With it’s heady mix of culture, beaches, history, architecture and night-life Barcelona is one of Europe’s top tourist destinations. The tourist boom started in 1992 when the city hosted the Olympic Games and embraced the opportunity to promote and reinvent itself.
Cobi – Barcelona’s 1992 Olympic Mascot
No Olympic Games would be complete without an Olympic mascot. Rio had Vinicius, Los Angeles Sam, Atlanta Izzy and London had Boris Johnson on a zip-line.
Barcelona’s mascot was called Cobi and was designed by Javier Mariscal. Cobi is a cartoon dog based on the Catalan sheepdog and inspired by the cubist styles of Picasso and Velazquez. The artist designed a version of Cobi for every Olympic sport as well as for Olympic sponsors such as Coca-Cola and Danone.
The character was so popular that Cobi merchandising was one of the main sources of income of the games. During the ’90s a spin-off TV series called The Cobi Troupe appeared on TV in Spain and abroad.
Statue of Cobi in the Vila Olímpica
The bronze statue of Cobi in Barcelona’s Vila Olímpica was inaugurated in 1992, just 2 weeks before the start of the Olympic Games. Cobi is portrayed dressed in a toga standing atop a turtle and a lobster which bears more than a passing resemblance to Gambrinus, the other sculpture by Javier Mariscal which adorns Barcelona’s waterfront.
Location
Estanque de Cobi, Parc del Port Olimpic s/n, Barcelona
How to get there
The statue is located in the park just behind the Port Olimpic. Nearest metro stop Ciutadella-Vila Olímpica on the yellow line L4.
Other attractions nearby
Port Olimpic
Marc
Hotel Arts
El Peix (Frank Ghery’s Goldfish)
David and Golaith
