Olympic Games Barcelona 1992

This sign stopped us in our tracks when we went out for an early evening wander.  25 years ago?  How did that happen?  We remember it as though it were yesterday!  We'd only been married two years and had only been in Bcn a year and were delighted to be in a city hosting the Olympic Games, unlike a lot of Catalans who escaped the city during the time!  It was the summer at the end of Bb's first year at IESE studying for his MBA and part of the course was a summer work project.  He was lucky enough to have found a placement in the brand new Olympic Port complex in the VIP car parks.  His job involved the logistics of getting the athletes (who lived there in the Olympic Village) to the stadium on time to compete in the Games.  All the drivers were volunteers and the logistics for the first few days were an absolute nightmare and it was only going to be a matter of time before someone missed a competition!  Tempers were short and the adrenalin was high.  Bb and his team came up with a completely new scheme to drastically reduce the length of wait time between a request for a driver and the car leaving the complex just in time for the Games to start.   We were also lucky enough to get some free tickets for the opening night rehearsals and the finals of some of the athletic events.  On the night of the actual opening we were on a roof terrace with some friends in Gracia and will never forget the sound of the fireworks, seeing the Olympic torch light up and hearing the amazing sound of Freddy Mercury and Montserrat Caballe (a recording as Freddy Mercury died in 1991) belt out Barcelona!!  It still brings us out in goosebumps.  What a great time that was and who would have thought we'd still be here in the city 26 years later to celebrate the 25th anniversary!   The Games were a huge success, Barcelona turned around to face the sea again and gained its rightful place on the world stage. 

Edit: back with a link to Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7icIbZYvEtk&list=RD7icIbZYvEtk#t=0