
The ceremony for the lighting of the
flame is arranged as a pagan pageant, with "priestesses"
dancing.
The
2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the
Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier
international multi-sport event held in Athens
, Greece
from August
13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home.
10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied
by 5,501 team officials from 201 countries. There were 301 medal
events in 28 different
sports. Athens
2004 marked the first time since the
1996 Summer Olympics that all countries
with a
National Olympic
Committee were in attendance. It was also the first time since
1896 that the Olympics were held in Greece.
Bid
Athens
was chosen
as the host city during the 106th IOC Session held in Lausanne
on September
5, 1997. Athens had lost its bid to organize the
1996 Summer Olympics to
Atlanta
nearly seven years before, on September 18, 1990,
during the 96th IOC Session in Tokyo
.
Under the direction of
Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki,
Athens pursued another bid, this time for the right to host the
Summer Olympics in 2004.
The success of Athens in securing the 2004
Games was based largely on Athens' appeal to Olympic history and the emphasis that it
placed on the pivotal role that Greece
and Athens
could play
in promoting Olympism and the Olympic Movement. Furthermore,
unlike their bid for the 1996 Games which was largely criticized
for its overall disorganization and arrogance - wherein the bid
lacked specifics and relied largely upon sentiment and the notion
that it was Athens' right to organize the Centennial Games; the bid
for the 2004 Games was lauded for its humility and earnestness, its
focused message, and its detailed bid concept. The 2004 bid
addressed concerns and criticisms raised in its unsuccessful 1996
bid - primarily Athens' infrastructural readiness, its air
pollution, its budget, and politicization of Games preparations.
Athens' successful organization of the
1997 World Championships
in Athletics the month before the host city election was also
crucial in allaying lingering fears and concerns among the sporting
community and some IOC members about its ability to host
international sporting events. Another factor which also
contributed to Athens' selection was a growing sentiment among some
IOC members to restore the values of the Olympics to the Games, a
component which they felt was lost during the heavily criticized
over-commercialization of
Atlanta
1996 Games. Subsequently, the selection of Athens was also
motivated by a lingering sense of disappointment among IOC members
regarding the numerous organizational and logistical setbacks
experienced during the 1996 Games.
After
leading all voting rounds, Athens easily defeated Rome
in the 5th
and final vote. Cape
Town
, Stockholm
, and Buenos
Aires
, the three other cities that made the IOC
shortlist, were eliminated in prior rounds of voting. Six
other cities submitted applications, but their bids were dropped by
the IOC in 1996.
These cities were Istanbul
, Lille
, Rio de Janeiro
, San Juan
, Seville
, and
Saint
Petersburg
.
| 2004 Host City Election — ballot results |
| City |
Country (NOC) |
Round 1 |
Round 2 |
Round 3 |
Round 4 |
Round 5 |
Athens |
|
32 |
... |
38 |
52 |
66 |
Rome |
|
23 |
... |
28 |
35 |
41 |
Cape
Town |
|
16 |
62 |
22 |
20 |
— |
Stockholm |
|
20 |
... |
19 |
— |
— |
Buenos Aires |
|
16 |
44 |
— |
— |
— |
Development and preparation
On
November 13, 2004, the Greek embassy estimated the costs of hosting
the Olympics at 8.954 billion euros (about $
11.2 billion
in 2004) not including construction made regardless of the Games,
but including 1.08 billion Euros ($1.35 billion) in security
costs. NBC Universal paid the
IOC $793 million for U.S. broadcast rights, the most paid by any
country.
NBC broadcast over 1200 hours of
coverage during the games, triple what was broadcast in the U.S.
four years earlier.
Between
all the NBC Universal networks (NBC, CNBC
, MSNBC, Bravo, USA
Network & Telemundo) the games
were on television 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Concerns about
terrorism elevated
following the
September 11,
2001 attacks. Greece increased the budget for security at the
Olympics to €970 million (US$1.2 billion). Approximately 70,000
police officers patrolled Athens and the Olympic venues during the
Olympics.
NATO
and the
European Union also provided
minorsupport, after Athens asked for co-operation.
When the
International Olympic
Committee
expressed its concern over the progress of
construction work of the new Olympic venues, a new Organizing
Committee was formed in 2000 under President Gianna
Angelopoulos-Daskalaki. In the years leading up to the
Games, Athens was transformed into a city that used
state-of-the-art technology in transportation and urban
development. Some of the most modern sporting venues in the world
at the time were built to host the 2004 Olympic Games.
The general cost of the games was estimated to be 7.202 billion
euros.
Construction

Inside the Athens Olympic
Stadium
By late March 2004, some Olympic projects were still behind
schedule, and Greek authorities announced that a roof it had
initially proposed as an optional, non-vital addition to the
Aquatics Center would no longer be built. The main Olympic Stadium,
the designated facility for the opening and closing ceremonies, was
completed only two months before the games opened. This stadium was
completed with a retractable glass roof designed by Spanish
architect
Santiago Calatrava. The
same architect also designed the
Velodrome
and other facilities.
Infrastructure, such as the
tram line linking
venues in southern Athens with the city proper, and numerous venues
were considerably behind schedule just two months before the games.
The subsequent pace of preparation, however, made the rush to
finish the Athens venues one of the tightest in Olympics history.
The Greeks, unperturbed, maintained that they would make it all
along.
By
July/August 2004, all venues were delivered: in August, the Olympic
Stadium was officially completed and opened, joined or preceded by
the official completion and openings of other venues within the
Athens
Olympic Sports Complex
(OAKA), and the sports complexes in Faliro and
Helliniko.

The OAKA Plaza and Arch adjacent to
the Olympic Stadium
Late July
and early August witnessed the Athens Tram and Light Rail become
operational, and these two systems finally connected Athens with
its waterfront communities along the Saronic Gulf
. These communities included the port city of
Piraeus
, Agios Kosmas (site of the sailing venue),
Helliniko (the site of the old international airport which now
contained the fencing venue, the canoe/kayak slalom course, the
15,000-seat Helliniko Olympic Basketball
Arena
, and the softball and baseball stadia), and Faliro
(site of the taekwondo, handball, indoor volleyball, and beach
volleyball venues, as well as the newly-reconstructed Karaiskaki
Stadium
for football). The upgrades to the
Athens Ring Road were also delivered just in time, as were the
expressway upgrades connecting Athens proper with peripheral areas
such as Markopoulo (site of the shooting and equestrian venues),
the newly constructed Eleftherios Venizelos International
Airport
, Schinias (site of the rowing venue), Maroussi
(site of the OAKA), Parnitha (site of the Olympic Village), Galatsi
(site of the rhythmic gymnastics and table tennis venue), and
Vouliagmeni (site of the triathlon venue). The upgrades to
the
Athens Metro were also completed,
and the new lines became operational by mid-summer.
EMI released
Unity, the official
pop album of the Athens Olympics, in the
leadup to the Olympics. It features contributions from
Sting,
Lenny
Kravitz,
Moby,
Destiny's Child, and
Avril Lavigne. EMI has pledged to donate
US$180,000 from the album to
UNICEF's HIV/
AIDS program in
Sub-Saharan Africa.
At least 14 people died during the work on the facilities. Most of
these people were not from Greece.
Before the games, Greek hotel staff staged a series of one-day
strikes over wage disputes. They had
been asking for a significant raise for the period covering the
event being staged.
Paramedics and
ambulance drivers also protested. They
claimed to have the right to the same Olympic bonuses promised to
their security force counterparts.
Torch relay
The
lighting ceremony of the Olympic flame
took place on March 25 in Ancient Olympia
. For the first time ever, the flame
travelled around the world in a
relay to former Olympic cities and
other large cities, before returning to Greece.
Mascots

A plush mascot.
Mascots have been a tradition at the Olympic
Games since the 1968 Winter
Olympics in Grenoble
, France. The Athens games had two official
mascots:
Athiná and
Phévos (pronounced in Greek,
Athina and Fivos). The sister and brother were named after Athena,
the goddess of wisdom, strategy and war, and
Phoebus,
the god of light and music,
respectively. They were inspired by the ancient
daidala, which were dolls that had religious
connotations as well as being toys.
Online coverage
For the first time, major broadcasters were allowed to serve video
coverage of the Olympics over the
Internet,
provided that they restricted this service geographically, to
protect broadcasting contracts in other areas. For instance, the
BBC made their complete live coverage available
to UK high-speed Internet customers for free; customers in the U.S.
were only able to receive delayed excerpts. The International
Olympic Committee forbade Olympic athletes, as well as coaches,
support personnel and other officials, from setting up specialized
weblogs and/or other websites for covering
their personal perspective of the games. They were not allowed to
post audio, video, or photos that they had taken. An exception was
made if an athlete already has a personal website that was not set
up specifically for the Games.
NBC launched its
own Olympic website, NBCOlympics.com. Focusing on the television
coverage of the games, it did provide video clips, medal standings,
live results. Its main purpose, however, was to provide a schedule
of what sports were on the many stations of NBC Universal. The
games were on TV 24 hours a day on one network or another.
Technology

View of the ATHOC Technology
Operations Center during the Games.
As with any enterprise, the Organizing Committee and everyone
involved with it relied heavily on technology in order to deliver a
successful event. ATHOC maintained two separate data networks, one
for the preparation of the Games (known as the Administrative
network) and one for the Games themselves (Games Network). The
technical infrastructure involved more than 11,000 computers, over
600
servers, 2,000
printers, 23,000 fixed-line telephone
devices, 9,000
mobile phones, 12,000
TETRA devices, 16,000
TV and
video devices and 17 Video Walls
interconnected by more than 6,000 kilometers of cabling (both
optical fiber and
twisted pair).
This
infrastructure was created and maintained to serve directly more
than 150,000 ATHOC Staff, Volunteers, Olympic family members
(IOC
, NOC,
Federations), Partners & Sponsors and Media. It also
kept the information flowing for all spectators, TV viewers,
Website visitors and news readers around the world, prior and
during the Games.Between June and August 2004, the technology staff
worked in the Technology Operations Center (TOC) from where it
could centrally monitor and manage all the devices and flow of
information, as well as handle any problems that occurred during
the Games. The TOC was organized in teams (e.g. Systems,
Telecommunications, Information Security, Data Network, Staffing,
etc.) under a TOC Director and corresponding team leaders (Shift
Managers). The TOC operated on a 24x7 basis with personnel
organized into 12-hour shifts.
The Games
Opening Ceremony
The widely praised Opening Ceremony by avant garde choreographer
Dimitris Papaioannou held on
August 13, 2004 began with a twenty eight (the number of the
Olympiads up to then) second countdown paced by the sounds of an
amplified heartbeat. As the countdown was completed, fireworks
rumbled and illuminated the skies overhead. After a drum corps and
bouzouki players joined in an opening march, the video screen
showed images of flight, crossing southwest from Athens over the
Greek countryside to ancient Olympia. Then, a single drummer in the
ancient stadium joined in a drum duet with a single drummer in the
main stadium in Athens, joining the original ancient Olympic games
with the modern ones in symbolism. At the end of the drum duet, a
single flaming arrow was launched from the video screen
(symbolically from ancient Olympia) and into the reflecting pool,
which resulted in fire erupting in the middle of the stadium
creating a burning image of the Olympic rings rising from the pool.
The Opening Ceremony was a pageant of traditional Greek culture and
history hearkening back to its mythological beginnings.
The
program began as a young Greek boy sailed into the stadium on a
'paper-ship' waving the host nation's flag to aethereal music by Hadjidakis and then a centaur appeared, followed by a gigantic head of a
cycladic
figurine which eventually broke into many pieces
symbolising the Greek islands. Underneath the cycladic head
was a Hellenistic representation of the human body, reflecting the
concept and belief in perfection reflected in Greek art. A man was
seen balancing on a hovering cube symbolising man's eternal 'split'
between passion and reason followed by a couple of young lovers
playfully chasing each other while the god
Eros was hovering above them. There
followed a very colourful float parade chronicling Greek history
from the ancient
Minoan
civilization to modern times.
Although
NBC in the United States presented the
entire opening ceremony from start to finish, a topless Minoan
priestess was shown only briefly, the breasts having been
pixelated digitally in order to avoid potential
fines by the
Federal
Communications Commission (and because the
"Janet Jackson"
incident was still in recent memory). Also, lower frontal nudity of
men dressed as ancient Greek statues was shown in such a way that
the area below the waist was cut off by the bottom of the screen.
In most other countries presenting the broadcast, there was no
censorship of the ceremony.
Following the artistic performances, a parade of nations entered
the stadium with over 10,500 athletes walking under the banners of
201 nations.
The nations were arranged according to
Greek alphabet making Finland
, Fiji
, Chile
, and
Hong
Kong
the last four to enter the stadium before the Greek
delegation. On this occasion, in observance of the tradition
that the delegation of Greece opens the parade and the host nation
closes it, the Greek flag bearer opened the parade and all the
Greek delegation closed it.
Based on audience reaction, the emotional
high point of the parade was the entrance of the delegation from
Afghanistan
which had been absent from the Olympics and had
female competitors for the first time. The Iraqi
delegation
also stirred emotions. Also recognized was the symbolic unified
march of athletes from North Korea
and South Korea under the Korean
Unification Flag. The country of
Kiribati
made a debut at these games and East Timor
made a debut under its own flag.
After the
Parade of Nations, during which the Dutch DJ Tiësto provided the music, the Icelandic
singer Björk performed
the song Oceania, written specially
for the event by her and the poet Sjón.
The Opening Ceremony culminated in the lighting of the Olympic
Cauldron by 1996 Gold Medalist Windsurfer
Nikolaos Kaklamanakis. Many key
moments in the ceremony, including the lighting of the Olympic
Cauldron, featured music composed and arranged by [John Psathas
from New Zealand. The gigantic cauldron, which was styled after the
Athens 2004 Olympic Torch, pivoted down to be lit by the 35
year-old, before slowly swinging up and lifting the flame high
above the stadium. Kaklamanakis would later win his silver medal in
the men's mistral behind
Israeli windsurfer
Gal Fridman. Following this, the stadium
found itself at the centre of a rousing fireworks
spectacular.
Closing Ceremony

Athens 2004 Olympics Closing
ceremony
The Games were concluded on August 29, 2004.
The closing ceremony
was held at the Athens Olympic Stadium
, where the Games had been opened 16 days
earlier. Around 70,000 people gathered in the stadium to
watch the ceremony.
The initial part of the ceremony interspersed the performances of
various Greek singers, and featured traditional Greek dance
performances from various regions of Greece (Crete, Pontos,
Thessaly, etc). The event was meant to highlight the pride of the
Greeks in their culture and country for the world to see.
A significant part of the closing ceremony was the exchange of the
Olympic flag of the Antwerp games between the mayor of Athens and
the mayor of Beijing, host city of the next Olympic games. After
the flag exchange a presentation from the Beijing delegation
presented a glimpse into Chinese culture for the world to see.
Beijing
University
students (who were at first incorrectly cited as
the Twelve Girls Band) sang
Mo Li Hua (Jasmine Flower) and the medal
ceremony for the last event of the Olympiad, the men's
marathon, was conducted, with Stefano Baldini from Italy as the
winner.
A flag-bearer from each nation's delegation then entered along the
stage, followed by the competitors
en masse on the
floor.
Short
speeches were presented by Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki,
President of the Organising Committee, and by President Dr.
Jacques Rogge of the IOC
, in which he described the Athens Olympics as
"unforgettable, dream Games".
It should be noted that Dr. Rogge had previously declared he would
be breaking with tradition in his closing speech as President of
the IOC and that he would never use the words of his predecessor
Juan Antonio Samaranch, who
used to always say 'these were the best ever games'. Dr. Rogge had
described
Salt Lake City 2002 as
"superb games" and in turn would continue after Athens 2004 and
describe
Turin 2006 as "truly magnificent
games".
The national anthems
of Greece and
China were played in a
handover ceremony as both nations' flags were raised. The
Mayor of Athens,
Dora Bakoyianni, passed the Olympic Flag to
the
Mayor of Beijing,
Wang Qishan. After a short cultural performance
by Chinese actors, dancers, and musicians directed by eminent
Chinese director
Zhang Yimou, Rogge
declared the 2004 Olympic Games closed.
The Olympic flag was
next raised again at the next
Winter Olympic games in Turin
; opening ceremony there
took place on February 10, 2006.
A young Greek girl, Fotini Papaleonidopoulou, lit a symbolic
lantern with the
Olympic Flame and
passed it on to other children before "extinguishing" the flame in
the cauldron by blowing a puff of air. The ceremony ended with a
variety of musical performances by Greek singers, including
George Dalaras,
Haris Alexiou,
Anna
Vissi,
Sakis Rouvas,
Eleftheria Arvanitaki, Alkistis
Protopsalti,
Antonis Remos,
Mixalis Xatzigiannis,
Marinella and Dimitra Galani, as thousands of
athletes carried out symbolic displays on the stadium floor.
Participating NOCs

Participating nations
All
National Olympic
Committees (NOCs) participated in the Athens Games, as was the
case in 1996.
Two new NOCs had been created since 1996,
and made their debut at these Games (Kiribati, and Timor-Leste),
therefore along with the re-appearance of Afghanistan
(missing the 2000
Summer Olympics) the total number of participating nations
increased from 199 to 202. Also since 2000, Yugoslavia had
changed its name to
Serbia and
Montenegro and its code from YUG to SCG. The number in
parentheses indicates the number of participants that NOC
contributed.
Sports
The sports featured at the 2004 Summer Olympics are listed below.
Officially there were 28 sports as swimming, diving, synchronised
swimming and water polo are classified by the IOC as disciplines
within the sport of
aquatics, and
wheelchair racing was a demonstration sport. For the first time,
the wrestling category featured women's wrestling and in the
fencing competition women competed in the
sabre. American
Kristin Heaston, who led off the qualifying
round of women's shotput became the first woman to compete at the
ancient site of Olympia but Cuban
Yumileidi Cumba became the first woman to
win a gold medal there.
The demonstration sport of wheelchair racing was a joint
Olympic/
Paralympic event, allowing
a Paralympic event to occur within the Olympics, and for the
future, opening up the wheelchair race to the able-bodied. The
2004 Summer Paralympics were
also held in Athens, from September 20 to 28.
Calendar
Highlights
- Greek sprinters Konstantinos
Kenteris and Ekaterini Thanou
withdraw from the games after allegedly staging a motorcycle
accident in order to avoid a drugs test.
- World record holder and strong favourite Paula Radcliffe crashes out of the marathon in spectacular fashion, leaving Mizuki Noguchi to win the gold.
- While leading in the marathon with less than 10 kilometres to
go, Brazilian runner Vanderlei de
Lima is attacked by Irish priest Cornelius Horan and dragged into the crowd.
De Lima recovered to take bronze, and was later awarded the
Pierre de Coubertin medal
for sportsmanship.
- British athlete Kelly Holmes wins
gold in the 800 m and 1500
m.
- Liu Xiang wins gold in the 110 m hurdles, equalling Colin Jackson's 1993 world record time of
12.91 seconds. This was China's first ever gold in men's track and field.
- The Olympics saw Afghanistan's first
return to the Games since 1999 (it was banned due to the Taliban's extremist attitudes towards women, but was
reinstated in 2002).
- Hicham El Guerrouj wins gold
in the 1500 m and 5000
m. He is the first person to accomplish this feat at the
Olympics since Paavo Nurmi in 1924.
- Greek athlete Fani Halkia comes out
of retirement to win the 400 m
hurdles.
- Diminutive Turkish weightlifter Nurcan
Taylan wins gold in the women's 48 kg category, setting
world records in both the snatch (97.5 kg) and the total
(210 kg). She was the first Turkish woman to win an Olympic
gold medal.
- The
US women's 4x200m swimming team of Natalie Coughlin, Carly Piper, Dana
Vollmer and Kaitlin Sandeno win
gold, smashing the long standing world record set by the German
Democratic Republic
in 1987.
- The United States
lost for the first time in Olympic men's basketball since NBA
players were permitted to play in the Games. This defeat came at
the hands of Puerto
Rico 92-73.
- Argentina
wins a shocking victory over the United States in the semi-finals
of men's basketball. They go on to beat Italy 84-69 in the
final.
- Windsurfer Gal
Fridman wins Israel
's
first-ever gold medal.
- Dominican athlete Felix Sanchez wont the first ever gold medal
for the Dominican
Republic
in the 400 m hurdles
event.
- German kayaker Birgit Fischer wins gold in the K-4 500 m and
silver in the K-2 500 m. In so doing, she became the first woman in
any sport to win gold medals at 6 different Olympics, the first
woman to win gold 24 years apart and the first person in Olympic
history to win two or more medals in five different Games.
- Swimmer Michael Phelps wins 8
medals (6 gold and 2 bronze), becoming the first athlete to win 8
medals in non boycotted Olympics.
- United States' gymnast Carly Patterson becomes only the second
American woman to win the all-around gold medal.
- Anchored by Brazil, South America had its best Olympics, with nine
Gold Medals.
Medal count
The top ten ranked NOCs at these Games are listed below.
| 1 |
|
36 |
39 |
27 |
102 |
| 2 |
|
32 |
17 |
14 |
63 |
| 3 |
|
27 |
27 |
38 |
92 |
| 4 |
|
17 |
16 |
16 |
49 |
| 5 |
|
16 |
9 |
12 |
37 |
| 6 |
|
13 |
16 |
20 |
49 |
| 7 |
|
11 |
9 |
13 |
33 |
| 8 |
|
10 |
11 |
11 |
32 |
| 9 |
|
9 |
12 |
9 |
30 |
| 10 |
|
9 |
9 |
12 |
30 |
Venues
Competition venues
Association football venues
Non-competition venues
Broadcast rights
- :
NBC, WNBC
, CNBC
, KNBC
, MSNBC,
- : Rede Globo, Rede Bandeirantes, Sportv, and ESPN
Brasil
- : Seven Network
- : TVRI, RCTI, SCTV, TPI, ANTV,
Indosiar, TV7,
Lativi, Trans TV.
Jakarta Television Cable: Kabel
Vision, Telkomvision, Indovision, IM2 Pay
TV, M2V Mobile TV. and Owner
Stations By ; Global Mediacom,
PT MNC Skyvision, PT Surya Citra Media Tbk, Grup
Salim, Grup Bakrie, and Para Group.
- : China Central
Television, Beijing
Television Station, Shanghai
Media Group, Tianjin
Television, Chongqing
Television, Fujian Television,
and Shenzhen Media Group
- : MediaCorp TV, MediaCorp TV12, Channel NewsAsia, SPH MediaWorks ; Channel i and Channel U, and StarHub TV
- : Radio Television
Brunei
- : ATV, TVB, Cable TV Hong Kong, NOW
TV, HKBN bbTV, Pay Vision, Star TV,
and Phoenix Television
- : Taiwan Television:TTV, TTV Family,
TTV Finance, TTV
Health, China
Television:CTV, CTV News Channel, CTV
MyLife, Chinese Television
System:CTS, CTS Education and Culture,
CTS Recreation, CTS News, Formosa TV:
FTV, FTV News,
Follow Me TV, Public Television Service:
PTS, Dimo TV, HiHD, Sanlih E-Television, Gala Television, Era Television, TVBS,
Chung T'ien Television,
Eastern Television, Videoland Television Network,
Unique Satellite TV, STAR TV, Taiwan Broadcasting System, and
HBO Asia
- :
NHK: NHK General TV, NHK Educational TV), NNN: Nippon TV
, JNN: TBS
TV
, MBS TV
, FNN: Fuji
TV
, ANN:
TV
Asahi
, TXN: TV TOKYO
, TOKYO
MX, and Open University
- :
Radio
Televisyen Malaysia
, Media Prima
Berhad, and Astro
- : Zee Network, STAR TV, and Sahara
One
- :
RAI

- :
ARD, ZDF
, and
DWTV
- : BBC
- : Nederlandse Omroep
Stichting
- : National
Broadcasting Network, ABS-CBN Broadcasting
Corporation, Associated Broadcasting
Company, GMA Network, ZOE Broadcasting Network, Radio Philippines Network,
Intercontinental
Broadcasting Corporation, and SkyCable
- : CBC
- : BRTN
- : TVN, UCTV
Legacy
To commemorate the games, a series of
Greek
high value euro collectors' coins were minted by the Mint of
Greece, in both silver and gold. The pieces depict landmarks in
Greece as well as ancient and modern sports on the obverse of the
coin. On the reverse, a common motive with the logo of the games,
circled by an olive branch representing the spirit of the
games.
Preparations to stage the Olympics led to a number of positive
developments for the city's infrastructure.
These improvements
included the establishment of Eleftherios
Venizelos International Airport
, a modern new international airport serving as
Greece's main aviation gateway; expansions to the Athens Metro system; the "Tram," a new
metropolitan tram (light rail) system system; the "Proastiakos," a new suburban railway system
linking the airport and suburban towns to the city of Athens; the
"Attiki Odos," a new toll motorway
encircling the city,; and the conversion of streets into
pedestrianized walkways in the historic center of Athens which link
several of the city's main tourist sites, including the Parthenon
and the Panathinaiko Stadium
(the site of the first modern Olympic Games in
1896). All of the above infrastructure is still in use
to this day, and there have been continued expansions and proposals
to expand Athens' metro, tram, suburban rail and motorway network,
the airport, as well as further plans to pedestrianize more
thoroughfares in the historic center of Athens.
In 2008 it was reported that almost all of the Olympic venues have
fallen into varying states of disrepair: according to those
reports, 21 of the 22 facilities built for the games have either
been left abandoned or are in a state of dereliction, with several
squatter camps having sprung up around
certain facilities, and a number of venues afflicted by vandalism,
graffiti or strewn with rubbish.. These claims, however, are
disputable and most likely inaccurate, as most of the facilities
used for the Athens Olympics are either in use or in the process of
being converted for post-Olympics use. The Greek Government has
created a corporation, Olympic Properties SA, which is overseeing
the post-Olympics management, development and conversion of these
facilities, some of which will be sold off (or have already been
sold off) to the private sector., while other facilities are still
in use just as they were during the Olympics, or have been
converted for commercial use or modified for other sports..
The annual cost to maintain the sites has been estimated at £500
million, a sum which has been politically controversial in Greece.,
though it should be noted that many of these facilities are now
under the control of domestic sporting clubs and organizations or
the private sector.
The table below delineates the current status of the Athens Olympic
facilities:
| Facility |
Olympics Use |
Current/Proposed Use |
Athens Olympic Stadium (OAKA) |
Opening & Closing Ceremonies, Track & Field,
Football |
Home pitch for Panathinaikos
FC, AEK FC (football; Greek Super League, UEFA Champions League), Greek national football team
(some matches), International football competitions; Track &
Field events (e.g. IAAF Athens Grand Prix), Concerts |
| Athens Olympic
Indoor Hall |
Basketball, Gymnastics |
Home court for Panathinaikos BC
and AEK BC (Greek
basketball league); Greek National Basketball
Team, International basketball competitions, Concerts |
| Athens
Olympic Aquatic Centre |
Swimming, Diving, Synchronized Swimming, Water Polo |
Domestic and international swimming meets, Public pool |
| Athens
Olympic Tennis Centre |
Tennis |
Domestic and international tennis matches |
| Athens
Olympic Velodrome |
Cycling |
Domestic and international cycling meets |
Peace and Friendship Stadium |
Volleyball |
Home court for Olympiacos BC
(basketball), Concerts, Conventions and trade shows |
Helliniko Olympic Indoor
Arena |
Basketball, Handball |
Home court for Panionios BC
(basketball), Conventions and trade shows |
| Hellinikon
Canoe/Kayak Slalom Centre |
Canoe/Kayak |
Turned over to a private consortium (J&P AVAX, GEP, Corfu
Waterparks and BIOTER), plans to convert it to a water park |
| Hellinikon
Olympic Hockey Centre |
Field Hockey |
Mini-football, will be part of new Hellinikon metropolitan park
complex |
| Hellinikon
Baseball Stadium |
Baseball |
Converted to football pitch, home field of Ethnikos Piraeus FC (Football; Greek second division) |
| Hellinikon
Softball Stadium |
Softball |
Concerts |
Agios Kosmas
Olympic Sailing Centre |
Sailing |
Turned over to the private sector (Seirios AE), will become
marina with 1,000+ yacht capacity and will be part of Athens'
revitalized waterfront |
Ano Liosia Olympic Hall |
Judo, Wrestling |
TV filming facility, Future home of the Hellenic Academy of
Culture and Hellenic Digital Archive |
|
Olympic Beach Volleyball Centre |
Beach Volleyball |
Concert and theater venue, plans to turn it into an
ultra-modern outdoor theater |
| Faliro
Sports Pavilion |
Handball, Taekwondo |
Converted to the Athens International Convention Center, hosts
concerts, conventions and trade shows |
Galatsi Olympic Hall |
Table Tennis, Rhythmic Gymnastics |
After 2004, was the home court of AEK BC
(basketball) before the team moved to the Athens Olympic Indoor
Hall. Turned over to the private sector (Acropol Haragionis AE and
Sonae Sierra SGPS S.A), being converted to a shopping mall and
retail/entertainment complex. |
Goudi Olympic Complex |
Badminton, Modern Pentathlon |
Now the site of the ultra-modern Badminton Theater, hosting
major theatrical productions |
Markopoulo
Olympic Equestrian Centre |
Equestrian |
Horse racing, Domestic and International Equestrian meets, Auto
racing (rallye) |
Markopoulo
Olympic Shooting Centre |
Shooting |
Converted to the official shooting range and training center of
the Hellenic Police. |
Nikaia Olympic Weightlifting
Hall |
Weightlifting |
Has
hosted fencing competitions in the years following the Olympics,
but has recently been turned over to the University
of Piraeus for use as an academic lecture and conference
center. |
| Parnitha
Olympic Mountain Bike Venue |
Mountain Biking |
Part
of the Parnitha National Park. In public use for biking and
hiking. |
Peristeri Olympic Boxing Hall |
Boxing |
Partially converted to a football pitch, also in use for
gymnastics competitions. |
Schinias Olympic Rowing and Canoeing
Centre |
Rowing and Canoeing |
One
of only three
FISA-approved training centers in the world, the others being
in Munich and
Seville . Hosts domestic and international rowing and
canoeing meets.. Part of the Schinias National Park, completely
reconstructed by the German company Hochtief. |
| Vouliagmeni Olympic
Centre |
Triathlon |
Temporary facility, not in existence presently. |
Kaftanzoglio Stadium |
Football |
Home pitch for Iraklis FC (football;
Greek Super League) and temporary home pitch for Apollon Kalamarias FC (football; Greek
second division). Also in use for track and field meets. Hosted the
2007 Greek football All-Star Game. |
Karaiskaki Stadium |
Football |
Home pitch for Olympiacos FC
(football; Greek Super League) and for the Greek National Football
team. Also used as a concert venue. |
Pampeloponnisiako Stadium |
Football |
Home pitch for Panahaiki FC (football;
Greek third division). Also used for
various track-and-field events, concerts, conventions, and friendly
matches of the Greek National Football Team. |
Pankritio Stadium |
Football |
Home pitch for OFI FC and Ergotelis FC (football; Greek Super League).
Hosted the 2005 Greek football All-Star game. Also home to various
track-and-field meets. |
Panthessaliko Stadium |
Football |
Home pitch for Niki Volou FC
(football; Greek third division).. Has also hosted concerts,
conventions and track-and-field meets.. Will also serve as the main
stadium for the 2013
Mediterranean Games.. |
Panathainaiko Stadium |
Marathon, Archery |
Site of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. One of Athens'
major tourist attractions, also used for occasional sporting and
concert events. |
| The Ancient Stadium at
Olympia |
Track and Field |
One of Greece's historic sites and largest tourist attractions,
open to the public to this day. |
| International Broadcast Centre (IBC) |
International Broadcast Centre |
Has been turned over to the private company Lambda Development
SA and has been converted to a shopping, retail, office and
entertainment complex known as the "Golden Hall." Will also become
home to the Hellenic Olympic Museum and the International Museum of
Classical Athletics. |
| Main Press Centre (MPC) |
Main Press Centre |
Has been converted to the new headquarters of the Greek
Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity, and the amphitheater
contained within has hosted numerous ceremonies and public
events.. |
| Olympic Village |
Housing |
2,292 apartments were sold to low-income individuals and today
the village is home to over 8,000 residents. |
|
See also
References
External links