Sports

The Reial Club de Polo de Barcelona welcomes the New Year with his traditional Reyes International Tournament. After  of the main European hockey leagues' seasons break, the top Spanish and international clubs will be competing with the host players. The line-up will comprise leading international teams and top-level teams from the Spanish league.

Over four days of intense competition, the fields of Barcelona's renowned century-old polo club will host over 40 spectacular and thrilling matches in the senior, junior and veteran categories. Admission is free and open to anybody wishing to attend. There will also be a hospitality area and an interesting retail village.

On 10th February, Barcelona will be hosting the 36 Trial Indoor de Barcelona and the 14 Enduro Indoor Internacional de Barcelona.

The Catalan company RPM Racing, which has long-standing experience in organising sporting events, created and launched both indoor disciplines − Indoor Trial and Indoor Enduro −making both specialities firm fixtures on the world's sporting calendar.

Many Catalan riders have become world champions in these disciplines: Toni Bou, Adam Raga and Albert Cabestany in Indoor Trial, and Iván Cervantes in Indoor Enduro. Other world champions, such as Tadeusz Blazusiak, are sure not to miss the world's most important Trial and Indoor Enduro event.

On 17th March, the long-distance race par excellence will bring together thousands of people from around the world. The recent marathons have beaten the record for the number of participants, but the 2013 Zurich Barcelona Marathon is expected to attract more than 20,000 runners.

This spectacular growth in participants in just six years has made the Catalan marathon one of the key events of this kind in Europe. The excellent climate, gastronomy and Barcelona's many cultural attractions, are just some of the factors that draw more and more runners from around the world to the Zurich Barcelona Marathon.

Sport and leisure come together in this great event which has become a major celebration for the community. Bands, streets parades of traditional figures, associations and organisations work together to offer the spectators and runners a festive ambiance which reminds us of the city's Olympic past.

The spectacular start to the race takes place on the Avinguda Reina Mª Cristina at 8.30 in the morning, with Montjuïc Palace as a backdrop.

One of the other attractions of the Zurich Barcelona Marathon is ExpoSports, the runners' fair held on 15th and 16th March. With more than 100 stands and 60,000 visitors, ExpoSports has become the leading runners' fair in Spain.

The Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, Trofeu Conde de Godó Trophy is the clay-court tournament which Barcelona hosts every year. The competition attracts the world’s top players and has become one of the city’s key social events. The 61st tournament will be held on the courts of the Reial Club de Tennis Barcelona – 1899 from 20th to 28th April.

Once again, the Mallorcan player Rafael Nadal will be the hot favourite to carry off the trophy. In 2012, he claimed his seventh Barcelona Open title. In addition to Nadal, some of the top ten ATP players are also expected to play. This is because the Barcelona Open Banc de Sabadell is considered one of the best tournaments on the ATP 500 World Tour.

In addition to the tournament at the Reial Club Tennis Barcelona, the square in front of Barcelona Cathedral will once again be the setting for an alternative activity which is also associated with tennis and met with great success last year: ‘Tennis in the street’, an initiative which seeks to bring tennis to the community.

The Reial Club de Polo de Barcelona will be hosting the 45th International Polo Tournament -Barcelona Polo Classic, in early May. There will be three matches every day (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) which will pit six teams of international players with a medium handicap against one another.

Polo is a thrilling team sport in which the player and horse must be perfectly in tune in order to win. The technique and skill of the players are combined with the power and elegance of the horses.Sporting spectacle and beauty are the magical combination that dazzles the spectators who also enjoy the unbeatable atmosphere in the fabulous setting of the Reial Club de Polo de Barcelona.

The Barcelona Polo Classic is a wonderful opportunity for people to see this spectacular sporting discipline and discover one of the world's oldest sports. The panoramic grandstand overlooking the polo field, with its exclusive bar and restaurant, provides the public with comfortable surroundings in which to enjoy the competition. The club also has a limited number of invitations which are available on request, from April onwards, by calling its offices. An attractive retail village provides the perfect complement to the event.

On 10th, 11th and 12th May, the Circuit de Catalunya will be hosting the 23rd Formula 1 Gran Premio de España . This will be the greatest opportunity to see the drivers and teams, who are the exponents of one of the most thrilling sports in the world, live and in the flesh.

The ticket to the Grand Prix also entitles fans to additional advantages including free admission to the F1 Test Days, the pre-season training testing held at the Circuit from 19th to 22nd February and from 28th February to 3rd March, and to the pit lane visit on Thursday of the Grand Prix for a close-up glimpse of the drivers.
*Dates subject to change.

For details about special deals and ticket sales visit: www.circuitcat.com

In 2013, 2014 and 2015, Barcelona will be hosting the X Games, the world's biggest and most important action sports event. From 16th to 19th May 2013, Montjuïc Park will be the setting for the self-styled “action sport Olympics”. The X Games Barcelona will feature four sports (skateboard, BMX, Freestyle Motocross and Rally Car) in 16 disciplines at venues including the Olympic Stadium, the Palau Sant Jordi, the Olympic Ring Esplanade, the Olympic diving pool and an urban rally circuit with top-level sporting facilities. The top sportsmen from each discipline will be taking part, including Shaun White, Travis Pastrana, Ken Block and Ryan Sheckler.

During the week of the X Games, the city will become the world capital of action sports with related musical, artistic and cultural events.

This year Barcelona will be hosting the 40th Conde de Godó Sailing Trophy, the prestigious, top-level regatta which is an unmissable event for lovers of yachting competitions.

The event has been organised from the very outset by the Real Club Náutico de Barcelona and, this year, from 22nd to 26th May, yachting will once again take centre stage in the Catalan capital.

Boats with skippers and crews from around the world will be taking part in the 40th Conde de Godó Sailing Trophy,the regatta which counts towards the international competitions in the Wally and TP52 classes;the points accumulated will also count towards the International Soto 40 Class European Championships.

In addition to these boats, as in previous years, many cruising yachts are expected to take part.

The Real Club Náutico de Barcelona will once again be bringing the city a sporting spectacle that will delight all those who come to Barcelona's beaches to see them sail in different regatta fields.

The Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya de MotoGPTMcomes to the Circuit de Catalunya on 14th , 15th  and 16th June. This unmissable date on the calendar for lovers of motorbike competitions attracts many local riders, many of them world champions, such as Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa, Álvaro Bautista, Toni Elías, Marc Màrquez, Aleix and Pol Espargaró, Julián Simón... and legendary riders like Valentino Rossi. Thrilling entertainment is guaranteed.

Tickets are on sale at: www.circuitcat.com

The Reial Club Nàutic de Barcelona will be hosting the 6th Puig Vela Clàssica Barcelona Regatta from 10th to 13th July.

Sponsored by Puig, wooden boats from the vintage division built before 1950 will be taking part, along with wooden boats from the classic division built between 1950 and 1975. Vintage and classic “big boats”, which are over 30 metres long, will also be taking part ensuring that Barcelona and its coastline will once again be filled with spectacular, elegant yachts that are steeped in history.

The 6th Puig Vela Clàssica Barcelona Regatta is part of the prestigious competition calendar of the International Committee of the Mediterranean and this is why it is expected to attract many boats from all over Europe.

The Reial Club Nàutic de Barcelona and Puig have joined forces to make the regatta a key sailing event in Barcelona.

The countdown has already begun for the 15th FINA World Swimming Championships Barcelona 2013. The Catalan capital will be hosting this event, which is one of the biggest on the international calendar, from 19thJulyto 4thAugust 2013. The competition includes five Olympic disciplines: swimming, water polo, diving, synchronised swimming and open-water swimming. There will be 66 finals in total.

Next year, in Barcelona, there will be an additional competition which, although included as an exhibition sport, will be no less spectacular: high diving.A 27 metre-high platform will be erected in the old harbour for this event.

The Palau Sant Jordi will be the main venue for all the sporting action, as it was in 2003, when Barcelona also hosted these championships. A 50-metre temporary pool will be installed inside this sports complex and host the swimming and synchronised swimming competitions. The water polo competitions will be held at the BernatPicornell swimming pools, the diving competitions will be held at the Montjuïc Municipal Pool, and the open-water competitions at the Moll de la Fusta quay.

The appeal of the king of sports, epitomised by Barça, coupled with the beauty of Europe's biggest football stadium, offer visitors the chance to see a unique top-level sporting event live.

“The Gamper Festival”: the football season kicks off in August, with the traditional Joan Gamper Trophy, when Barça presents its new signings and plays against some of Europe's most prestigious teams.

Liga, Cup and Champions League: During the season, from August to June, the spectacle continues at Camp Nou. Every match becomes a unique experience shared with “just” 98,000 Barça fans.Seeing Tito's boys live and in the flesh (Messi, Puyol, Xavi, Villa...) will be etched on your memory forever.

Basketball: Experience the magic of the Palau Blaugrana. Enjoy Barça Regal, the current champions of the Endesa League, as they compete against the best teams from Spain and abroad.

In Barcelona,in 1900, while Gaudí was laying the first stone of the Sagrada Família, a club with a long historic tradition was born: the Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol. They were the founders of the Spanish Football League and one of the few clubs to have played in all the league championships. Espanyol have won the Copa del Rey four times and played twice in the UEFA Cup finals. The team owes its longevity and potential to its loyal and passionate fanbase. Not for nothing do they say that Espanyol is "the strength of a feeling".

The construction of its new stadium, the Estadi RCDE, in Cornellà – El Prat, which is rated as a 4-star venue by UEFA and holds 40,500 spectators, has given this century-old club the opportunity to attract a wider audience with renewed vigour in the 21st century.

Enjoy a match at the stadium or a guided tour. We're expecting you!

This year's main equestrian event will become one big party as the city celebrates the 102nd Barcelona International Showjumping Competition. The Reial Club de Polo de Barcelona, Olympic showjumping circuit will be decked out in all its finery for the occasion. This elegant and thrilling sporting event will be held from 26th to 29th September.

The competition consists of 12 trials, with highlights including the Ciutat de Barcelona Grand Prix on the Friday night, the  Longines Queen's Cup - on Saturday afternoon, and the  FEI Nations' Cup on Sunday afternoon.

The CSIO  Barcelona also hosts a number of entertaining activities in addition to the competition, such as the fun riding displays, the traditional gala dinner during the Grand Prix on the Friday, the large competition village and restaurant enclosure, and the pony park which introduces kids to the world of riding.

Day tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster from June onwards.

On 6th October, Barcelona will be offering triathletes and sports fans in general the chance to take part in and enjoy one of the world's most renowned triathlons which has established its reputation due to the participation of 6,000 amateur triathletes from more than 30 countries, and because it also features an elite eventwith today's top triathletes from Spain and abroad.

Once again, the Garmin Barcelona Triathlon will transform the coastline and streets of Barcelona into a unique sporting spectacle on a totally urban circuit, from the Mar Bella beachto the city's major landmarks, such as the Arc de Triomf, the Parc de la Ciutadella, etc.

IMG, the executive company and organisers, and the promotional committee, which comprises Barcelona City Council, Turisme de Barcelona, the Federació Catalana de Triatló and the Club Natació Catalunya, will be expecting you all.

The Jean Bouin is Barcelona's most prestigious athletics competition – there have been 89 of them held to date – due to its long-standing tradition and the top-level runners it attracts. The event is deeply rooted in the sporting culture of the Catalan capital. Not for nothing do 3,500 girls and boys take part every year in all the categories. The event also includes the Open which attracts over 13,000 participants.

The Jean Bouin is organised by Mundo Deportivo, Spain's oldest, and the world's second oldest sports newspaper (it was first published in 1906). Mundo Deportivo belongs to the Grupo Godó de Comunicación, Catalonia's leading communications group.

Barcelona will be hosting its third Barcelona World Race, one of the world's most demanding yachting competitions. The regatta is part of the IMOCA (International Monohull Open Class Association) World Championships.

The Barcelona World Race is the only two-handed, non-stop round-the-world race. The approximate distance covered by the regatta is 25,000 nautical miles (46,300 km.) which will take the crews three months to complete. During the competition they will have to face the harshest climatic and weather conditions and sail the most inhospitable seas far from dry land. On 31st December 2014, the third of these regattas – which will be a zero-emission sporting event – will set sail from the Port of Barcelona.

Barcelona will be hosting the Mediterranean Tall Ships Regatta from 21st to 24th September 2013. These vessels, which measure between 20 and 40 metres in length,and their crews, will be taking part in four days of activities open to the public at large as part of the 2013 Mercè Festival: tours of the ships, sporting activities, environmental and sailing workshops, parades, concerts… designed to put the Mediterranean tradition and maritime culture in the spotlight. The event seeks to highlight environmental issues, educational values and foster marine culture, aspects shared by the Fundació Navegació Oceànica de Barcelona and the Tall Ships Regatta.