Cuyàs, Manuel

Revistes Catalanes amb Accés Obert

THE CULTURAL OLYMPIAD, 
A FOUR-YEAR PROJECT 
PAlNTlNG OF PuIGBO, Xllth C 
OVER AND ABOVE THE PROJECTION O F  BARCELONA FROM 
THE POINT O F  VIEW O F  SPORT AND ORGANISATION OR 
ARCHITECTURE AND TOWN-PLANNING, THE "OLIMPÍADA 
CULTURAL" MUST PROJECT BARCELONA SO THAT SHE 
TAKES HER PLACE ON THE LARGE INTERNATIONAL 
CULTURAL CIRCUITS. 
M A N U E L  C U Y A S  O L I M P ~ A D A  C U L T U R A L  
ack in the days of Ancient 
Greece, it was inconceivable that 
the Olympic Games should not 
be accompanied by other games, very 
often also competitive, which made cul- 
ture the centre of their activities. This 
urge to combine sport and culture 
found its most famous formulation in 
the sentence that the Romans, in so 
many ways heirs to the classical Greeks, 
introduced and made applicable at al1 
times: the one that sums up in five 
words the advantages to health of keep- 
ing mind and body fit. 
With the restoration of the Games of 
the modern era, Pierre de Coubertain 
once more put the accent on sport and 
culture as inseparable elements. The 
Olympics are sport and they are culture. 
If one of the two elements is lacking, the 
Olympic spirit wavers. 
This is why the city hosting the Games 
has always programmed a series of cul- 
tural events, with a twofold objective: 
on one hand, to invite the countries 
taking part in the Games to be present 
in the city with a local cultural offer 
transcending strictly sporting activities. 
It is true, however, tliat the cultural pro- 
gramme has very often been left in the 
background, overshadowed by virtue of 
having to go hand in hand with the 
great spectacle of the Games. Barcelona 
realizes that, as always, the sporting 
side of the Olympic Games will be the 
most prominent feature. However, Bar- 
celona is staking a lot on the cultural 
element, to avoid its becoming simply a 
filling for the Games and to come as 
close as possible to the Olympic spirit. 
This is how Olimpíada Cultural was 
born. 
As its name indicates -0lympiad: the 
period of four years from one Games to 
the next-, the activities of Olimpíada 
Cultural are not limited only to the pe- 
riod when the sports events are being 
held. Olimpíada Cultural was born in 
1988, when Barcelona took over from 
Seoul as the seat of the Olympics. Its 
activities will end on 9 August 1992, 
when the lights go out in the Stadium 
and the torch is handed over to Atlanta. 
Olimpíada Cultural, therefore, is not 
just the entity that will organise, co- 
ordinate and promote the activities 
held in 1992 in the fields of drama, 
music, dance and exhibitions, coincid- 
ing with the celebration of the Games, 
although, of course, this is one of its 
most important jobs. Since 1988, we 
have been organising and promoting 
other, varied events of a cultural nature, 
taking advantage of the expectation the 
city of Barcelona has aroused in the 
world. To mention just a few: the Festi- 
val de Tardor, or Autumn Festival, a 
series of live performances to launch 
Barcelona's theatre and music season; 
the large exhibitions like the Planeta 
Esport series or those on Catalan Mo- 
dernism and the "Quadrat d'Or", cov- 
ered in this magazine at the time; the 
exhibition "Casa Barcelona", which is 
being prepared for this year and will 
offer objects for the home, specially de- 
signed by the moment's great creators 
in Catalonia and Spain; the Historic 
Buildings campaign, which involves at- 
taching a plaque to those buildings in 
the city that are important from the 
architectural point of view or on ac- 
count of the people who lived or 
worked in them. Olimpíada Cultural has 
also given active support to activities 
arising from the initiatives of important 
cultural organisations in Barcelona. 
Olimpíada Cultural wasn't born in a 
vacuum. Its promotors knew that a pro- 
ject of such scope was feasible in Barce- 
lona because the city has a well-struc- 
tured club and cultural network and con- 
tains a historico-cultural wealth of the 
M A R N R D O M  A N D  DEATH OF SAlNT VINCENT, XIVth C. 
first magnitude. The club network, Bar- 
celona's cultural organisations, public 
and private, have taken part in the orga- 
nisation of the Olimpíada Cultural pro- 
gramme -as in the case of the Autumn 
Festival, the sum of various initiatives- 
and has lent its support so that this 
historical treasure could be presented, 
very often rescuing it from oblivion, as 
in the case of Catalan Modernism and 
the "Quadrat d'Or". The Games will 
make Barcelona known in the world 
from the point of view of sport, organi- 
sation, infrastructure and large architec- 
tural and town-planning projects. Olim- 
píada Cultural, with the support of the 
Games and the Barcelona organisations 
and with the city's artistic and historic 
capital, will project Barcelona so that 
she takes her place on the large interna- 
tional cultural circuits. In addition, 
since at these 1992 Games the so-called 
Olympic subsites -a total of 13, distri- 
buted al1 over the country- will, for the 
first time, be playing a very important 
part, and because Olimpíada Cultural is 
also collaborating with them in the pre- 
paration of an artistic programme pa- 
ralle1 to the sports events, we are not 
dealing only with the sporting and cul- 
tural projection of the city of Barcelona, 
but of the whole country. 
If we at Olimpíada Cultural speak of 
projecting, of finding a role in the world 
for Barcelona and for the country, it 
should be understood that what we 
want is for the developments of the last 
few years to continue after 1992, when 
the organisation created to promote 
these developments ceases to exist. The 
Autumn Festivals, the Historic Build- 
ings campaign, the commercialization 
of the 'Casa Barcelona' objects, the re- 
discovery of the cultural heritage, the 
rigorous, modern presentation of exhi- 
bitions, the collaboration of organisa- 
tions in common projects, creation in 
general -al1 have received the boost of a 
city astir with the celebration of the 
Olympic Games. This boost must be a 
real boost, so that al1 the activities that 
have got under way during these years 
continue and consolidate during the 
coming years. 
Olimpíada Cultural constitutes a 
unique experience. Its work must there- 
fore be taken advantage of by al1 the 
cities that organise Olympic Games in 
the future and are conscious of the 
meaning of the Olympic spirit. 
set up to honour the most outstanding 
contributions to the world of Culture 
Olimpíada Cultural. The programme 
for 1992. Basic outline 
Before and during the Games, Olimpia- 
da Cultural is preparing an extensive 
programme of performances, exhibi- 
tions and varied events aimed at the 
people of Barcelona and at al1 those 
people from our country or abroad who 
are in the city at that time. 
1. Exhibitions and itineraries: 
Some of the exhibitions, those of a his- 
torico-artistic nature, will add up to of- 
fer a view of Catalan art over two thou- 
sand years of history. Others will fea- 
ture sport and art: 
- Barcino: an itinerary through the Bar- 
celona known to Lucius Minicius Natal, 
an Olympic champion of ancient times. 
- Treasures of-medieval Catalan art: a 
view of the reflection in Catalonia of 
the European art.of the Medieval pe- 
riod: Romanesque and Gothic. 
- Barcelona and the avant-gardes of the 
twentieth century. 
- Sculptures in public spaces: itineraries 
taking in the sculptures erected in Bar- 
celona since the eighties and others 
which will be installed until 1992. 
- The Barcelona of the future: a look at 
and the Arts during the period of the 
XXVth Olympiad (Antoni Gaudí Prize 
for Architecture and Town-Planning, 
Pau Casals Prize for Music, Joan Miro 
Prize for Art, Narcís Monturiol Prize 
for Technological Innovation, "El Bru- 
si" Prize for Journalism and Communi- 
cation, Joan Antoni Samaranch Prize 
for Sport and Olympics. 
- Festival of Local Sports: an exhibition 
of the various kinds of traditional sport 
in the different Autonomous Communi- 
ties of Spain. 
- Exhibition on the Environment: a 
look at the characteristics of the world's 
different ecological habitats and the re- 
lation between man and the natural en- 
vironment. 
In addition, there will be exhibitions of 
gastronomy and of the wines of Spain, 
competitions for schoolchildren and an 
extensive programme directed at the 
athletes concentrated in the Olympic 
Village. 
As regards the subsites, some of the ac- 
tivities in preparation are: 
-Badalona: "Blues & Ritmes" pro- 
gramme of music. 
Barcelona's transformation in recent - Banyoles: The "Cobla" and the Sarda- 
years and her future projection. na. Banyoles Dansa. Programme "Row- 
- Guided tours around different places ing, work, adventure, sport". 
of interest in the city: (the Roman city, - Castelldefels: Dance, production and 
the medieval city, the "Eixample", etc.) exhibition. Art Workshop. 
- Olymphilex: exhibition of coins and - Granollers: International Festival of 
stamps with sporting themes from al1 Music. Tardoral. Exhibition: "Grano- 
over the world. llers and Sport". 
- Art and Sport Biennial: art collection - L'Hospitalet: Theatre, music, exhibi- 
of the Higher Council for Sport. tions. 
- Athletes in Art Biennial: exhibitionl - Mollet: Theatre, music. 
competition of works of art by athletes. - Sant Sadurni d'Anoia: 'Brindis' music 
- Art and Sport in the Ancient World: programme. 
exhibition of works related to sport in - Sabadell: Street theatre. 
the classical period from 47 European - Reus: Sculptures in public spaces. 
museums. - Vic: Music 92. Roman Temple Resto- 
- Catalan Artists and Sport: a look at ration. Museum guide. 
the way in which Catalan artists of al1 - Viladecans: Festival of the Environ- 
periods have treated sport. ment. Historic buildings. Music and 
theatre. 
2. Olympic Festival of the Arts -La Seu d'urgell: "Joan Brudieu" In- 
A festival of live performances: theatre, ternational Music Festival. Medieva- 
opera and music for the stage, dance, lists Congress. "La Maravilla" exhibi- 
music, street acting, circus, etc., pre- tion. 
senting the best acts of each type to be - Terrassa: International Jazz Festival. 
found in the world and in the country at Complementary programme. 
that moment. -Valencia and Saragossa: the two sub- 
sites outside Catalonia are preparing 
3. Other programmes: programmes of the performing arts to 
- Barcelona 92 International Awards, coincide with the Games. • 


The Cultural Olympiad, a Four-Year Project

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