The last third of the last century, although it did without world wars, was a very turbulent time in the history of the development of our civilization. This was reflected in the history of the Olympic Games, which were remembered for the terrorist attack in 1972 and the boycotts of various groups of states of the four subsequent summer Olympics. The XXV Summer Games of 1992 occupy a special place in this row - these were the most calm and Olympic-inspired competitions of their time, held in the city-pearl of the Iberian Peninsula.
According to the rules of the International Olympic Committee, the right to host the Olympiad is received not by a country, but by a specific city. Six cities could become the capital of the 25th summer sports festival of the planet - so many applications were submitted to the committee. Five of them are located in European countries, and the rest of the world represented Australian Brisbane. The decisive vote took place six years before the scheduled start of the competition - on October 17, 1986, Barcelona was the unconditional winner in three rounds of voting.
The capital of the XXV Summer Olympics is the second most populous city in Spain, the capital of the province of Catalonia. The history of the city has more than two millennia - according to one of the legends, 400 years before the rise of Rome, it was founded by the hero of ancient Greek myths, Hercules. Barcelona is located 120 kilometers from the border with France and at the same distance from the Pyrenees, on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. This results in a mild climate with an average temperature of 25 ° C in July and August, the traditional months of the Olympic Games.
The main Olympic venues were built on the Montjuïc hill, where Barcelona's famous gardens are spread over an area of 200 hectares. The Olympic Stadium and the Sports Palace were located on the southern slope of this hill. The traditional compact place of residence for athletes, the Olympic Village, was built from scratch in the seaside part of the Catalan capital and, after the Games, became a new urban residential area.
The games themselves, whose mascot was a puppy named Kobe, are still considered one of the most successful in the modern history of the Olympic movement. This was the first Olympiad in twenty years, which was not boycotted by any state. More than 9 thousand athletes from 169 countries took part in it, who competed for 257 sets of awards in 32 sports. The XXV Summer Olympics turned out to be successful for athletes from 12 states of the former Soviet Union, who were then in the united team - they won 112 awards, more than anyone else. Belarusian gymnast Vitaly Shcherbo won a gold medal four times in just one competitive laziness, and in total at the Barcelona Olympics he became a winner 6 times.
