Amadalvarez, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Keith Roper, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium - and - commonly known as the "Montjuïc Stadium" because of its location, is an Olympic stadium with 60,713 seats located in Barcelona, Catalonia. It is located on the hill of Montjuïc in the southwestern center of the city.
Originally built for the 1929 Barcelona World’s Fair, it was completely rebuilt and expanded in 1989 for the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics by the Japanese architect Arata Isozaki.
In 2001, the stadium was renamed “Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium” in honor of the president of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Lluís Companys, who was executed by Franco’s authorities in 1940.
Until 1975, the stadium was used as a paddock for the Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix. For safety reasons, the drivers that year were ready to boycott this grand prix, but two reasons finally allowed the race to take place: the fact that everything was in place (cars and teams) and the reaction of Franco’s regime. However, tragedy was not avoided, although two-time winner Emerson Fittipaldi retired after just one lap. On lap 26, Rolf Stommelen’s car went off the track, killing four spectators. The race was stopped and victory was awarded to Jochen Mass, although only half the points were awarded. This was the last grand prix held at the Olympic Stadium.
The stadium was also used by RCD Espanyol from 1997 to 2009, until a new stadium was built a few kilometers away: the Cornellà-El Prat Stadium.
The Barcelona track and field track, which was redone in blue for the European Athletics Championships from July 26 to June 1, 2010, was made by Mondo, a Mondotrack FTX, from a synthetic surface considered the fastest ever developed1. The same company designed the track for the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and the World Indoor Championships in Doha.
In June 2009, the stadium hosted a rugby match for the first time. It was an English Super League rugby match between the Catalan Dragons and Warrington Wolves. The attendance was 18,500 spectators. In April 2011, the stadium hosts for the first time a XV rugby match, opposing USA Perpignan and RC Toulon in the quarterfinals of H-Cup, the stadium is then full.
In March 2022, FC Barcelona announced that it will play there for almost a year while its stadium, the Camp Nou, is being renovated.
- Main stadium for the 1992 Summer Olympics Games
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