1992 Summer Olympics

Games of the XXV Olympiad

Emblem of the 1992 Summer Olympics
Location	Barcelona, Spain
Motto	Friends for Life (Spanish: Amigos para siempre, Catalan: Amics per sempre)
Nations	169
Athletes	9,356 (6,652 men, 2,704 women)[1]
Events	256 in 25 sports (34 disciplines)
Opening	25 July 1992
Closing	9 August 1992
Opened by	Juan Carlos I King of Spain[2]
Closed by	Juan Antonio Samaranch President of the International Olympic Committee
Cauldron	Antonio Rebollo[2]
Stadium	Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc
Summer ← Seoul 1988 Atlanta 1996 → Winter ← Albertville 1992 Lillehammer 1994 → 1992 Summer Paralympics

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1992 Summer Olympics
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The 1992 Summer Olympics (Spanish: Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, Catalan: Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (Spanish: Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, Catalan: Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994, the International Olympic Committee decided to hold the Summer and Winter Olympics in alternating even-numbered years. The 1992 Summer and Winter Olympics were the last games to be staged in the same year.^[3] These games were 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 Games received universal acclaim, with the organisation, volunteers, sportsmanship, and Spanish public being lauded in the international media. Some media describe the Barcelona games as one of the best Olympics ever.^[4][5] The Games showed a renewed image of democratic Spain and projected Barcelona and the whole Spain to the world. Thanks to the Games, the city of Barcelona was completely transformed; it is thanks to the Olympics that the Barcelona of today is built.^[6] All the venues are still active and the legacy of the 1992 Games was taken as an example for future Olympic events, such as London 2012.^[7]

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.^[8] 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 due to apartheid.^[9] 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.