The2004 Summer Olympics (Greek:Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004,romanized: Theriní Olympiakí Agónes 2004),[b] officially theGames of the XXVIII Olympiad (Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας,Agónes tis 28is Olympiádas), and officially branded asAthens 2004 (Αθήνα 2004), were an internationalmulti-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 inAthens, Greece.
The Games saw 10,625 athletes compete,[2][3] some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team officials from 201 countries,[2] with 301 medal events in 28 differentsports.[2] The 2004 Games marked the first time since the1996 Summer Olympics that all countries with aNational Olympic Committee were in attendance, and also marked the first time Athens hosted the Games since their first modern incarnation in1896 as well as the return of the Olympic games to its birthplace. Athens became the fourth city to host theSummer Olympic Games on two occasions (together withParis,London andLos Angeles). A new medal obverse was introduced at these Games, replacing the design byGiuseppe Cassioli that had been used since1928. The new design features thePanathenaic Stadium in Athens[4] rectifying the long-running mistake of using a depiction of the RomanColosseum rather than a Greek venue.[5]
The 2004 Olympic Games were hailed as "unforgettable dream games" by then-IOC PresidentJacques Rogge, and left Athens with a significantly improved infrastructure, including a new airport, ring road and subway system.[6] There has been debate (mostly in popular media) regarding the cost of the Games and their possible contribution to the 2010–18Greek government-debt crisis, although there islittle or no evidence supporting this claim. The 2004 Games were generally deemed to be a success, with the rising standard of competition amongst nations across the world. The final medal tally was led by theUnited States, followed byChina andRussia with host nationGreece in 15th place. Severalworld andOlympic records were also broken during these Games.
Athens was chosen as the host city during the 106th IOC Session held inLausanne,Switzerland on 5 September 1997. The Greek capital had lost its bid to organize the1996 Summer Olympics to the American city ofAtlanta nearly seven years before, during the 96th IOC Session in Tokyo, Japan on 18 September 1990. Under the direction ofGianna 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 the bid's appeal to human values, the history of the Games from ancient age and modern age and the emphasis that Athens is placed at the pivotal role that Greece and Athens could play in promoting the Modern Olympism and the Olympic Movement.[7] Unlike the 1996 bid that was seen arrogant when the city was bidding, the 2004 bid was lauded for its low scale, humility, honest and earnestness, its focused message, and a more real and detailed bid concept.[8]
During the unsuccessful 1996 bid, concerns and criticisms were raised – primarily regarding critical subjects about the city's infrastructural readiness, its air pollution, its budget and politicization of the Games' events and their preparations.[9] The subsequent successful organization of other events such as the1991 Mediterranean Games, the1994 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship,1994 World Fencing Championships and the successful1997 World Championships in Athletics, one month before the Olympic host city election was crucial in allaying lingering fears and concerns among the sporting community and some IOC members about the Greek ability to host international sporting events.[10] Another factor that contributed to the Greek capital's selection was a growing sentiment among some IOC members to restore some original values of the Olympics to the Modern Games, a component which they felt was lost during the 1996 Summer Olympics.[11]
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games cost theGovernment of Greece near €9 billion to stage.[13] The Athens 2004 Organizing Committee (ATHOC), responsible for the preparation and organisation of the Games, concluded its operations as a company in 2005 with a surplus of€130.6 million. The State's contribution to the total ATHOC budget was 8% of its expenditure against an originally anticipated 14%. The overall revenue of ATHOC, including income from tickets, sponsors, broadcasting rights, merchandise sales etc., totalled near €2.1 billion. The largest percentage of that income (38%) came from media rights. According to the cost-benefit evaluation of the impact of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games presented to the Greek Parliament in January 2013 by the Minister of Finance Mr.Giannis Stournaras, the overall net economic benefit for Greece was positive.[14]
The Greek Ministry of Finance reported in 2013 that the expenses of the Greek state for the Athens 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games, including both infrastructure and organizational costs, reached the amount of €8.5 billion. The same report further explains that €2 billion of this amount was covered by the revenue of the ATHOC (from tickets, sponsors, broadcasting rights, merchandise sales etc.) and that another €2 billion was directly invested in upgrading hospitals and preserving archaeological sites.Therefore, the net infrastructure costs related to the preparation of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games was €4.5 billion, substantially lower than the reported estimates,[15] and mainly included long-standing fixed asset investments in numerous municipal and transport infrastructures.
On the revenue side, the same report estimates that incremental tax revenues of approximately €3.5 billion arose from the increased activities caused by the Athens 2004 Olympic Games during the period 2000 to 2004. These tax revenues were paid directly to the Greek state specifically in the form of incremental social security contributions, income taxes and VAT tax paid by all the companies, professionals, and service providers that were directly involved with the Olympic Games. Moreover, it is reported that the Athens 2004 Olympic Games have had a great economic growth impact on the Greek economy, in the words of the Greek Minister of Finance, is that "as a result from the cost-benefit analysis, we reach the conclusion that there has been a net economic benefit from the Olympic Games".
Cost per sporting event for Athens 2004 was US$9.8 million. This compares with US$14.9 million for Rio 2016, US$49.5 million for London 2012, and US$22.5 million for Beijing 2008. Average cost per event for the Summer Games since 1960 is US$19.9 million.
Cost per athlete for Athens 2004 was US$0.3 million. This compares with US$0.4 million for Rio 2016, US$1.4 million for London 2012, and US$0.6 million for Beijing 2008. Average cost per athlete for the Summer Games since 1960 is US$0.6 million.
Cost overrun for Athens 2004 was 49%, measured in real terms from the bid to host the Games. This compares with 51% for Rio 2016 and 76% for London 2012. Average cost overrun for the Summer Games since 1960 is 176%.
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 architectSantiago Calatrava. The same architect also designed theVelodrome and other facilities.
Infrastructure, such as thetram line linking venues in southern Athens with the city centre, and numerous venues were considerably behind schedule just two months before the start of 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 theAthens Olympic Sports Complex (OAKA), and the sports complexes in Faliro and Helliniko.
Late July and early August witnessed theAthens Tram become operational, and this system provided additional connections to those already existing between Athens city centre and its waterfront communities along theSaronic Gulf. These communities included the port city ofPiraeus, 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-seatHelliniko Olympic Basketball Arena, and the softball and baseball stadia), and theFaliro Coastal Zone Olympic Complex (site of the taekwondo, handball, indoor volleyball, and beach volleyball venues, as well as the newly reconstructedKaraiskaki Stadium for football). The upgrades to the Athens Ring Road were also delivered just in time, as were the expressway upgrades connecting central Athens with peripheral areas such as Markopoulo (site of the shooting and equestrian venues), the newly constructedEleftherios 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 theAthens Metro were also completed, and the new lines became operational by mid-summer.
At least 14 people died during the work on the facilities. Most of these people were not from Greece.[17]
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.
The lighting ceremony of theOlympic flame took place on 25 March 2004 inAncient Olympia. For the first time ever, the flame travelled around the world in arelay to various Summer Olympic host cities (past and future) and other large cities, before returning to Greece.
Mascots have been a tradition at the Olympic Games since the1968 Winter Olympics inGrenoble, France. The 2004 Olympics had two official mascots:Athena andPhevos (Greek pronunciation: Athina and Fivos). The sister and brother were named afterAthena, the goddess of wisdom, strategy andPhoebus, the god of light and music, respectively. They were inspired by the ancientdaidala, which were toy dolls that also had religious connotations.
Athens Olympic Broadcasting served as the host broadcaster for the Games, providing over 35,000 hours of coverage to over 300 television channels around the world. Local rights to the Games were held byERT which devoted their three channels (ET1,NET andET3) to more than 24 hours of Olympic coverage.[18]
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.[19] The International Olympic Committee forbade Olympic athletes, as well as coaches, support personnel and other officials, from setting up specializedweblogs 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.[20]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 shown on television 24 hours a day, on one network or another.
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 600servers, 2,000printers, 23,000 fixed-line telephone devices, 9,000 mobile phones, 12,000TETRA devices, 16,000 TV and video devices and 17 Video Walls interconnected by more than 6,000 kilometers of cabling (bothoptical fiber andtwisted pair).
This infrastructure was created and maintained to serve directly more than 150,000 ATHOC Staff, Volunteers, Olympic family members (IOC,NOCs, 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. The Media Center was located inside theZappeion which is a Greek national exhibition center.
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 opening ceremony of the games, directed by choreographerDimitris Papaioannou and produced byJack Morton Worldwide, led by project directorDavid Zolkwer, was held on 13 August 2004. It began with a twenty-eight (the number of the Olympiads up to then) second countdown paced by the sounds of an amplified heartbeat.[21] 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 toaethereal music byManos Hatzidakis and then acentaur appeared, followed by a gigantic head of acycladic 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 godEros was hovering above them. There followed a very colourful float parade chronicling Greek history from the ancientMinoan civilization to modern times.
AlthoughNBC in the United States presented the entire opening ceremony from start to finish, a topless Minoan priestess was shown only briefly, the breasts having beenpixelated digitally in order to avoid controversy (as the "Nipplegate" incident was still fresh in viewer's minds at the time) and potential fines by theFederal Communications Commission. 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. Overall, NBC's coverage of the Olympics has been praised, and the company was awarded with 6Emmy Awards for its coverage of the Games and technical production.[22][23] Additionally, NBC televised all 28 sports in the 2004 Games, becoming the first broadcaster to do so.[24]
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 toGreek alphabet making thePhilippines,Finland,Fiji,Chile, andHong Kong the last five 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 fromAfghanistan which had been absent from the Olympics and had female competitors for the first time. TheIraqi delegation also stirred emotions. Also recognized was the symbolic unified march of athletes fromNorth Korea andSouth Korea under theKoreanUnification Flag.[c] The country ofKiribati made its debut appearance at these Games andEast Timor made a debut under its own flag. After the Parade of Nations, during which the DutchDJ Tiësto provided the music, theIcelandic singerBjörk performed the song "Oceania", written specially for the event by her and the poetSjón.
The opening ceremony culminated in the lighting of the Olympic cauldron by 1996 gold medalist windsurferNikolaos Kaklamanakis. Many key moments in the ceremony, including the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron, featured music composed and arranged by New Zealand composerJohn Psathas.[25] 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 above the stadium. Following this, a fireworks display commenced to conclude the ceremony.
AllNational Olympic Committees (NOCs) exceptDjibouti participated in the Athens Games. Two new NOCs had been created since 2000 and made their debut at these Games (Kiribati andEast Timor). Therefore, with the return ofAfghanistan (who had been banned from the2000 Summer Olympics), the number of participating nations increased from 199 to 201. Additionally, Yugoslavia had changed its name the year prior toSerbia and Montenegro and its code from YUG to SCG;[26] the country would dissolve two years later,[27][28] making this its only Olympics appearance under the new moniker.Georgia's new flag made its debut at the Olympics by unfurling it at the opening ceremony on 13 August. It replaces the post-Soviet flag, which had been used sinceLillehammer 1994.
In the table below, the number in parentheses indicates the number of participants contributed by each NOC.
The sports featured at the 2004 Summer Olympics are listed below. Officially there were 301 events in 28 sports as swimming, diving, synchronised swimming and water polo are classified by the IOC as disciplines within the sport ofaquatics, andwheelchair racing was a demonstration sport. For the first time, the wrestling category featured women's wrestling and in the fencing competition women competed in thesabre. AmericanKristin Heaston, who led off the qualifying round of women's shot put became the first woman to compete at the ancient site of Olympia.
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. The2004 Summer Paralympics were also held in Athens, from 17 to 28 September.
In the men's football group stage game where Serbia and Montenegro faced Tunisia, a penalty taken by Tunisia had to be retaken five times.
Greek sprintersKonstantinos Kenteris andEkaterini Thanou withdraw from the games after allegedly staging a motorcycle accident in order to avoid a drug test.
The shot put event was held in ancientOlympia, site of theancient Olympic Games (this was the very first time women athletes competed in Ancient Olympia), while the archery competition and the men's and women's marathon finish were held in thePanathenaic Stadium, in which the 1896 Games were held.[31]
Women's wrestling and women's sabre made their Olympic debut at the 2004 Games.[31]
With 6 gold, 6 silver, and 4 bronze medals, Greece had its best medal tally in over 100 years (since hosting the 1896 Olympics), continuing the nation's sporting success after winningEuro 2004 in July.
Australia became the first country in Olympic history to win more gold medals (17) immediately after hosting the Olympics in Sydney 2000 where they won 16 gold medals.
World record holder and strong favouritePaula Radcliffe of Britain, crashed out of the women'smarathon in spectacular fashion, leaving Japan'sMizuki Noguchi to win the gold.
Kenyan runners swept the medals in the 3000 meters steeple chase.[31]
The Olympics sawAfghanistan's first return to the Games since 1996 (it was banned due to theTaliban's extremist attitudes towards women, but was reinstated in 2002).
GermankayakerBirgit Fischer won 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.
SwimmerMichael Phelps became the first athlete to win 8 medals (6 gold and 2 bronze) in non-boycotted Olympics.[31]
United States' gymnastCarly Patterson became the second American woman to win the all-around gold medal, and the first American woman to win the all-around competition at a non-boycotted Olympic Games.
Chilean Tennis playersNicolás Massu andFernando Gonzalez won the gold medal in the Doubles Competition, while Massu won the gold and Gonzalez the bronze on the Singles competition. These were Chile's first-ever gold medals. With these victories, Massú became the thirteenth Tennis player (and the eighth male player) in history to have won the gold medal in both the Singles and Doubles Competition during the same Olympic Games. He also became the second Tennis player, and first male player, to have achieved this feat in modern Olympic Tennis (1988 onwards). The first player to do so wasVenus Williams in2000.[31]
Usain Bolt ofJamaica, in his first career Olympic Games, finished fifth in his 200m dash heat in 21.05 seconds, failing to qualify for the second round. In the years to come, he would go on to become the world's fastest man, with multiple world records in the 100m, 200m and4 × 100 m and a medal count of over 29 global medals, including 8 Olympic gold medals and 11 World Championships gold medals.
The Games were concluded on 29 August 2004. The closing ceremony was held at theAthens 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, 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 Athens Games between the mayor of Athens and the mayor of Beijing, host city of the next Olympics. 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 theTwelve Girls Band) sangMo Li Hua (Jasmine Flower) accompanied by a ribbon dancer, then some male dancers did a routine with tai chi and acrobatics, followed by dancers from the Peking Opera and finally, a little Chinese girlChen Tianjia singing a reprise ofMo Li Hua and concluded the presentation by saying "Welcome to Beijing!"
The medal ceremony for the last event of the Olympics, themen's marathon, was conducted, withStefano Baldini from Italy as the winner. The bronze medal winner,Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima of Brazil, was simultaneously announced as a recipient of thePierre de Coubertin Medal for his bravery in finishing the race despite being attacked by a rogue spectator while leading with 7 km to go.
A flag-bearer from each nation's delegation then entered along the stage, followed by the competitorsen masse on the floor. All of them were led byPyrros Dimas (weightlifter) and Liu Xiang (hurdler).
Short speeches were presented byGianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, President of the Organising Committee, and by President Dr.Jacques Rogge of theIOC, in which he described the Athens Olympics as "unforgettable, dream Games".[6]
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 predecessorJuan Antonio Samaranch, who used to always say 'these were the best ever games'.[6] Dr. Rogge had describedSalt Lake City 2002 as "superb games" and in turn would continue after Athens 2004 and describeTurin 2006 as "truly magnificent games."
Army Maj. Zhanbo Jia from China (center) took the gold medal in the Men's 50m Three-Position Rifle, Michael Anti from the United States (left) took the Silver and Christian Planer (right) from Austria took the Bronze
These are the top ten nations that won medals in the 2004 Games.
To commemorate the 2004 Olympics, a series ofGreek 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 motif 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 ofEleftherios Venizelos International Airport, a modern new international airport serving as Greece's main aviation gateway;[33] expansions to theAthens Metro[34] system; the "Tram", a new metropolitan tram (light rail) system[35] 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,[36] 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 theParthenon and thePanathenaic Stadium (the site of thefirst modern Olympic Games in 1896).[37][38] 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.
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,[39][40] while some other facilities are still in use, or have been converted for commercial use or modified for other sports.[41]
As of 2012 many conversion schemes have stalled owing to theGreek government-debt crisis, though many of these facilities are now under the control of domestic sporting clubs and organizations or the private sector.[citation needed]
Ongoing maintenance costs for the facilities were problematic due to theGreek government-debt crisis, leading to facilities falling into disrepair, and, according to reports during the crisis period, many Greek Olympians at the time chose to train in Cyprus instead, owing to its then superior facilities.[42]
The legacy of the facilities is also debated: although many facilities had plans for post-games utilisation, many of these plans never materialised, while questions remain about whether the initially limited post-games usage of certain facilities is outweighed by the significant initial expenditure on the facilities, alongside the ongoing maintenance costs[43] (such arguments were mostly presented during the country's debt crisis, which had affected many aspects of its functions[44]).
The table below delineates the current status of the Athens Olympic facilities:
Domestic and international tennis matches, training courts open to the public and home of the Athens Tennis Academy, currently the best-kept facility in the complex[61][62]
Turned over to a private consortium (J&P AVAX, GEP, Corfu Waterparks and BIOTER). Plans to convert it to a water park never materialised,[67][68] and as of 2014 it sits abandoned.[69]
Originally planned to be part of new Hellinikon metropolitan park complex, but these plans never materialised.[70] As of 2017, abandoned, and with damaged turf.[71][circular reference][72]
Currently out of use, turned over to the private sector (Seirios AE), will become marina with 1,000+ yacht capacity[74] and will be part of Athens' revitalized waterfront[75]
Concert and theater venue, it hosted Helena Paparizou's concert on 13 August 2005 to celebrate the first anniversary of the Olympic Games.[78] Plans to turn it into an ultra-modern outdoor theatre never materialised, and as of 2024, the facility stands abandoned and vandalised.[60][79]
After 2004, was the home court ofAEK 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.[83]
Has hosted fencing competitions in the years following the Olympics,[60] but has recently been turned over to theUniversity of Piraeus for use as an academic lecture and conference center.[77][91]
One of only threeFISA-approved training centers in the world, the others being inMunich andSeville.[74] Hosts mainly domestic rowing and canoeing meetings.[94][95] Part of the Schinias National Park, completely reconstructed by the German companyHochtief.[60]
Home pitch forIraklis FC (football; Greek Super League)[96] and temporary home pitch forApollon Kalamarias FC (football; Greek second division).[97] Also in use for track and field meets.[98] Hosted the 2007 Greek football All-Star Game.
Home pitch forPanahaiki FC (football;Greek third division).[100] Also used for various track-and-field events, concerts, conventions, and friendly matches of the Greece National Football Team.[60]
Home pitch forOFI FC[101][102] andErgotelis FC (football; Greek Super League).[102][103] Hosted the 2005 Greek football All-Star game. Also home to various track-and-field meets.[60]
Site of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. One of Athens' major tourist attractions, also used for occasional sporting and concert events.[104][105][106][107]
Half of it (the section frontingKifissias Avenue) has been turned over to the private company Lambda Development SA and has been converted to a luxury shopping, retail, office and entertainment complex known as the "Golden Hall."[109] The remaining section, facing the Olympic Stadium itself, will become home to the Hellenic Olympic Museum and the International Museum of Classical Athletics.[60][77][110]
Olympic Athletes' Village
Housing
2,292 apartments were sold to low-income individuals and today the village is home to over 8,000 residents.[60] Several communal installations however are abandoned and heavily vandalised. Only half of the apartments were ever sold, and significantly fewer schools ended up being built than initially promised, thereby resulting in residents facing significant journeys to take their children to schools. Most of the shops to serve the village's residents closed within months of the Olympics finishing, and concerns were raised over sewage, damp and building material quality.[111]
Olympic Press Village
Housing
It has been turned over to the private sector and namely Lamda Developments S.A. (the same company which owns and runs the Mall of Athens and the Golden Hall), and has been converted to luxury flats.
Arguments about possible effects on Greece's debt crisis
There have been arguments (mostly in popular media) that the cost of the 2004 Athens Summer Games was a contributor to theGreek government-debt crisis that started in 2010, while a lot of focus has been on the use of the facilities after the Games.[112][failed verification] This argument contradicts the fact that Greece's Debt to GDP ratio was essentially not affected until the2008 world financial crisis,[113] while according to Olympic officials and some financial experts, the cost of the Games, which was spread over years of preparation, was insignificant compared to Greece's GDP and public debt.[114]
Furthermore, the aforementioned arguments do not even take into account the profits (direct and indirect) generated by the Games, whichmay well have surpassed the above costs. Finally, popular arguments about "rotting" of many of the facilities, appear to ignore the actualutilization of many of these structures. On the other hand, the general government's deficit increase between 2000 and 2004 from 4.1% to 8.8% was a result of multiple factors and, until 2008, the effect of Greece's chronic - and widely fluctuating - deficits was counterbalanced by high GDP growth rates, leaving the Debt to GDP ratio essentially unaffected - see chart).
^The 2004 Olympic Games emblem is a wreath made from an olive tree branch, or kotinos. The emblem is a reference to the ancient Olympic Games, where the kotinos was the official award of Olympic champions. In addition, the olive was the sacred tree of Athens. The colours of the emblem symbolise the shades of white and blue found in the Greek countryside; Down below the word "ATHENS 2004" was put above the Olympic ring.
^The national teams ofNorth Korea andSouth Korea competed separately in the Olympic events, even though they marched together as aunified Korean team in the opening ceremony. Later, inBeijing, the two Koreas marched separately. InPyeongchang, these countries marched and competed together as host, bearing the nameUnited Korean.
^Figures in table reflect all official changes in medal standings.
^Rowbottom, Mike (6 September 1997)."Athens wins 2004 Olympics".The Independent. London.Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved25 May 2010.
^"Madonna.com > Home". Archived from the original on 19 September 2008. Retrieved28 September 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^"event details". Archived from the original on 28 September 2008. Retrieved28 September 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
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