Barcelona with women's sport 04/03/2024

Barcelona is Mediterranean, modernisme, art, design, culture, food… you already knew that. But did you know that the city also loves sport at all levels? The Barcelona that hosted the Olympic Games in 1992 is a city where people take part in sport at amateur and professional levels and women lead the field in every sporting discipline.

The fact is, Barcelona has long supported women's sport as another way of promoting gender equality and empowering future generations.

From the 19th to the 21st centuries: an amazing evolution

Sport has evolved significantly over the past two centuries. It began as a purely recreational pursuit but today it is a full-time job for many people and one of the most popular ways of keeping fit. Nowadays, everyone is aware that doing sport at any level is beneficial for their physical and mental health, boosts social interactions and contributes to a better life. And that's a lot of benefits!

So many opportunities to do sport outdoors

With its Mediterranean climate and excellent amenities, Barcelona offers so many opportunities to do sport outdoors. If you're visiting, you couldn't have chosen a better place to keep indulging your passion for sport.

You can go jogging, play a round of golf or a game of tennis, swim in the sea or in a swimming pool and enjoy all kinds of water sports. You can also play beach volleyball, table tennis, do a workout on one of the trim trails or a tai chi or yoga class on the sand.

And if you like to exercise in nature, you'll find places with amazing scenery just a short distance from the city. You can go climbing on Montserrat, go hiking among the volcanoes in the Garrotxa Natural Park or ride a mountain bike through the vineyards in the county of the Penedès. The list is endless. You can also take part in winter sports, like skiing, on a snowy getaway to the Catalan Pyrenees.

Remember: Mens sana in corpore sano!

Put your fitness to the test at the different sporting events in the city

Barcelona hosts a number of races, many of them international. Women's involvement in these competitions continues to grow every year, providing irrefutable proof that women want to put their fitness to the test. Take note!

The Cursa dels Nassos is held on 31st December and is open for all. It is one of the world's most important races and attracts so many women runners that it was named best female race in the world in 2023 by World Athletics. In 2023, the Kenyan athlete Beatrice Chebet broke the world record in the 5k women's race, with a time of 14 minutes and 13 seconds.

The Cursa de la Dona is held every November when more than 30,000 women of all ages flock to the city to create a veritable “sea of pink” in support of the fight against breast cancer.

The Zurich Marató Barcelona has one of the most spectacular routes of any road race. It's an inclusive, solidarity-driven, sustainable competition which you can take part in… if you think you're up to the challenge of running 42 kilometres!

The strong>eDreams Mitja Marató covers a shorter distance. It is held in February and in 2024 attracted a record number of participants from around the world – 40% representing 98 different nationalities – and more than 9,800 women: the highest number in the history of the competition.

The Challenge Barcelona Triathlon is held in October along the city's seafront. It saw a record number of participants in 2023, 30% of them women.

With 100 editions under its belt, the Allianz Jean Bouin is the oldest race in Spain and attracts a growing number of women runners in the 5k and 10k events.

Do you fancy taking part in one of them? Check out the sports section on our website to find out when they are being held. You'll also find information about the other sporting events the city is hosting.

Women's sport: a fascinating spectacle

For decades, Barcelona has been home to trailblazing women who have striven to become game-changing, female athletes. These brave, pioneering and fearless women have defied boundaries, broken down stereotypes and paved the way for future generations. Their endeavours have led to the creation of top-flight professional women's teams in Barcelona from a wide range of sporting disciplines, including football, basketball and field hockey. For instance, FC Barcelona's women's team, Barça Femení, has become a real institution in the city. They have won a number of titles, including the Champions League and the Spanish La Liga in 2023.

And talking of professional teams, 2024 is shaping up to be a great year for top-level women's sport, with the launch of the women's stage race as part of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya and the inaugural Puig Women's America's Cup, which will be held during the America's Cup and bring together the world's best sailors.

Leading sportswomen: the best ambassadors

Excellent facilities, the love of sport you can feel all around you in Barcelona and the city's promotion of and support for women's sport have forged elite sportswomen. These women have broken down barriers and become inspirational game-changers for the new generations, breaking down stereotypes and showing they can achieve anything they set their minds on.

Some of these Catalan sporting superstars include the footballer, Aitana Bonmatí who won the 2023 women's Ballon d'Or; the swimmer, Mireia Belmonte; the snowboarding queen, Queralt Castellet, the first Spanish sportswoman to win a gold medal at the 2020 Winter X Games in Aspen; the rider, Laia Sanz, one of Spain's top sporting champions who has beaten trial, Enduro and rally raid records and won 20 world championship titles; the mountain runner, Núria Picas, who won the Ultra Trail World Tour; and the Olympic marathon runner, Marta Galimany. Other leading sportswomen include the sailors, Natàlia Via-Dufresne and Mònica Azón, who will be competing in Barcelona's main sporting event in 2024: the 37th Louis Vuitton America's Cup.

The America's Cup, the main event in 2024, is also for women

This year, Barcelona will be hosting the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup and a milestone event: the first Puig Women's America's Cup. The America's Cup was first held 174 years ago and is considered the world's oldest sporting competition. In 2024, the fastest boats will be gliding over the waves of the Mediterranean and from 5th to 13th October, twelve women's teams from different countries featuring the best women sailors will vie for the highly prized trophy. Sail Team BCN will be representing Spain with a crew that will put women in the spotlight for the first time during this historic competition.

As you can see, promoting gender equality is one of the city's intrinsic values, and sport is a good example of this. Come and be part of this unstoppable change!