The Crown in the Crowd: Sport and the House of Bourbon, 1975–2021

Abstract

Since 1975, the Spanish royal family has used sport as a platform on which to improve its public image. With their families, Kings Juan Carlos I and Felipe VI have appeared at countless events as athletes, dignitaries, and fans of Spanish sport. Among these sporting events, this article uses the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona as a case study to examine the complex relationship between the Spanish monarchy and the stadium crowd. In the liminal space of the stadium, the crown and the crowd are simultaneously separated by hierarchy and official protocol and united in the communion of fandom.