THE CAMP NOU: 59 YEARS OF AN INCREDIBLE HISTORY

The Grandma with her original ticket

The Grandma is very happy today. As you know, she spends long time in Barcelona and today is the biggest day for the city because its citizens celebrate the festivity of the Virgin of Mercè, one of the three patrons of the city with Santa Eulàlia and Santa Madrona.

For one hand, The Grandma is enjoying all the day in the city which is plenty of cultural activities that she loves: giants, big heads, dragons and human towers are offering their performances around the city.

For other hand, The Grandma, as all of the families know, is a great supporter of Futbol Club Barcelona and because of this, today is also an important day. Today is the 59th anniversary of the Camp Nou Cerimony of Inauguration.

The Grandma was one of those lucky people who assisted to this event. Fifty-nine years ago, she bought a ticket and she went to watch this cerimony. It was during the Franco's dictatorship. The Spanish government wanted to be pleasant with the international community and allowed to show a bit of Catalan culture. Nowadays, she remembers this day with a great emotion and beautiful feelings because as you know, FCB is more than a club, and during days like those you could discover why.

Inside the Camp Nou

Camp Nou is a football stadium in Barcelona, Catalonia. It has been the home of FC Barcelona since its completion in 1957. With a seating capacity of 99,354 is also the largest stadium in Europe and the second largest association football stadium in the world in terms of capacity. It has hosted numerous international matches at a senior level, including a 1982 FIFA World Cup semi-final match, two UEFA Champions League finals and the football competition at the 1992 Summer Olympics.

The construction of Camp Nou started on 28 March 1954 as Barcelona's previous stadium, Camp de Les Corts, had no room for expansion. Although originally planned to be called Estadi del FC Barcelona, the more popular name Camp Nou was used. The June 1950 signing of László Kubala, regarded as one of Barcelona's greatest players, provided further impetus to the construction of a larger stadium.

The architects were Francesc Mitjans and Josep Soteras, with the collaboration of Lorenzo García-Barbón.

More information: Futbol Club Barcelona Official Site

I wrote every day between the ages of 12 and 20 when I stopped because I went to Barcelona, where life was too exciting to write.

Colm Toibin