The prestigious National Geographic organization, which puts its resources at the service of daring men and transformative ideas in the fields of exploration, scientific research, storytelling and education, has just brought the exhibition to the capital. “Sports stories”an exhibition of photographs taken over more than a hundred years in different corners of the world, which have been brought together for the first time in what will be a journey through time to discover what it has been like to practice different sporting disciplines since then. their beginnings until today.
The outdoor exhibition is made up of 82 images immortalized by National Geographic photographers and can be seen until December 1 on Paseo del Duque Fernán Nuñez, in Retiro Park, with free access. “The commitment to showing sporting effort is one of the characteristics of National Geographic that is reflected in this series of photographs,” explains Paloma Martín, director of programming for National Geographic in Spain.
The exhibition, a journey through time where the oldest photograph dates from 1880 and the most recent was taken in 2021 during the pandemic, is also a vivid portrait of the sport and the stories of improvement of the people who practice it. The images cover different scenarios and environments in which the cultural particularities of the places where these photographs were taken are also reflected.
“As a sports journalist, I experienced sport from a competitive point of view and saw beautiful photos that reflected the effort, the action, the joy of success or the sadness of defeat but it there was always a point of view beyond: sport as a social and cultural activity. In this exhibition, we see everything: competition, joy, sport, culture, leisure, nature, tradition… And all with an extraordinary photographic approach. I think everyone should stop and see this exhibition, I’m sure they will learn a lot”, says Paloma del Río, journalist and ambassador of the exhibition, recently awarded the National Television Prize 2024 and with an exceptional career of 37 years on TVE, during which he covered more than 60 World and European Games, 14 Olympic Games and 4 Mediterranean Games. Paloma del Río also stands out for defending diversity in sport. bringing minority sports closer to the public. In addition, she has been rewarded with prestigious awards such as the Ondas for best presenter, the gold medal of the Royal Order of Sports Merit and the Iris Critics Prize.
Thus, the public will appreciate how the practice of sport becomes a common activity shared by human beings in different eras and in any corner of the world, but at the same time combining geographical and cultural contexts that make them unique. From basketball to football, climbing, diving, mountaineering and horse riding, the team is also interested in traditional sports and minority practices.
In this exhibition at Paseo del Duque Fernán Núñezin the park of Madrid, a place very frequented by athletes and visitors, also included are photographs from different regions of Spain, which present indigenous sports – such as the castellers in Catalonia or the harrijasotzailes (stone lifters) in the Basque Country -, as well as historical images of Alfonso XIII and Victoria Eugenia, played by Harriet Chalmers Adams, practicing horseback riding.
National Geographic invites the public to immerse themselves in these photographs and to see beyond a sporting scene: to capture an entire way of life, the love of sport, perseverance and the desire to improve. Values that were seen, for example, this year during the Summer Olympics and Paralympics.
The work of National Geographic photographers allows this journey through time to show the evolution of certain sporting disciplines, as well as the cultural events that participate in others. In addition, the natural environment is the protagonist in some images, and in a good part of the photographs the challenge that athletes face to achieve greater goals stands out.
From professional stadiums and arenas to the most varied fields and natural spaces that become improvised fields, in these images physical activity goes beyond traditional and team sports and reflects resistance, adventure, strength and skill in each of these practices.
