1992 Winter Olympics opening ceremony

The closing ceremony of the 1992 Summer Olympics took place at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, Spain, on 9 August 1992.

The opening ceremony of the 1992 Summer Olympics took place in the evening on Saturday 25 July 1992 in the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, Barcelona, Spain. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proceedings combined the formal and ceremonial opening of this international sporting event, including welcoming speeches, hoisting of the flags and the parade of athletes, with an artistic spectacle to showcase the host nation's culture and history. Greek mezzo-soprano, Agnes Baltsa, sang "Romiossini" as the Olympic flag was taken around the stadium. Alfredo Kraus later sang the Olympic Hymn in both Catalan and Spanish as the flag was hoisted. The Olympic flame cauldron was lit by a flaming arrow, shot by Paralympic archer Antonio Rebollo. The arrow had been lit by the flame of the Olympic Torch. Rebollo overshot the cauldron as this was the original design of the lighting scheme.There were two main musical themes for the 1992 Games. One was "Barcelona", composed five years earlier by Freddie Mercury and sung as a duet with Montserrat Caballé. Due to Mercury's death eight months earlier, the duo was unable to perform the song during the opening ceremony. A recording of the song instead played over a travelogue of the city at the start of the opening ceremony.

Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys (Catalan pronunciation: [əsˈtaði uˈlimpiɡ ʎuˈis kumˈpaɲs], 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 International Exposition in the city (and Barcelona's bid for the 1936 Summer Olympics, which were awarded to Berlin), it was renovated in 1989 to be the main stadium for the 1992 Summer Olympics and 1992 Summer Paralympics. With its current capacity of 60,713 seats (67,007 during the 1992 Olympics), Estadi Lluís Companys is the 5th largest stadium in Spain and the 2nd largest in Catalonia. The stadium is located in the Anella Olímpica, in Montjuïc, a large hill to the southwest of the city which overlooks the harbor.

The Palace of Albéniz (Spanish: Palacete Albéniz, Catalan: Palauet Albéniz), formerly known as the Royal Pavilion of Montjuic, is a palace located on the Montjuïc mountain, in Barcelona, Spain, that currently serves as the official residence of the Spanish royal family in the region. Since its construction it has been adapted to its different functions: first, as a place of representation of The Crown during the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition and, after it, as accommodation for illustrious personalities. It has currently become the official residence of the Spanish royal family during their official stays in Catalonia.

Palau Sant Jordi (Catalan pronunciation: [pəˈlaw ˈsaɲ ˈʒɔɾði], English: 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 opened in 1990. The maximum seating capacity of the arena is 17,960. It is the largest indoor arena in Spain. The Palau Sant Jordi was one of the main venues of the 1992 Summer Olympics hosting the artistic gymnastics, handball final, and volleyball final events. Today, it is used for a variety of indoor sport events as well as for concerts and other cultural activities, due to its great flexibility.

The 1992 Summer Olympics (Spanish: Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, Catalan: Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad (Spanish: Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, Catalan: Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. This was the first and to date only Summer Olympics to be held in the country. Beginning in 1994, the International Olympic Committee decided to hold the Summer and Winter Olympics in alternating even-numbered years. 1992 was the final year in which both the Summer and Winter Olympics were staged. This games was 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 Summer Games were 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. The Unified Team (made up by the former Soviet republics without the Baltic states) topped the medal table, winning 45 gold and 112 overall medals.

The Battle of Montjuïc took place on 26 January 1641 during the Reapers' War. A Spanish force under Pedro Fajardo launched an attack on the Catalan army led by Francesc de Tamarit, with French cavalry support. The Spanish force had recently massacred hundreds of rebels who had tried to surrender at Cambrils. The Catalan rebels had taken up position on the heights of Montjuïc which dominated the city of Barcelona. The Spanish launched several concerted attempts to capture Montjuïc Castle, but were continually repulsed. Finally a large force of Catalan rebels counter-attacked from the direction of Barcelona. Large numbers of Spanish troops were killed and the remainder had to withdraw to Tarragona along the coast. Amongst those killed at the battle was John O'Neill, the exiled Earl of Tyrone, who was serving with an Irish regiment in the Spanish army.

Anella Olímpica is an Olympic Park located in the hill of Montjuïc, Barcelona, that was the main site for the 1992 Summer Olympics.

The Botanical Garden of Barcelona (Catalan: Jardí Botànic de Barcelona, IPA: [ʒəɾˈði βuˈtaniɡ də βəɾsəˈlonə]) is a botanical garden in the Montjuïc hill of Barcelona set amongst a number of stadiums used in the Summer Olympic Games of 1992. Although a botanical garden had been established in Barcelona as early as 1888, the current gardens date from 1999. It should not be confused with the Historical Botanical Garden of Barcelona (Catalan: Jardí Botànic Històric) founded in 1930 and reopened in 2003, also located in Montjuïc. Both botanical gardens, the Historical Botanical Garden of Barcelona and the Botanical Garden of Barcelona, are administrated by the Botanical Institute of Barcelona (Catalan: Institut Botànic de Barcelona), which is one of the four institutions that constitute the Museum of Natural Sciences of Barcelona. The gardens specialize in plants and communities from those areas of the world with Mediterranean climates and is divided into areas representing the main areas. These are Australia, Chile, California, South Africa, the western Mediterranean area and the eastern Mediterranean area. A specific section is devoted to the flora of the Canary Islands.

The Olot Saints Museum opened in 2007 in Olot (Girona), and is devoted to housing items related to the craft of creating religious imagery. With the aim of broadening its appeal, it also includes other crafts, popular and traditional culture, and the life and work of Marian Vayreda, one of the founders of the first workshops to make religious figurines in the city, along with his brother Joaquim and Josep Berga i Boix. The workshop was known as, "Arte Cristiano" (Christian Art). Marià Vayreda, painter and writer, lived on the first floor of the Museum, where he wrote the novel "La punyalada" (The stab), a masterpiece of Catalan literature. The Museum is housed in a 19th century Gothic Revival building known as "Arte Cristiano". Construction began in 1890 following the designs of the modernist architect Joaquim Codina i Matalí, commissioned by Joaquim Vayreda.

The Palau Nacional (Catalan for ‘National Palace’) is a building on the hill of Montjuïc in Barcelona. It was the main site of the 1929 International Exhibition. It was designed by Eugenio Cendoya and Enric Catà under the supervision of Pere Domènech i Roura. Since 1934 it has been home to the National Art Museum of Catalonia. With a ground surface of 32,000 m2, the Spanish Renaissance-inspired building has a rectangular floor plan flanked by two side and one rear square sections, with an elliptical dome in the centre. The fountains by the staircases leading to the palace are the work of Carles Buïgas. Between 1996 and 2004, the palace was extended to accommodate the National Art Museum's entire collection of over 5,000 artworks.

The Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (Catalan pronunciation: [muˈzɛw nəsi.uˈnal ˈdaɾd də kətəˈluɲə], English: "National Art Museum of Catalonia"), abbreviated as MNAC, is a museum of Catalan visual art located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Situated on Montjuïc hill at the end of Avinguda de la Reina Maria Cristina, near Pl Espanya, the museum is especially notable for its outstanding collection of romanesque church paintings, and for Catalan art and design from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including modernisme and noucentisme. The museum is housed in the Palau Nacional, a huge, Italian-style building dating to 1929. The Palau Nacional, which has housed the Museu d'Art de Catalunya since 1934, was declared a national museum in 1990 under the Museums Law passed by the Catalan Government. That same year, a thorough renovation process was launched to refurbish the site, based on plans drawn up by the architects Gae Aulenti and Enric Steegmann, who were later joined in the undertaking by Josep Benedito. The Oval Hall was reopened in 1992 on the occasion of the Olympic Games, and the various collections were installed and opened over the period from 1995 (when the Romanesque Art section was reopened) to 2004. The Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (Museu Nacional) was officially inaugurated on 16 December 2004. It is one of the largest museums in Spain.