Barcelona mayor hails Tour de France's 'resounding success'

Barcelona's mayor, Jaume Collboni, expressed immense satisfaction with the city's hosting of the Tour de France's opening stages, deeming it an "organizational and participatory success." He declared the event the most important sporting occasion Barcelona has witnessed since the 1992 Olympic Games.

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We are very happy and very pleased. It has been a genuine organizational and participatory success.

Collboni highlighted the significant public turnout, noting that 120,000 people lined the streets for the opening time trial and an additional 125,000 fans gathered for the second stage's finale on Montjuïc. "We are very happy and very pleased. It has been a genuine organizational and participatory success," he stated after presenting awards for the second stage.

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This is the most important sporting event that we have experienced in Barcelona since the Olympic Games of 1992.

The mayor also mentioned that Tour organizers were surprised by Barcelona's innovative approach to hosting, from the team presentation to the race stages themselves. He observed that despite the heat, large numbers of people came out to watch the cyclists, indicating a strong public engagement with the event. Collboni emphasized that the city successfully managed the complex logistics, overcoming numerous challenges without any notable incidents.

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They have seen us very surprised by the number of people who, despite the heat, have left their homes and gone down to the roads and streets, and enjoyed the cyclists.