The INEFC Barcelona brings together more than a thousand people at the big party of its 50th anniversary

The National Institute of Physical Education of Catalonia (INEFC) Barcelona is celebrating. The institution marks half a century of history and the party for the celebration of its 50th anniversary brought together more than a thousand people at the new Montjuïc campus. Students from all years – from those at the Esplugues de Llobregat campus until 1991, and those from Montjuïc since the Barcelona Olympic Games –, faculty, administrative and service staff, teaching and research staff, students, and people associated with the center, enjoyed a night marked by reunions, emotion, and a sense of belonging.

The event, which concluded with a dinner show, brought together different spaces and activities. The INEFC Alumni, the Rugby INEF Barcelona corner, and the exclusive INEFC50FEST merchandise stand were the focus of the activities. A batucada drum performance kicked off the party. The #SomINEFC parade, by Trastok’ts Street Band, provided the music that led attendees to the welcome photocall.

A cocktail with buffets and show cooking by Vilaplana, live performances by INEFC Alumni, the institutional toast for 50 years of history, dancing with the orchestra WASA Corporation, and the final session with DJ Surda completed an unforgettable night.

Over the past half-century, INEFC has contributed to the growth of the center and the consolidation of the sciences of physical activity and sport in Catalonia and Spain, and the celebration was a tribute to the history and the people who made it possible. The Minister of Sports, Berni Álvarez, led the institutional representation at the event, which was also attended by Eduard Inglés, Director General of INEFC; José Luis López, Director of INEFC Barcelona; Abel García, Secretary General of the Department of Sports, and Joan Guàrdia, Rector of the University of Barcelona. All agreed in praising INEFC's trajectory and its importance as a training and research center for sport and physical exercise.

The presentation of the event was once again in the hands of, as at the 25th anniversary gala, Fredy Joven, Anna Miró, and Sonia Rallo. During the event, they recalled the center's origins in Esplugues de Llobregat, the move to Montjuïc, the consolidation of studies, international outreach, research, transfer, and the social impact of physical activity and sport, as well as the human dimension of an institution built by generations of teachers, students, researchers, professionals, and alumni who have carried the name of INEFC around the world.

The celebration held a special remembrance for the former directors of INEFC Barcelona and for key figures in the center's history, such as Jesús Galilea Muñoz, the first director, and José Antonio Sancha de Prada, director of the Autonomous Body between 1987 and 2000.

50 years serving sport, education, research and society

The origins of INEFC Barcelona date back to the proposal to create the second National Institute of Physical Education of Spain in Barcelona, after the opening of the Madrid center. In 1970, the Council of Ministers approved its creation, and in 1975 the first facilities were inaugurated in Esplugues de Llobregat, with 60 places available and 149 applicants for the first entrance exams.

Since that first promotion, which finished their studies in 1979, the center has experienced a trajectory marked by the university recognition of Physical Education studies, the creation of INEFC as an autonomous body of the Generalitat, its affiliation with the University of Barcelona, the move to Montjuïc from Esplugues de Llobregat, and its projection as a venue during the Barcelona 1992 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Fifty years later, INEFC Barcelona has consolidated itself as a reference center for training, research, and transfer in the field of physical activity and sport sciences, and INEFC50FEST has been a collective celebration of this shared trajectory over half a century.