Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium — Attraction in Barcelona

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 The stadium has a capacity of 55,926 (67,007 during the 1992 Olympics), and is located in the Anella Olímpica, in Montjuïc, a large hill to the southwest of the city which overlooks the harbor. Designed by architect Pere Domènech i Roura for the 1929 Expo, the stadium was officially opened on 20 May 1929. Montjuïc hosted its first ever event, Spain's first official rugby international game against Italy.

It was meant to host the People's Olympiad in 1936, a protest event against the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, but the event had to be cancelled due to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War.

In the fifties, the stadium was the centerpiece of the 1955 Mediterranean Games, and in 1957 it hosted the only national football cupFinal between FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol, the two local clubs.

In the seventies the stadium was disused, and the stands deteriorated. When the Spanish Grand Prix and other races were held at the Montjuïc racing circuit, the stadium was used as a paddock for the teams. Due to safety concerns, the 1975 F1 race was nearly boycotted by drivers.

Due to the award of the 1992 Summer Olympics to Barcelona, the stadium was renovated with the involvement of Italian architect Vittorio Gregotti. The stadium was gutted, preserving only the original facades, and new grandstands were built. In 1989 the venue was re-inaugurated for the World Cup in Athletics, and three years later it hosted the opening and closing ceremonies and the athletics competitions of the Olympic Games.[2]

The stadium served as the home of football club RCD Espanyol from 1997 until 2009. The Estadi Olímpic made its final La Ligaappearance during the 2008-2009 season, as Espanyol moved to the newly constructed RCDE Stadium.

It also served as the home of the Barcelona Dragons American football team until 2002. Because the size of the playing surface was slightly shorter than the regulation American Football length, the stadium only had 7-yard end zones, three yards shorter than regulation NFL size in 1991 and 1992. They were later lengthened to the standard 10 yards. The stadium also played host to the National Football League's American Bowl in 1993 and in 1994. The San Francisco 49ers played the Pittsburgh Steelers on 1 August 1993. The second game was played on 31 July 1994 between the Los Angeles Raiders and the Denver Broncos.

In 2001, the stadium was renamed after the former president of the Generalitat de Catalunya Lluís Companys, who was executed at the nearby Montjuïc Castle in 1940 by the Franco regime. In 2010, the stadium hosted the 20th European Athletics...

Reviewing the venue, not the bands that play there. The organisation is absolutely terrible.

Firstly there is very little information around the stadium so you have a lot of people not knowing where they need to go. Then the queues are terrible and with a lot of bottle necks. It's not an exaggeration (and I measured it after on Google Maps) when I say that for Bruce Springsteen last year and Rammstein this, the queue to get in was 3km long at the point where i joined it. You need to allow at least 2-3hrs before the start to be confident if getting in before the bands start.

There are almost no facilities outside and for Rammstein, when we finally got in, the queue for the toilets went halfway across the standing area.

Then there was the rain. Large areas of the pitch/standing area were completely flooded. In addition to that, the bars inside the ground decided to close because it was raining. So if you wanted a drink (other than beer) or any food, it was impossible. The staff were standing there but refusing to work. Beer was still available from a few tiny, portable bars that were supposed to be for refills from the main bars and were overwhelmed when the other bars stopped. One positive of the event was that those guys continued working; they deserve a pay rise.

Overall just terribly organised and a really bad concert experience. I won't go to another...

Great stadium for sporting and concert events. The space itself is wonderful and the atmosphere was electric when we attended the FC Barcelona game. Even from one of the last rows of the stadium we were able to get a great view of the game.

A couple of inconveniences with our experience:

Our tickets said a specific gate for entry but we ended up getting turned away and told to go to another gate. Not sure why the ticket would be incorrect.

As expected, concessions are quite expensive. We did get a popcorn and two beverage combo, and the popcorn was massive - can't say much praise about the taste, but it did the trick. The deposit on the cups was quite annoying, as we left a bit early just to avoid any line ups or delay in getting our deposit back.

The patron beside us also vomited all over the seats in front of us, and we had to stand and watch the rest of the game. It'd be nice if there was a bit more security/employees to handle these kinds of messes as the game experience for everyone around us was negatively impacted with no opportunity to switch seats or get them cleaned.

Finally getting a Taxi home was a struggle, even though we left a bit early. We had to walk a good portion of the way back before we were able to flag one down. I'd expect hoards of ride sharing services and taxis available right after a FC...