Barcelona reinforces its commitment to hosting major international sporting events. From the America's Cup and the Grand Depart of the Tour de France, the city is now formally bidding to host the men's Champions League final in 2029. After UEFA confirmed in October that Spotify Camp Nou has submitted a bid, the City Council has approved the necessary procedures to start the race to host it.
Specifically, the City Council's governing commission has approved submitting Barcelona's bid as Host City, jointly with FC Barcelona, and has accepted the agreement showing the city's predisposition to host the event, two procedures required by UEFA in case Camp Nou is the chosen venue.
Camp Nou will also compete in a high-level league to host the final: London's Wembley stadium is also a candidate, with a capacity of 90,000 people —less than Camp Nou—. The UEFA Executive Committee will announce the chosen venue in September, with ample time for the selected one to prepare for the Champions League final.
"Barcelona is always open to hosting major sporting events," remarked the Sports Councilor, David Escudé, always behind attracting these events to the Catalan capital. "The city is working to organize the best Grand Départ of the Tour de France in history, aspires to be the venue for the men's 2030 World Cup final and will continue working along these lines," he listed as a declaration of intent.
Precisely regarding the 2030 World Cup final, the city's mayor, Jaume Collboni, assured this Monday that the city is excited to host it, in a competition jointly organized by Spain, Portugal, and Morocco: "I believe we will have a very good option to host the World Cup final," highlighted the mayor, who has conveyed this commitment to the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, Rafael Louzán.
"Reference" sports destination
"From the Barcelona City Council, we are committed to both grassroots and elite sports to position Barcelona as a leading sports city worldwide," added Escudé. Along the same lines, the Minister of Sports of the Generalitat, Berni Álvarez,has defended that hosting the Champions League final would strengthen Barcelona and Catalonia as "reference destinations" in the organization of world-class sporting events."From the Government, we are committed to attracting sustainable competitions with social and economic impact throughout the Catalan territory, and FC Barcelona's bid to host this final fits with our vision of promoting quality sports tourism," insisted the minister.
Third Champions League at Camp Nou?
If Barcelona manages to be chosen, this would be the third time the city hosts the Champions League final: the first was in 1989 with AC Milan's victory over Steaua Bucharest, and the second was ten years later, in 1999, with the trophy taken by Manchester United against Bayern Munich. Thus, if the city emerges as the winning bid, it will once again host the final two decades after the last event, to reinforce its role as a benchmark in the sports and football field.Add The New Barcelona Post as your preferred Google source for free
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