230 replies to this topic

[Guardian]

Speaking of distances from Barcelona, where is Zaragoza in this context? I'm asking is because in 3 years from now, that city will host Expo 2008.

[stryker]

Why was Barcelona such a heavy favorite to host the 92 Games?

[wamel042]

The Olympic Games in 1992 are generally considered as the best Olympic Games ever!!!

So all other bids for 1992 would have struggled to organise such fantastic Games.

One must one take a look at the logo of the Belgrade 1992 Olympic bid.......I surely think that if they cannot design a proper logo, they definitely wouldn't have the same quality as Barcelona:



But the one from Brisbane wasn't attractive either....

[Cobi]

Quote

Not one of the best Paralympic mascots tho,lol, 'Petra -  a young girl' wasn't an overly inspiring decision.

The fact that she didn't have arms (representing the paralympic athletes) was kind of original. She was part of the Cobi troupe, a large group of Cobi-like mascots (including Nosi, the mascot of the Cultural Olympiad).
Petra looked funny playing basketball with her ponytails (she used them as arms)!!!

[PYRROS2004]

I think that Cobi and Hidori they were in a balloon ship that disappeared in the sky.

What I remember most about the Barcelona Games?

The handover ceremony of the Olympic Flame. I don't remember when it was done or the participants, but it was the most beautiful ever (well, maybe Vangelis' fairwell to the Olympic Flame's trip to Sydney could somehow beat it).

TOlympic Flame was at the Acropolis, infront of the Parthenon temple. The flame stay there for the night.

On the handover day, in the afternoon there was an event where the actress Irene Papas declaimed an Ancient Poem infront of the temple.

Then there were festivities at the Panathinaiko Stadium. Sometime, we see the Acropolis, the Olympic Flag and two men of the Presidential Guard (the ones you see at photos from Greece, called 'Evzoni' or 'Tsoliades' ), guarding the Flame, and the unknown athlete at that time Voula Patoulidou, to be the first torch runner to take the Flame and run to the stadium.

Then, I remember that when the Spanish representantives took the Flame, they gave it to a man and a woman from a Spanish war ship, they took the flame they went to military jeeps, and they left for the port of Pireus.

Then, there was a live connection with the port. All the personel of the ship with official uniforms were waiting for the Flame. The Flame arrives, they take it on the ship and they leave for the island of 'Emporio' (or something like this, Cobi can help us here), that was an Ancient Greek colony.

I remember, I'm not so sure, that Irene Papas was supposed to be on the island to welcome the Flame (again with an Ancient Poem).

What's interesting is that it was the last big celebration for the Olympic Flame handover.

At the 1996 Games, there wasn't something big. They had a representation of the first modern Olympics, but nothing fancy. Actually there was a weird feeling, since we though that we had the right to host the Golden Olympics.

For the 2000 Games, we had Athens' earthquake. The Hellenic Olympic Comittee decided not to allow people to enter in the stadium because the stadium had damage from the earthquake.

BUT! Again Vangelis put his magic. At the end of the ceremony, two Australian officials take the Flame and leave the stadium, a camera standing at the entrance of the stadium films them, and the back we see the Priestess (actress Thalia Prokopiou), that more or less cries, in all these add Vangelis music, and the result is magnificent.

Question.
Do you know if television in your countries shows the handover ceremony (or the ceremony for the lighting of the Flame? )

[Guardian]

Yes, newsroom_can. A Paralympic archer (named Antonio Rebollo) lit the Olympic cauldron at Montjuic Olympic Stadium using a flaming arrow. See this web page from the Olympic web site:

Barcelona 1992 Page

[mattygs]

Yeah, it did include dancing.
The downer was that the whole presentation ,because of the way the closing of Seoul was done, was presented on a section of the running track.
I think it all would have looked even better(the Barcelona handover that is) if it had been done on a stage that gave u a real focal point to look at. Sort of like Atlanta had with their handover at Barcelona.
But anyway.

They had a mini model thing of the spires of the Sagrada Familia and infront of them, they had a bunch of female dancers wearing red and yellow (I think) dancing about with fans.
Quite good music.
Then nearer to the end they had a little buggie vehicle moving in with a large Cobi at the front, and with other dances behind(may have been Korean dancers).
And at the end they were all dancing around, and on cue(and it was all worked in quite well and timed ) the dancers(Korean and from Barcelona) had their fans all out and from behind the spires came a little banner thing with the Barcelona official logo on it.
As I said, all timed and choreographed well and it made it look quite cool.

[arwebb]

The Barcelona Games were fantastic. The first Games I really remember, after only remembering a few bits and pieces from Seoul. I'll never forget the archer appearing to shoot the flame into the cauldron. Incredible image.

[Guardian]

MonctonFella, on Sep. 05 2003,10:34, said:

Mohammed Ali Lite the flame in Atlanta by hand.  He lit a cable which carried the flame up to the cauldron.

Talk about copying Albertville 1992 here!  :oops:

[Guardian]

Does anyone want to see or buy a Barcelona 1992 Olympic torch?

Barcelona 1992 Olympic Torch in eBay