A solemn ceremony at the Palauet Albéniz gardens has brought together Spain’s highest authorities, the Samaranch family and representatives of the Olympic movement — including members of the Board of Trustees of the Fundació Barcelona Olímpica, the managing body of the Museu Olímpic i de l’Esport Joan Antoni Samaranch.
Barcelona has held an emotional posthumous tribute to Joan Antoni Samaranch, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 1980 to 2001 and the driving force behind the 1992 Olympic Games. King Felipe VI has presided over the ceremony at the Joan Maragall Gardens of the Palauet Albéniz, joined by the President of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Salvador Illa, the Mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, and the president of the Spanish Olympic Committee and first vice-president of the Fundació Barcelona Olímpica Board of Trustees, Alejandro Blanco. Representing the central government have been the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, and the Government Delegate in Catalonia, Carlos Prieto.
Also present have been the Sports Councillor of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Berni Álvarez, and the Sports Councillor of Barcelona City Council, David Escudé. The following members of the Fundació Barcelona Olímpica Board of Trustees have also attended: Mª Teresa Samaranch, Julio Pernas, Enric Truñó and Josep Miquel Abad, as well as honorary trustee Pere Miró.
Samaranch’s children, María Teresa Samaranch and Juan Antonio Samaranch — the latter a vice-president of the IOC — have joined the stage accompanied by their families and a group of Olympic athletes: tennis player Manuel Orantes, swimmers Miguel Torres and Maria Colominas, sailor Natalia Via-Dufresne, and taekwondo athlete Javier Argudo.
“My father always shared himself with the athletes.” — María Teresa Samaranch
Joan Antoni Samaranch (Barcelona, 1920–2010) served as IOC president from 1980 to 2001. Since 2010, the Olympic and Sports Museum on Montjuïc has borne his name and is managed by the Fundació Barcelona Olímpica.
