The city of Barcelona seems to have been successful in transforming itself in a very short time from a 'gray' industrial city in the midst of a deep economic crisis in 1980 to an international success story a decade later. Most important here, Barcelona's city marketing effort was not accompanied by the neglect of its neighborhoods, increased social polarization, or geographic segregation, distinguishing it in this regard from most other cities. How was all this accomplished? The common perception is that skilled political entrepreneurship and creative planning unleashed through the Olympics enough money, energy, and spirit of cooperation to do in ten years-with Barcelona preparing its bid as early as 1981-what would normally have taken a much longer time. In this article, we will show that the foundations on which the Olympics grew were laid down during the preceding decade.
