games

The Barcelona Games World video game fair, to be held from the 6^th to the 9^th of October, has released more information about its upcoming event in 2016. Previously held in Madrid, the event will now also focus on mobile games, to “open (the fair) to other forms of interactive digital entertainment”, according to Josep Antoni Llopart, director of the fair. This decision was made in part thanks to Barcelona’s “bond” with the Mobile World Congress event. Still, the gamer will continue to be “the centre of the experience”, with over 90,000 expected to attend, competitions and prizes of up to €15,000, and the giants of the sector present (such as Nintendo, Sony, etc.). What’s more, another novelty is that the fair will be used to connect businesses, offer jobs, and help people who would like to do studies in the field of gaming. Lastly, there will be a ‘space for socialisation’ on the fairground, complete with lectures, concerts, music sessions with DJs, fashion shows and competitions.

From the 6th until the 9th of October, Barcelona will host the main annual video game fair in Spain, which until now has been held in Madrid. This was announced by the Spanish Video Games Association (AEVI), which will host the event along with Fira de Barcelona. The video game-centred fair is called ‘Barcelona World Games’, which will replace the original name ‘Madrid Games Week’. The event will take place at the Montjuïc exhibition centre, and will gather together the leading companies in the industry, which are to present the new products to be expected for the Christmas season. The general director of AEVI, José María Moreno, released a statement saying that that the fair will be "an opportunity to find new audiences and markets, generate synergy between industry professionals and discover the potential of gaming in the fields of economy, culture and education".

Catalan company Recam Làser, which specialises in laser cutting, is responsible for making the torch for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The plant has already developed a final prototype and will start making torches this October and the 15,000 units must be delivered early next year. 800 torches will start the tour in Greece and the rest will go directly to Brazil. The torch is made out of recycled aluminium and weighs 1.5 kilos. When lit, it extends by a few centimetres and shows the colours of the flag of Brazil. Each torch will cost around 400 dollars. “This order will project us as the company which manufactured the torch in Rio 2016,” said president and founder of  Recam Làser, Pere Barrios.

In the last few years, tourism has boomed in Barcelona. In 2014, the Catalan capital was the 4^th most visited city in Europe and 16^th in the world, with almost 8 million foreign visitors that year. Especially during high season, visitors literally invade some parts of the city such as Les Rambles, Antoni Gaudí's main creations and the urban beaches. However, there is much more to Barcelona than just this. Indeed, the city has 73 different neighbourhoods, divided up into 10 districts, each one with its own particular soul and history. For example, inside the district of Sant Martí – just outside Barcelona's historical centre – the neighbourhood of Poblenou is located. Historically known as the 'Catalan Manchester' for its role as the city's industrial centre in the 19^th and early 20^th century, nowadays it is becoming a very attractive place to live for many young people. Strongly revitalised after the 1992 Olympic Games and currently characterised by a rich architectural landscape and vibrant artistic scene, it represents the city's new business and technology district, being also very interesting for tourists willing to step outside of the usual routes.

Carlus Padrissa is the most active of the current artistic directors of the La Fura dels Baus, one of the most well-known Catalan theatre performing arts companies, internationally known for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Barcelona Olympics. Always looking to break the barrier between the audience and the artists, La Fura puts their focus on interaction mixed with traditional cultural elements of Catalan street celebrations. Pieces such as ‘Actions’, ‘Suz/O/Suz’ and ‘Tier Mon’ established them as innovative creators for both critics and spectators alike in the 1980s. Carlus Padrissa cannot escape from his vocation: the ambition of breaking conventions and renewing cultural contexts while redefining concepts. Now in his 50s, he is working more than ever without limitations. As long as he keeps creating, retirement isn’t part of his future plans.

Barcelona Olympic Ring will become the home of the first theme park in the world entirely dedicated to sports, called Open Camp Sportainment. According to the company responsible for the project, the 66.000 m² theme park will offer a "unique" show involving technology, family and sports. The new attraction will occupy the current Olympic Stadium, the Palau Sant Jordi sports hall, the Olympic Museum, the Bernat Picornell swimming pool, the telecommunications tower designed by Santiago Calatrava and the INEFC sports faculty. All these facilities will combine their regular activities with those of the theme park, which will be open from April to October. The project expects 7,000 visitors per day and an annual economic impact for Barcelona of 53 million euros.  

FC Barcelona Foundation, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympafrica Foundation signed an agreement on Wednesday to extend the ‘FutbolNet’ pilot project in 34 African countries. 100,000 African children will benefit from the project each year. The agreement extends the initiative until at least 2016, after an initial pilot experience that run from April to June 2013. It is the first time that the IOC has ever signed an alliance with a sports club’s foundation. The Olympafrica FutbolNet Cup is a series of football tournaments with values based on the methodology used by the FC Barcelona Foundation.

Gervasio Deferr is a two-time pommel horse Olympic champion. The former Catalan gymnast won gold in Sydney (2000) and Athens (2004) and one silver medal in Beijing (2008) in the Floor category. He retired in 2011 after more than twenty years in the world of gymnastics. He currently trains gymnasts at the High Performance Centre (Centre d'alt Rendiment, CAR) in Sant Cugat del Vallès and instructs children and teenagers at the Gervasio Deferr La Mina Club in the La Mina suburb of Barcelona. CNA interviewed him.

Car dealers are satisfied with this year’s Motor Show as several brands posted solid sales balances. However, some visitors were disappointed as major car manufacturers were absent, attendants were not very enthusiastic about the worldwide premiers and there was a lack of glamour. Driving simulators and luxury-car payment tours were the main alternative for those who wanted something other than the regular exhibition. The organisers are optimistic and aim to restore the splendour of past shows as the economic situation improves and Barcelona becomes a more important city for motor events.

The rain that fell on the Catalan capital did not tarnish the first X-Games held in Barcelona, although it did cause a headache for the organisers, who had to juggle with competition schedules and even cancel the RallyCross and Moto X Freestyle competitions. 114,600 people attended the event in total, crowding out the venues in which the different competitions were held.

The Catalan capital is ready to celebrate the first X-Games on European soil. The event, which is being held from May 16th to the 19th, is expected to host 120,000 spectators that will generate an income of 40 million euros for the city of Barcelona. Among international stars like stunt performer Travis Pastrana, the BMX rider Kevin Robinson or the skater Paul Rodríguez, toplevel Catalan stars like rally competitor Nani Roma or the Moto X riders Laia Sanz and Edgar Torronteres will also be present.

Ivan Tibau, the Catalan Government’s Secretary of Sport, emphasises the “great effort” made by the Catalan Excutive to help the High Performance Sports Centre (CAR) and Catalan athletes compete in London 2012. The elite training centre did not receive funding from the Spanish Government for the last two years, amounting to €10.7 million. The Catalan Executive advanced the payment to keep the CAR running. Athletes trained at CAR made up 65% of medals won by the Spanish team at the London 2012 Olympics. Despite this, the Spanish Olympic Committee “closed the door” to the Catalan Government in regards to London 2012.

The Summer X Games are expected to bring 140,000 people and generate an income of €70 million. The world’s most important action sports event, arranged by the U.S. sports broadcaster ESPN and ABC network, will be held in Catalonia’s capital between 2013 and 2015. Barcelona will host the Summer X Games, together with 5 other cities worldwide. The Summer X Games have championships in skateboarding, motocross, car rally and BMX.

The city of Tarragona, located on the southern coast of Catalonia, will be the host city of the 2017 Mediterranean Games after ten years of candidature work. Together with Tarragona, another twelve Catalan towns will be hosts for different sport competitions with the common objective being to promote the area internationally. Many have in mind the excellent results of Barcelona Olympics of 1992.

FC Barcelona President said Club would never sell stadium name. Barcelona 2022 Winter Olympic organisers claimed the Games is not a political project.