The Olympic Stadium at Barcelona is not only an excellent tourist attraction and wonderful piece of architecture; it is the symbol of the first Olympic Games in twelve years where not one country boycotted the event, the first truly unified games that brought the point of the Olympics back home. Almost 11,000 athletes representing 172 nations competed. It was the first summer Olympics that South Africa had taken part in for 32 years, North Korea and Cuba took part for the first time in 12. The unified team was made up of 12 nations from the former Soviet Union and swept away most of the gold. Originally designed in 1929, the stadium would not be used for the games until 1992. Today it is still used for football games and concerts, and can hold over 65,000 fans. (On May 27th, 2006, the Rolling Stones will play) It is the number one must see tourist attraction for any sports fan traveling to the city, with wide open walkways and accommodations within walking distance for any traveler to wander and take photographs. It is open year round during the day for tourism, and closed for special events requiring tickets.