Barcelona continues to climb positions on the world podium for attracting major sporting events. The Catalan capital will host the start of the Tour de France in 2026, which will kick off three stages to be held in Catalonia. With this announcement, Barcelona will become the first city in the world to host the four most impactful sporting events globally: the Olympic Games, the FIFA World Cup, the imminent America's Cup, and the Tour de France.
The great international reference cycling race will depart for the first time from Barcelona with an event in which Montjuïc will have a special prominence, and which will take place from July 4 to 6, 2026. The start of the Tour in the city closes a virtuous circle: Barcelona is an essential part of the Volta Ciclista de Catalunya; last year it hosted the start of the Vuelta Ciclista, and will raise the level by opening the Tour de France in two summers, with its more than 150 cyclists pedaling on the city's asphalt.
The announcement comes after years of work by the City Council to attract this event: "It is a dream come true, and once again reaffirms Barcelona's role as an international sports capital," proclaimed the mayor, Jaume Collboni, alongside the director of the Tour de France, Christian Prudhomme, at an event in the consistory. Regarding the return it will bring to the city, the City Council has not yet calculated it, but the most relevant will be "the positioning of the city in reference to cycling and major sporting events," according to Collboni, who highlighted the involvement of entities like Barcelona Global to achieve hosting this event. The start of the competition will have a cost of about seven million euros, which will be assumed by the City Council, the Generalitat, and the Diputación.
The departure from the Catalan capital will be "historic, innovative, and open to all citizens""The city has been pursuing this event for ten years, and it is a very competitive and desired sporting event," Collboni highlighted. Thus, the city has spent a decade negotiating to be the starting point of the emblematic race, which has passed through the city on several occasions, but never as a start. The last edition that stopped in the city was in 2009, 44 years after the previous occasion in which the race had the city as its setting.
This announcement "confirms Barcelona's vocation as an international sports capital," according to Collboni, who described Barcelona's role as the starting point of the race as a "unique collective milestone." "Together, we will make it a very Barcelonian Tour," Collboni guaranteed, with a start that he advanced will be historic, innovative, and open to all citizens. The mayor also predicted that the event will leave "a great legacy in terms of cycling practice," in a city that already has it as one of its main means of transport.
In addition to starting from Barcelona, the Tour de France will develop three more stages in Catalonia, with details yet to be finalized. "Barcelona has the capacity to attract major international events, and it has the duty to share it with the rest of Catalonia," Collboni proclaimed. "All Catalans will have the opportunity to experience a unique, top-level spectacle for free and popularly," added the mayor, who defended that the Tour de France embodies the values of coexistence, overcoming challenges, and shared effort and stands as a "great European brotherhood celebration."
The start of the Tour de France will involve a cost of seven million euros, which will be jointly assumed by the City Council, the Generalitat, and the DiputaciónPrudhomme has celebrated that the city will host the start of the Tour. "Thank you for your perseverance," he said, after years of insistent work by the City Council, through figures such as the Sports Councilor, David Escudé. After calling the city magnificent, Prudhomme assured that the Catalan capital "offers both opportunities for challenging stages, such as the famous ascent to Montjuïc, and incredible views by the sea."
This event will contribute to positioning Barcelona in the field of major sporting events worldwide, just a few weeks before the America's Cup begins and on the eve of the automotive spectacle that will invade Paseo de Gràcia this Wednesday with Formula 1 cars. "Barcelona must not give up its vocation to be a great international sports capital, and these are the great events that bring value and values to the city," Collboni defended.