The extreme sports and urban culture event, an international benchmark, will celebrate its 15th anniversary on 15, 16 and 17 September in style in a completely free edition, where in addition to having more sports than ever, the public will be the protagonist in all the activities that will take place.
Since its first edition in 2008, when it was committed to sports that nobody imagined could end up making a place in the Olympic Games, Extreme Barcelona has made the dream of many grow for 15 years, promoting sports that have grown along with the event. Throughout its history, Extreme Barcelona has collected moments that will remain forever in the memory of the public and athletes.
Toni Alvarez, sports director, who has experienced all the Extremes Barcelona: “I have been lucky enough to attend all the editions of Extreme Barcelona, first as a fan and now as part of the organisation. It is a source of pride to see how urban sports have grown thanks to this event, which has matured to become one of the European benchmarks in the sector. The level of the facilities, the quality of the competitions and the experiential offer for the public is the perfect combination to enjoy these sports with your family or group of friends”, he explains.
Gender equality in competitions
Extreme Barcelona stands out for promoting gender equality in sports. The inclusion of women’s competitions in all disciplines enhances the event and marks a significant achievement in the visibility of women in urban sports. In 2017, it stood out as the event with the most female extreme sports disciplines in Europe, led by BMX and Skateboarding. In the latter category, the figure of Roos Zwetslot stands out, the talented Dutch skateboarder who made history by debuting skateboarding at the 2020 Olympics, securing a remarkable fifth place and whose presence has been maintained on the Extreme stage, where last year she conquered the gold medal before the astonished gaze of thousands of spectators.
As Joll Chamorro, Corporate Account Manager of Extreme Barcelona, explains, adapting is and has been a key part of the event’s trajectory: ”In recent years, it has been adapting and moulding towards a professionalised event model in the sporting sphere, also aligned with the Olympic movement which now includes urban sports and implicitly reinforces the figure of its athletes in these disciplines, as well as everything that revolves around the development of the event with television production, streaming, design and production of sports facilities, attention to the athlete. In addition to preserving the spirit of the first editions of the event, with all the recreational and participatory offerings of the event as incentives for the public attending the event.”
BMX riders, some of the world’s best in the world
The twins Queen and Liz Villegas are also familiar faces at Extreme Barcelona, as together they dominated the final in 2021. They are the BMX riders of the moment. From Colombia and only 20 years old, they have become great promises of the discipline. On the other side of the BMX coin is Daniel Dhers, a veteran of the sport and probably the most beloved athlete. The Venezuelan, who won the silver medal at the last Olympic Games in Tokyo, has left an indelible mark on the event and the extreme sports community, with an exceptional participation in Extreme Barcelona, taking gold in 2014, 2015, 2018, 2020, 2021, silver in 2019 and bronze in 2022, possibly on this 15th anniversary it will be one of the last times we can see him in action in Barcelona, after announcing at the Madrid Urban Sports that he would retire from competition after the Olympics.
The veteran riders have experienced the evolution of Extreme and its stages, but they are not the only ones, as the organization is responsible for growing and improving year after year. Sergio Rios tells from his experience as a designer the evolution over the last years: In 2018 extreme barcelona was an urban sports event that covered less known disciplines such as wake, longboard, snake or inline, adapting its stages to these competitions but without going so deep into each modality. Since then, Extreme Barcelona has taken a turn, reducing the number of sports and giving more quality to the facilities where the urban sports take place. A much smaller event, but more careful and with more quality than in previous editions. When riders come to Barcelona, they leave with the idea of coming back, and this is because of the special affection that is given to them and because of how good they feel when they arrive at our facilities.
Battles between the new and old school of Spanish Breaking
This year, Extreme Barcelona will host the Spanish Breaking Championships 2023, which opens the door to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with its debut in this discipline. The event joins the Extreme Barcelona programme, promising a real spectacle on its 15th anniversary. In the Parc del Forum, Spain’s best Bboys and Bgirls will compete not only for victory, but also for a pass to the World Championships in Belgium, which will give the opportunity to participate in the next Olympic Games. The public will be able to discover the promises of Spanish Breaking, some of them have been competing for more than 20 years, others are almost the same age as the Extreme, but they arrive in style, with the desire to eat the world and stomping on the mat.
The king of Central Park arrives in Barcelona
Jordan Clark is undoubtedly the king of Central Park. The English rider started his career in the scooter world in 2011. Four years later he was proclaimed world champion for two years in a row, 2015 and 2016. He is the athlete with more medals in the Extreme Barcelona, and since his first appearance, he has not left the podium, getting gold medals in 2015, 2016, 2018, 2021, being scooter park world champion in 2022 and silver medal in 2017. It has meant so much to him to be able to participate in an event of this magnitude that in this edition of Extreme Barcelona he will wear a helmet with a design tribute to his 5 world championship medals. Mateo Mencuccini, Filmmaker and video editor of Extreme Barcelona explained: “I’ve been coming to Barcelona Extreme for years to see the best skaters and now being part of the team and working on the event is a dream come true.
Basket 3×3 and Climbing will not be missing at the party
Last year’s edition saw the premiere of climbing with the indoor wall climbing wall, which sold out its registrations to participate and proclaim the first champions of the modality in the history of Extreme Barcelona. On a stage 6 metres high and 18 metres wide, this year, together with an improved format, expectations will be exceeded.
Basket 3×3 comes with more competitions, in previous editions we could see the public enjoy this sport that is already a mass phenomenon. This 15th anniversary promises no less, the Parc del Fòrum will bring together teams from pre-mini to senior who will play in the largest outdoor 3×3 basketball circuit in Spain with a host of different competitions on the court.
Victor Casanovas, director of Extreme Barcelona, says that this year’s event is not to be missed: “Especially for the 15th birthday. The event has been held from 2008 until 2023. This shows that it is an event that continues to grow, offering more and better spectacle to the fans. In its day we bet on sports that were not even official and now they are in the Olympic Games and where the athletes are world champions, so the people of Barcelona cannot miss it in any way. It will also be a free event to come and spend the day enjoying the elite of these sports.