Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, the capital of

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

, is the second largest city and metropolitan area in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and sixth-most populous urban area in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

. It has hosted many major international tournaments and has professional teams in different sports.

International tournaments

Barcelona has a long sporting tradition and hosted the highly successful

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

as well as several matches during the 1982 FIFA World Cup (on the two stadiums). It has also hosted, among others, the final of

European Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competiti ...

(

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...

(

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

, 1982),

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...

(

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

), European Super Cup (

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

, 1982,

, 1992,

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

), Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Jan ...

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

), Eurobasket (1973, 1997), Euroleague (1969, 1998, 2003, 2011), World Bowl (1997), CERS Cup ( 2011), 2003

EuroHockey Nations Championship The EuroHockey Nations Championship is an international men's field hockey competition organised by the European Hockey Federation (EHF) for the top eight European national teams. It is the top division of the EuroHockey Nations Championships. Th ...

and the 1951, 1954, 1957, 1979 European Roller Hockey Championship,

1955 Mediterranean Games The 1955 Mediterranean Games, officially known as the II Mediterranean Games, and commonly known as Barcelona 1955, were the 2nd Mediterranean Games. The Games were held in Barcelona, Spain over 10 days, from 15 to 25 July 1955, where 1,135 athl ...

, 1958 European Judo Championships, 1964 UEFA Euro (European Cup), 1970

European Water Polo Championship The European Water Polo Championship is a sport competition for national water polo teams, currently held biannually and organized by the Ligue Européenne de Natation (LEN), the governing European aquatics federation. There are both men's and w ...

, 1970 European Aquatics Championships,

1971 Men's Hockey World Cup The 1971 Men's Hockey World Cup was the inaugural edition of the Hockey World Cup. It took place from 15 to 24 October in Barcelona, Spain. Pakistan were the inaugural World Cup winners, beating Spain in the final, 1–0. Participants The firs ...

, 1973 UCI Road World Championships, 1976 European Taekwondo Championships, 1980

European Karate Championships The European Karate Championships are organised by the European Karate Federation each year. History Events from 1966 to 1996 were organized by the European Karate Union. In 1961, Jacques Delcourt was appointed President of French Karate, whic ...

, 1984

UCI Track Cycling World Championships The UCI Track Cycling World Championships are the set of world championship events for the various disciplines and distances in track cycling. They are regulated by the Union Cycliste Internationale. Before 1900, they were administered by the UCI ...

, 1984 UCI Road World Championships, 1985 World Fencing Championships, 1987 World Taekwondo Championships, 1987

European Wushu Championships The European Wushu Championships is a wushu competition organized by the European Wushu Federation, an official continental federation of the International Wushu Federation. The first championships were held in Brussels, Belgium in May 1986, with ...

1989 IAAF World Race Walking Cup The 1989 IAAF World Race Walking Cup was held on 27 and 28 May 1989 in the streets of L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, suburb of Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain. Complete results were published. Medallists Results Men's 20 km Men's 50 km Team (me ...

, 1989 IAAF World Cup,

1991 World Judo Championships The 1991 World Judo Championships were the 17th edition of the World Judo Championships, and were held in Barcelona, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , nation ...

1991 FINA Men's Water Polo World Cup The 1991 FINA Men's Water Polo World Cup was the seventh edition of the event, organised by the world's governing body in aquatics, the International Swimming Federation (FINA). The event took place in Barcelona, Spain. Eight teams participated t ...

, 1995 IAAF World Indoor Championships, 1996 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship,

1996 FIFA Futsal World Championship The 1996 FIFA Futsal World Championship was the third FIFA Futsal World Championship, the quadrennial international futsal championship contested by the men's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. It was held between 24 November and ...

, 1996 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship (several matches), 2002 Euro Beach Soccer Cup,

2002 Women's Rugby World Cup The 2002 Women's Rugby World Cup was the second World Cup fully sanctioned by the sports governing body the International Rugby Board (IRB). The tournament was held in Barcelona, Spain. The formatThere are 16 teams at the IRB Women's World Cup 200 ...

2002 World Interuniversity Games The 2002 World Interuniversity Games were the fourth edition of the Games (organised by IFIUS), and were held in Barcelona, Spain. External links Homepage IFIUS World Interuniversity Games World Interuniversity Games The World Interuniversity Game ...

, 2003 World Aquatics Championships,

2006 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy The 2006 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy was the 28th edition of the Hockey Champions Trophy, an annual international men's field hockey tournament organized by the FIH. It was held in Terrassa, Catalonia, Spain from 22–30 July 2006. The Nethe ...

2007 European Baseball Championship The 2007 European Baseball Championship was an international baseball tournament held from September 7 to 16, between national baseball teams of the Confederation of European Baseball. The tournament was held in Barcelona, Spain and served as the ...

, 2007 UEFA–CAF Meridian Cup,

2010 European Athletics Championships The 2010 European Athletics Championships were the 20th edition of the European Athletics Championships, organised under the supervision of the European Athletic Association. They were held at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, C ...

FIS Snowboarding World Championships 2011 The FIS Snowboarding World Championships 2011 was an international snowboarding competition held from January 14 to 22, 2011, in La Molina and Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain) by the FIS Snowboarding World Championship, All the competitions were hel ...

2013 World Men's Handball Championship The 2013 World Men's Handball Championship was the 23rd World Men's Handball Championship, an international handball tournament that took place in Spain from 11 to 27 January 2013. This was the first time Spain hosted the World Men's Handball Ch ...

and some other. The 2013 World Aquatics Championships is to be held in 2013, the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup is to be held in 2014. BCN-EstadiOlimpic-4860

Olympics and Paralympics

As alternative to the Nazi Olympics in Berlin, planned 1936 Summer Olympics named ''People's Olympiad'' in Barcelona was to be held, however because of the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

it be canceled. Barcelona hosted the highly successful

and

1992 Summer Paralympics )( es, Deporte Sin Límites) , nations = 82 (BCN)75 (MAD) , athletes = 3,020 (BCN)1,600 (MAD) , opened_by = Queen Sofía , opening = 3 September (BCN)15 September (MAD) , closing = 14 September (BCN)22 September (MAD) , eve ...

. Also, the city aspires to organize the 2022 Winter Olympics. The opening, closing, medal ceremonies and indoor sports would be held in Barcelona, while outdoor sports would be held in ski resorts in the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

, mainly La Molina. This does not preclude the use of other sky resorts in Catalonia, example Vall de Núria, Vallter 2000, Rasos de Peguera and Port del Comte.

Sport clubs

FC Barcelona

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Found ...

is a

sports club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...

best known worldwide for its football team, one of the largest in the world and second richest football club in the world. It has 74 national honours (46 runners-up) and 16 continental (10 runners-up) trophies, including five

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

s (3 runners-up) and three FIFA Club World Cups (1 runners-up). Additionally, it is the only men's club in the world to accomplish a sextuple. FC Barcelona also has teams in the Spanish

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

ACB league ( Regal FC Barcelona), the handball ASOBAL league (

FC Barcelona Handbol Futbol Club Barcelona Handbol is a Spanish handball team based in Barcelona, Catalonia. It is a part of the FC Barcelona multi sports club, and was founded on 29 November 1942. The club competes domestically in the Liga ASOBAL and in the Eu ...

), and the roller hockey league (

FC Barcelona Hoquei Futbol Club Barcelona Hoquei is a professional roller hockey team based in Barcelona, Spain. It is part of the FC Barcelona family and plays in the OK Liga. Due to the sponsoring the team is called FC Barcelona Lassa. It is the most successfu ...

), all of them winners of the highest European competitions. The club's museum is the second most visited in Catalonia. Twice a season, FC Barcelona and cross-town rivals

RCD Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish football league s ...

contest in the

local derby Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

, while its basketball section has its own local derby in Liga ACB with nearby

Joventut Badalona Club Joventut Badalona, S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional basketball club based in Badalona, Catalonia, Spain, playing in the Liga ACB and the EuroCup. Known to their fans as ''La Penya'' (in English, ''The Club''), it is one of only two teams ...

. Barcelona also has other clubs in lower categories, like

CE Europa Club Esportiu Europa is a Spanish football team based in the city of Barcelona in the district of Gràcia, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1907, it plays in the Segunda División RFEF – Group 3, holding home games at '' No ...

and

UE Sant Andreu Unió Esportiva Sant Andreu () is a Spanish football team based in the city of Barcelona in the district of Sant Andreu, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1909, it plays in Tercera División RFEF – Group 5, holding home ma ...

RCD Espanyol

Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona, or simply RCD Espanyol, is a sports club best known for its football team. In 1928, Espanyol became a founding member of La Liga, and in 1929, the football team won their first Copa del Rey. Espanyol has completed the highest number of seasons in La Liga without actually winning the title. The team has qualified eight times for the UEFA Cup (including the 2006–07 qualification following the 2006 Spanish Cup win) and reached the final in 1988, losing to Bayer Leverkusen of then-West Germany on penalty kicks (3–2).

Other

Stadiums and sport arenas

Barcelona has two

UEFA elite stadium UEFA stadium categories are categories for football stadiums laid out in UEFA's Stadium Infrastructure Regulations. Using these regulations, stadiums are rated as category one, two, three, or four (renamed from elite) in ascending ranking order. ...

s (

): FC Barcelona's Camp Nou, the largest stadium in Europe with a capacity of 100,000 and the publicly owned

Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys (, formerly known as the Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc and Estadio de Montjuic) is a stadium in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Originally built in 1927 for the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition, 1929 Internation ...

, with a capacity of 55,000; used for the

1992 Olympics 1992 Olympics may refer to: *1992 Summer Olympics, which were held in Barcelona, Spain *1992 Winter Olympics ) , nations = 64 , athletes = 1,801 (1313 men, 488 women) , events = 57 in 6 sports (12 disciplines) , opening = 8 ...

. Also, the city has several smaller stadiums such as Mini Estadi, with a capacity of 15,000 and Estadio Narcís Sala,

Nou Sardenya Nou Sardenya is a municipally-owned football stadium in the Gràcia district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of CE Europa Club Esportiu Europa is a Spanish football team bas ...

with a capacity of 7,000 and Camp de la Verneda, with a capacity of 5,500. In the suburbs of Barcelona there is a third UEFA elite stadium ( Mozilla

) - Estadi Cornellà-El Prat, with a capacity of 40,000.

Estadi de la Nova Creu Alta Estadi Municipal de la Nova Creu Alta is a multi-use stadium in Sabadell, Catalonia, Spain. It is currently used mostly for football matches and hosts the home matches of CE Sabadell FC. The address of the stadium is Plaça Olímpia s/n, 08206 Saba ...

, with a capacity of 20,000 is stadium on the suburbs, during the 1992 Summer Olympics it hosted six football matches. Estadi Olímpic de Terrassa, with a capacity of 11,500;

Camp del Centenari Camp del Centenari was a stadium in Badalona, Catalonia, Spain. It was used for football matches and was the home stadium of CF Badalona Club de Fútbol Badalona () is a Spanish football team based in Badalona, in the autonomous community of C ...

, with a capacity of 10,000 and Estadi La Feixa Llarga, with a capacity of 6,700 is other stadium on the suburbs of Barcelona. Also, except

Palau Sant Jordi Palau Sant Jordi (, en, St. George's Palace) is an indoor sporting arena and multi-purpose installation that is part of the Olympic Ring complex located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Designed by the Japanese architect Arata Isozaki, it was ...

(''St. George's sporting arena''), with a capacity of 12,000-24,000 (depending on use), city has two other larger sporting and concert arena:

Palau Blaugrana Palau Blaugrana (, 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 F ...

, with a capacity of 7,500 and

Palau dels Esports de Barcelona The Palau dels Esports de Barcelona (Barcelona Sports Palace) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is on Lleida Street on the slopes of Montjuïc, a hill to the south east of the city centre. The arena is able to h ...

. On the suburbs lies

Palau Municipal d'Esports de Badalona Palau Municipal d'Esports de Badalona (also known as the Pavelló Olímpic de Badalona) is an arena in the Gorg area of Badalona, Catalonia, Spain. The arena holds 12,760 people, and it is primarily used for basketball, though it is also an hab ...

, with a capacity of 12,500 and Palau d'Esports de Granollers, with a capacity of 5,700, both hosted some tournaments of the 1992 Summer Olympics and also Pavelló Nou Congost, with a capacity of 5,000. Circuit de Catalunya/Circuit de Barcelona, race track of Formula 1 and MotoGP on the suburb of Barcelona has capacity of 107,000.

Annual sporting events

Barcelona Marathon and Cursa de Bombers

Several major

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ...

competitions are organized year-round in Barcelona: the Barcelona Marathon every March with a participants of over 10,000 in 2010, the Cursa de Bombers in April, the Cursa de El Corte Inglés in May (with about 60,000 participants each year) - this race holds IAAF Bronze Label Road Race status.Valiente, Emeterio (2010-04-19)
Menjo blazes 27:04 10Km in Barcelona
IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-04-23. Other small road running are: the Cursa de la Mercè, the Cursa Jean Bouin, the Milla Sagrada Família and the San Silvestre. F1 Circuit de Catalunya - Tribuna

Barcelona Open

The

Barcelona Open There are two sporting events named the Barcelona Open: * Barcelona Open (golf) * Barcelona Open (tennis) {{Short pages monitor