FIVB: Barcelona 2008 Men's Open May 27-June 1
Spain hosts its first SWATCH-FIVB World Tour event since 2004 as Barcelona joins the calendar for the first time. Almeria, Cadiz, Mallorca, Marbella and Tenerife have hosted previous men’s events where Spain’s top finish was a 1995 silver medal for Javier Bosma and Sixto Jimenez in Tenerife. Women’s events have been held in Almeria, Gran Canaria, Meadrid and Mallorca. The top placement by a Spanish women’s team was a ninth by Monica Del Prado and Liliana Diaz at the 1992 Almeria event, the first-ever women's stop on the SWATCH-FIVB World Tour. Brazilians have dominated the podium with 34 of the possible 63 men’s and women’s medals, including nine men’s and three women’s titles. The Lacigas (Martin and Paul) of Switzerland captured the most men’s titles with four gold medals at three different Spanish sites. Shelda Bede and Adriana Behar captured 2001 and 2002 Spanish titles in Gran Canaria and Mallorca, respectively. Spain has hosted women's FIVB Satellite events the past two seasons where teams from Portugal (Juliana Antunes/Sandra Castro, 2006 at Getxo) and the Netherlands (Marleen Van Iersel/Maloes Wesselink, 2007 at San Sebastiàn) have won gold medals. Barcelona is one of nine new sites in 2008 on the SWATCH-FIVB World Tour calendar along with Adelaide (Australia), Guaruja (Brazil), Sanya (China), Prague (Czech Republic), Osaka (Japan), Myslowice (Poland) Moscow (Russia) and Dubai (United Arab Emirates).
Barcelona is the capital and most populous city of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain with a population over 1.6-million. Located on the Mediterranean coast between the mouths of the rivers Llobregat and Besòs, Barcelona is a major economic centre, with one of Europe's principal Mediterranean ports. Founded as a Roman city, Barcelona became the capital of the Counts of Barcelona and the Crown of Aragon. Besieged several times during its history, Barcelona is today an important cultural centre and a major tourist destination and has a rich cultural heritage. Particularly renowned are architectural works of Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domènech i Montaner that have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Barcelona has a long sporting tradition and hosted the successful 1992 Summer Olympics as well as several matches from the 1982 Football World Cup. It has also been host to the X FINA World Championships and twice of the Eurobasket. The Open Seat Godó, a 50-year-old ATP Tour International Series Gold tennis tournament, is held annually in the facilities of the Reial Club de Tenis Barcelona (Barcelona Royal Tennis Club). Several popular running competitions are organized year-round in Barcelona. Also, each Christmas, a swimming race across the port is organized. Near Barcelona, in Montmeló, the 131,000 capacity Circuit de Catalunya racetrack hosts the Formula One Spanish Grand Prix and the Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix. Barcelona has also become very popular with skateboarders, which has led to a new anti-skateboarding law, which came into effect in 2006.
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