Images and discourses of the contestation to the Pirineus-Barcelona 2030 Winter Games: protest diversity and the loss of Olympic consensus

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a growing number of social movements against the Olympic Games that question the supposed positive impact and inherent legacy of this type of projects.
This article aims to explore, through images, the complexity of the debate surrounding the Pirineus-Barcelona 2030 Winter Olympic Games bid as a space for discussion on the future of a territory such as the Catalan Pyrenees (Spain). It also seeks to reflect on the changes that have occurred regarding the establishment of significant social consensus, thirty years after the 1992 Olympic Games. Using an ethnographic approach, the study begins with a historical contextualisation. The researchers collected photographs and videos of the demonstration in opposition to the bid, held in May 2022 in the town of
Puigcerdà, using the technique of participant observation. Photographs published in the media and on social networks were also collected, focusing especially on the images and slogans displayed on flags, banners, posters and chants at the demonstration.
The visual material was analysed following a triple process which characterises its mixed approach: content, ethnography and discourse. What brings consistency to this comprehensive qualitative study is the triangulation of visual analysis with other approaches, methods and researchers.
The results suggest that this particular demonstration was part of the growing articulation of protests towards this type of large-scale projects, both nationally and internationally. This type of protest, in an early stage, had already been observed in other Spanish bids for major sporting events, such as Barcelona'92. The main lines of protest present in the demonstration included those opposing the Olympic movement, of pro-independence nature, those worried about the environment, and those criticising the development model of the Catalan Pyrenees. In the case of Spain, the potential organisation of the Winter Games 2030 allowed for an unprecedented response from certain segments of the population, and a wide range of organisations, concerned about the negative consequences of the event. The protest against this Olympic bid reflects the growing difficulty in reaching widespread social agreements around major events and the progressive loss of the Olympic consensus that existed in Spain in previous decades. This represents a significant paradigm shift in the perception that the Spanish population has had since Barcelona’92 regarding the benefits of an international mega sports event such as the Olympic Games.