in prison were pardoned by
11988-496: Was institutionalized with the creation of "juntas" (councils) who, remaining loyal to the Bourbons, exercised the sovereignty and representation of the territory due to the disappearance of the old institutions. Napoleon took direct control of Catalonia to reestablish order, creating the Government of Catalonia under the rule of Marshall Augereau , and making Catalan briefly an official language again. Between 1812 and 1814, Catalonia
12099-469: Was located at the exhibition halls of Fira de Barcelona in Montjuïc. NHK and Panasonic developed the 1/2" DX digital system used to record the Games digitally for the first time. Also new were the underwater camera dolly on a track at the bottom of the swimming pool, the underwater microcameras at the bottom of the water polo pool, the periscope camera capable of transmit shots from below and above
12210-474: Was lost to France by the Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659). The most significant conflict concerning the governing monarchy was the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1715), which began when the childless Charles II of Spain , the last Spanish Habsburg, died without an heir in 1700. Charles II had chosen Philip V of Spain from the French House of Bourbon . Catalonia, like other territories that formed
12321-468: Was tortured and executed in the Montjuïc Castle of Barcelona for the crime of 'military rebellion'. During later stages of Francoist Spain , certain folkloric and religious celebrations in Catalan resumed and were tolerated. Use of Catalan in the mass media had been forbidden but was permitted from the early 1950s in the theatre. Despite the ban during the first years and the difficulties of
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