2004 Summer Olympics
Encyclopedia
International
----International mostly means something that involves more than one country. The term international as a word means involvement of, interaction between or encompassing more than one nation, or generally beyond national boundaries...
multi-sport event
Multi-sport event
A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports between organized teams of athletes from nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of international significance was the modern Olympic Games.Many...
held in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
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
Olympic sports
Olympic sports, as defined by the International Olympic Committee, are all the sports contested in the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. The Summer Olympics, as of 2012, will include 26 sports, with two additionall sports due to be added in 2016...
. Athens 2004 marked the first time since the 1996 Summer Olympics
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
that all countries with a National Olympic Committee
National Olympic Committee
National Olympic Committees are the national constituents of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, they are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games...
were in attendance. It was also the first time since 1896 (other than the since-downgraded 1906 Intercalated Games) that the Olympics were held in Greece.
A new medal obverse was introduced at these Games, replacing the design by Giuseppe Cassioli
Giuseppe Cassioli
Giuseppe Cassioli was an Italian painter and sculptor most famous for his Summer Olympic Games medal design.-Biography:...
that had been used since the 1928 Games
1928 Summer Olympics
The 1928 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Amsterdam had bid for the 1920 and 1924 Olympic Games, but had to give way to war-victim Antwerp, Belgium, and Pierre de...
. This rectified the long lasting mistake of using a depiction of the Roman
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
Colosseum rather than a Greek venue. The new design features the Panathinaiko Stadium
Panathinaiko Stadium
The Panathinaiko or Panathenaic Stadium , also known as the Kallimarmaro , is an athletic stadium in Athens that hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896...
.
Host city selection
AthensAthens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
was chosen as the host city during the 106th IOC Session held in Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
on September 5, 1997. Athens had lost its bid to organize the 1996 Summer Olympics
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
to Atlanta nearly seven years before, on September 18, 1990, during the 96th IOC Session in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. Under the direction of Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki
Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki
Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki is a Greek business woman. She is best known for being the president of the bidding and organizing committee for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece...
, 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
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
history and the emphasis that it placed on the pivotal role that Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
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
1997 World Championships in Athletics
The 6th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece between August 1 and August 10, 1997. In this event participated 1882 athletes from 198 participant nations...
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
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
. 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
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in the 5th and final vote. Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, and Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, 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
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
, Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, San Juan
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
, Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
, and Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
.
| 2004 Host City Election — ballot results | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City | Country (NOC) | Round 1 | Run-off | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 |
| Athens Athens Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state... |
 Greece |
32 | — | 38 | 52 | 66 |
| Rome Rome Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half... |
 Italy |
23 | — | 28 | 35 | 41 |
| Cape Town Cape Town Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality... |
 South Africa |
16 | 62 | 22 | 20 | — |
| Stockholm Stockholm Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area... |
 Sweden |
20 | — | 19 | — | — |
| Buenos Aires Buenos Aires Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent... |
 Argentina |
16 | 44 | — | — | — |
Costs
In June 2004, the BBC reported that the costs of hosting Olympic Games were close to €Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
10 billion. On November 13, 2004, the Greek embassy estimated the costs of hosting the Olympics at €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
8.954 billion (about $
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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
NBC Universal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is a media and entertainment company engaged in the production and marketing of entertainment, news, and information products and services to a global customer base...
paid the IOC $793 million for U.S. broadcast rights, the most paid by any country. NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
broadcast over 1200 hours of coverage during the games, triple what was broadcast in the U.S. four years earlier
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
. Between all the NBC Universal networks (NBC, CNBC
CNBC
CNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...
, MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
, Bravo, USA Network
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
& Telemundo
Telemundo
Telemundo is an American television network that broadcasts in Spanish. The network is the second-largest Spanish-language content producer in the world, and the second-largest Spanish-language network in the United States, behind Univision....
) the games were on television 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Greek Embassy stated that the cost of the games was estimated to be 7.2 billion euros.
Concerns about terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
elevated following the September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
. 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
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
also provided minor
support, after Athens asked for co-operation.
When the International Olympic Committee
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
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
Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki
Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki is a Greek business woman. She is best known for being the president of the bidding and organizing committee for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece...
. 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.
Construction
Santiago Calatrava
Santiago Calatrava Valls is a Spanish architect, sculptor and structural engineer whose principal office is in Zürich, Switzerland. Classed now among the elite designers of the world, he has offices in Zürich, Paris, Valencia, and New York City....
. The same architect also designed the Velodrome and other facilities.
Infrastructure, such as the tram line
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
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
Athens Olympic Sports Complex
The Olympic Athletic Center of Athens "Spiros Louis" or OACA , is a sport facilities complex located at Marousi, northeast Athens, Greece...
(OAKA), and the sports complexes in Faliro and Helliniko.
Athens Tram
The Athens Tram is public tram network system serving Athens. It is constructed, owned and operated by Tram S.A. , subsidiary company of Attiko Metro S.A. ....
and Light Rail become operational, and these two systems provided additional connections to those already existing between Athens and its waterfront communities along the Saronic Gulf
Saronic Gulf
The Saronic Gulf or Gulf of Aegina in Greece forms part of the Aegean Sea and defines the eastern side of the isthmus of Corinth. It is the eastern terminus of the Corinth Canal, which cuts across the isthmus.-Geography:The gulf includes the islands of; Aegina, Salamis, and Poros along with...
. These communities included the port city of Piraeus
Piraeus
Piraeus is a city in the region of Attica, Greece. Piraeus is located within the Athens Urban Area, 12 km southwest from its city center , and lies along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf....
, 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
Helliniko Olympic Arena
The Helliniko Olympic Indoor Arena is a multi-use sports indoor arena that is located in Ellinikon, Athens, Greece. It is approximately 10 miles from the Athens Olympic Village. It was built on the site of the former Ellinikon International Airport for the 2004 Summer Olympics and the 2004 Summer...
, and the softball and baseball stadia), and the Faliro Coastal Zone Olympic Complex
Faliro Coastal Zone Olympic Complex
The Faliro Coastal Zone Olympic Sports Complex is a complex in the coastal zone of Athens, Greece. It consists of two indoor arenas and a beach volleyball stadium, and it hosted Handball, Taekwondo, and volleyball events at the 2004 Summer Olympics...
(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
Athens Metro
The Athens Metro is an underground rapid transit system serving Athens, the capital city of Greece. It was constructed and owned by Attiko Metro S.A. and operated until 2011 by Attiko Metro Etaireia Leitourgias S.A....
were also completed, and the new lines became operational by mid-summer.
EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
released Unity, the official pop album
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
of the Athens Olympics, in the leadup to the Olympics. It features contributions from Sting, Lenny Kravitz
Lenny Kravitz
Leonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and arranger, whose "retro" style incorporates elements of rock, soul, R&B, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk and ballads...
, Moby
Moby
Richard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early...
, Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child was an American R&B girl group whose final line-up comprised lead singer Beyoncé Knowles alongside Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Formed in 1997 in Houston, Texas, Destiny's Child members began their musical endeavors in their pre-teens under the name Girl's Tyme...
, and Avril Lavigne
Avril Lavigne
Avril Ramona Lavigne is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She was born in Belleville, Ontario, but spent most of her youth in the small town of Napanee. By the age of 15, she had appeared on stage with Shania Twain; by 16, she had signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records worth more...
. EMI has pledged to donate US$180,000 from the album to UNICEF's
United Nations Children's Fund
United Nations Children's Fund was created by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 1946, to provide emergency food and healthcare to children in countries that had been devastated by World War II...
HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
/AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
program in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
.
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
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
over wage disputes. They had been asking for a significant raise for the period covering the event being staged. Paramedic
Paramedic
A paramedic is a healthcare professional that works in emergency medical situations. Paramedics provide advanced levels of care for medical emergencies and trauma. The majority of paramedics are based in the field in ambulances, emergency response vehicles, or in specialist mobile units such as...
s and ambulance
Ambulance
An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...
drivers also protested. They claimed to have the right to the same Olympic bonuses promised to their security force counterparts.
Torch relay
Olympic Flame
The Olympic Flame or Olympic Torch is a symbol of the Olympic Games. Commemorating the theft of fire from the Greek god Zeus by Prometheus, its origins lie in ancient Greece, where a fire was kept burning throughout the celebration of the ancient Olympics. The fire was reintroduced at the 1928...
took place on March 25 in Ancient Olympia
Olympia, Greece
Olympia , a sanctuary of ancient Greece in Elis, is known for having been the site of the Olympic Games in classical times, comparable in importance to the Pythian Games held in Delphi. Both games were held every Olympiad , the Olympic Games dating back possibly further than 776 BC...
. For the first time ever, the flame travelled around the world in a relay
2004 Olympic Torch Relay
The 2004 Summer Olympics Torch Relay took the Olympic flame across every habitable continent, returning to Athens, Greece. Every city which had hosted the Summer Olympics was revisited by the torch, as well as several other cities chosen for their international importance.The relay was the first...
to former Olympic cities and other large cities, before returning to Greece.
Mascots
1968 Winter Olympics
The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1968 in Grenoble, France and opened on 6 February. Thirty-seven countries participated...
in Grenoble
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
, France. The Athens games had two official mascots: Athiná and Phévos . The sister and brother were named after Athena, the goddess of wisdom, strategy and war
Athena
In Greek mythology, Athena, Athenê, or Athene , also referred to as Pallas Athena/Athene , is the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, warfare, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, justice, and skill. Minerva, Athena's Roman incarnation, embodies similar attributes. Athena is...
, and Phoebus, the god of light and music, respectively. They were inspired by the ancient daidala
Daidala
Daidala is a Greek festival of reconciliation that was held every four years in honor of Hera at Plataea in Boeotia. Every fourteen cycles a Great Daidala was celebrated all over Boeotia. In the great festival, a wooden statue, referred to as a daidala, was led in procession in a wagon and then...
, 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 InternetInternet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, provided that they restricted this service geographically, to protect broadcasting contracts in other areas. For instance, the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
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
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
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
Server (computing)
In the context of client-server architecture, a server is a computer program running to serve the requests of other programs, the "clients". Thus, the "server" performs some computational task on behalf of "clients"...
, 2,000 printers
Computer printer
In computing, a printer is a peripheral which produces a text or graphics of documents stored in electronic form, usually on physical print media such as paper or transparencies. Many printers are primarily used as local peripherals, and are attached by a printer cable or, in most new printers, a...
, 23,000 fixed-line telephone devices, 9,000 mobile phones, 12,000 TETRA
Tetra
thumb|right|250px|Pristella tetra — [[Pristella maxillaris]].thumb|right|250px|Golden Pristella tetra, a [[morph |morph]] of [[Pristella maxillaris]].thumb|right|250px|[[Silvertip tetra]] — Hasemania nana....
devices, 16,000 TV and video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
devices and 17 Video Walls interconnected by more than 6,000 kilometers of cabling (both optical fiber
Optical fiber
An optical fiber is a flexible, transparent fiber made of a pure glass not much wider than a human hair. It functions as a waveguide, or "light pipe", to transmit light between the two ends of the fiber. The field of applied science and engineering concerned with the design and application of...
and twisted pair
Twisted pair
Twisted pair cabling is a type of wiring in which two conductors are twisted together for the purposes of canceling out electromagnetic interference from external sources; for instance, electromagnetic radiation from unshielded twisted pair cables, and crosstalk between neighboring pairs...
).
This infrastructure was created and maintained to serve directly more than 150,000 ATHOC Staff, Volunteers, Olympic family members (IOC, NOCs
National Olympic Committee
National Olympic Committees are the national constituents of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, they are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games...
, 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 the Zappeion
Zappeion
The Zappeion is a building in the National Gardens of Athens in the heart of Athens, Greece. It is generally used for meetings and ceremonies, both official and private.-Constructing the Zappeion:...
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.
Plastic Explosives Discovery
An operation which was carried out by the Greek National Intelligence Services, in collaboration with a foreign Intelligence Service, discovered a large amount of plastic explosives a few days prior to the beginning of the Olympics Games.Uncorfirmed sources, claim that the operation was initiated after a report about a specific group of people, which was filed by Panagiotis A. Xenos-Kokoletsis, the nephew of the former Rear Admiral and General Administrator of Security for the Hellenic Navy
Hellenic Navy
The Hellenic Navy is the naval force of Greece, part of the Greek Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy has its roots in the naval forces of various Aegean Islands, which fought in the Greek War of Independence...
, Andreas-Vasilios Xenos-Kokoletsis and cousin of the former Police Major General-Deputy Commissioner, Anastasios Alexopoulos.
As the Olympic Games were absolutely safe and the group was completely dismantled, it was decided that the incident will remain on the archives of the Hellenic Police, in order to avoid creating a situation of panic and insecurity that would probably end up in tickets mass cancelations.
Opening Ceremony
The widely praised Opening Ceremony Directed by avant garde choreographer Dimitris Papaioannou
Dimitris Papaioannou
Dimitris Papaioannou is a Greek avant-garde stage director, choreographer and visual artist who drew international media attention and acclaim with his creative direction of the Opening Ceremony of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games...
and Produced by Jack Morton Worldwide led by Project Director David Zolkwer was held on August 13, 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. 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
Centaur
In Greek mythology, a centaur or hippocentaur is a member of a composite race of creatures, part human and part horse...
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
Minoan civilization
The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age civilization that arose on the island of Crete and flourished from approximately the 27th century BC to the 15th century BC. It was rediscovered at the beginning of the 20th century through the work of the British archaeologist Arthur Evans...
to modern times.
Although NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
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
Pixelation
In computer graphics, pixelation is an effect caused by displaying a bitmap or a section of a bitmap at such a large size that individual pixels, small single-colored square display elements that comprise the bitmap, are visible to the eye...
digitally in order to avoid controversy (as the "Nipplegate"
Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy
Super Bowl XXXVIII, which was broadcast live on February 1, 2004 from Houston, Texas on the CBS television network in the United States, was noted for a controversial halftime show in which Janet Jackson's breast, adorned with a nipple shield, was exposed by Justin Timberlake for about half a...
incident was still fresh in viewer's minds at the time) and potential fines by the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
. 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
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
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
Greek alphabet
The Greek alphabet is the script that has been used to write the Greek language since at least 730 BC . The alphabet in its classical and modern form consists of 24 letters ordered in sequence from alpha to omega...
making Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, and Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
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
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
which had been absent from the Olympics and had female competitors for the first time. The Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i delegation also stirred emotions. Also recognized was the symbolic unified march of athletes from North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
and South Korea under the Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
n Unification Flag
Unification Flag
The Unification Flag is a flag designed to represent all of Korea when both North and South Korea participate in sporting events. The flag was first used in 1991 when the two countries competed as a single team in the 41st World Table Tennis Championship in Chiba, Japan and the 8th World Youth...
. The country of Kiribati
Kiribati
Kiribati , officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. The permanent population exceeds just over 100,000 , and is composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island, dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometres, straddling the...
made a debut at these games and East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
made a debut under its own flag. After the Parade of Nations, during which the Dutch DJ Tiësto
Tiësto
Tijs Michiel Verwest, , known as Tiësto , is a Dutch musician, DJ and record producer of electronic dance music. Although he has used many aliases in the past, he is best known for his work as DJ Tiësto...
provided the music, the Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
ic singer Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
performed the song Oceania
Oceania (song)
"Oceania" is a song by Icelandic singer Björk. It was formerly planned to be the first single release from Björk's Medúlla album. Later it was just released as a promo. It was written for the 2004 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony, where she performed immediately following the Parade of Nations...
, written specially for the event by her and the poet Sjón
Sjón
Sigurjón Birgir Sigurðsson , known as Sjón , is an internationally known Icelandic author and poet. His pen name is formed from his given name , and means 'Sight'....
.
The Opening Ceremony culminated in the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron by 1996 Gold Medalist Windsurfer Nikolaos Kaklamanakis
Nikolaos Kaklamanakis
Nikolaos "Nikos" Kaklamanakis is the Greek Gold-medal winner who lit the Olympic torch in the opening ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens....
. Many key moments in the ceremony, including the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron, featured music composed and arranged by John Psathas
John Psathas
John Psathas is a New Zealand composer, son of Greek immigrant parents.He has works in the repertoire of such high profile musicians as Evelyn Glennie, Michael Houstoun, Michael Brecker and the New Juilliard Ensemble, and is one of New Zealand's most frequently performed composers...
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
Israel at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Israel competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.Israel won its first ever gold medal at these Games.-Athletics:Men's Pole Vault:* Aleksander AverbukhMen's Marathon:* Haile Satayin – 2:17.25...
windsurfer Gal Fridman
Gal Fridman
Gal Fridman is an Israeli windsurfer and Olympic gold medalist.He was born in Karkur, Israel, and lives in nearby kibbutz Sdot Yam.Fridman won a bronze medal in the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics, and a gold medal in the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics...
. Following this, the stadium found itself at the centre of a rousing fireworks spectacular.
Participating NOCs
National Olympic Committee
National Olympic Committees are the national constituents of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, they are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games...
s (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
Kiribati at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Kiribati competed in the Summer Olympic Games for the first time at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The country sent three representatives to the Games...
, and Timor-Leste
Timor-Leste at the 2004 Summer Olympics
The island nation of East Timor first formally participated in the Olympic Games at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece...
), therefore along with the re-appearance of Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
(missing the 2000 Summer Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
) the total number of participating nations increased from 199 to 202. Also since 2000, Yugoslavia had changed its name to Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro was a country in southeastern Europe, formed from two former republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia : Serbia and Montenegro. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, it was established in 1992 as a federation called the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
and its code from YUG to SCG. The number in parentheses indicates the number of participants that NOC contributed.
(host)
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 HeastonKristin Heaston
Kristin L. Heaston is a female shot putter from the United States.Heaston was a participant in the 2008 Olympic Games where she placed 23rd in the qualifying round with a throw of 17.34m...
, 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
Yumileidi Cumbá
Yumileidi Cumbá Jay is a Cuban shot putter.Her greatest season was 2004, when she won an Olympic gold medal and achieved a new personal best throw....
became the first woman to win a gold medal there.
The demonstration sport of wheelchair racing was a joint Olympic/Paralympic
Paralympic Games
The Paralympic Games are a major international multi-sport event where athletes with a physical disability compete; this includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and Cerebral Palsy. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which are held immediately following their...
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
2004 Summer Paralympics
The 2004 Summer Paralympics were held in Athens, Greece, from September 17 to September 28. The twelfth Paralympic Games, an estimated 4,000 athletes took part in the Athens programme, with ages ranging from 11 to 66. Paralympic events had already taken place during the 2004 Summer Olympics as...
were also held in Athens, from September 20 to 28.
- Archery
Archery at the 2004 Summer OlympicsArchery at the 2004 Summer Olympics was held at Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens, Greece with ranking rounds on 12 August and regular competition held from 15 August to 21 August...
(4) - Athletics
Athletics at the 2004 Summer OlympicsAt the 2004 Summer Olympics, the athletics events were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium from August 18 to August 29, except for the marathons , the race walks , and the shot put...
(46) - Badminton
Badminton at the 2004 Summer OlympicsBadminton at the 2004 Summer Olympics was held at the Goudi Olympic Hall at the Goudi Olympic Complex from August 14 through August 21. Both men and women competed in their own singles and doubles events and together they competed in a mixed doubles event....
(5) - Baseball
Baseball at the 2004 Summer Olympics-Preliminary round:The top four teams advanced to the semifinals. To determine the seed ranking of teams tied in the standings, the result of the two teams' game against each other was used. Japan therefore received first place due to the win over Cuba. In the semi-finals, Japan played...
(1) - Basketball
Basketball at the 2004 Summer OlympicsBasketball at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place at the Helliniko Olympic Indoor Arena in Athens, Greece for the preliminary rounds, with the latter stages being held in the Olympic Indoor Hall at the Athens Olympic Sports Complex....
(2) - Boxing
Boxing at the 2004 Summer OlympicsBoxing at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place in the Peristeri Olympic Boxing Hall. The event was only open to men and bouts were contested over four rounds of two minutes each...
(11) - Canoeing
_pictogram.svg.png)
Canoeing at the 2004 Summer OlympicsCanoeing at the 2004 Summer Olympics was held at the Schinias Olympic Rowing and Canoeing Centre for the sprint events and the Olympic Canoe/Kayak Slalom Centre at the Helliniko Olympic Complex for the canoe and kayak slalom disciplines....
(16) - CyclingCycling at the 2004 Summer OlympicsCycling at the 2004 Summer Olympics had 18 events in three disciplines:*Road cycling, held at the Athens historic centre and in Vouliagmeni Olympic Centre ....
(18)
- Diving
Diving at the 2004 Summer OlympicsAt the 2004 Summer Olympics, in Athens, eight diving events were contested during a competition that took place at the Olympic Aquatic Centre, from 20 to 28 August , comprising a total of 125 divers from 30 nations.-Men:-Women:-Medal table:-Participating nations:Here are listed the nations that...
(8) - Equestrian
Equestrian at the 2004 Summer OlympicsThe events of the Equestrian at the 2004 Summer Olympics featured three equestrian disciplines: dressage, eventing and jumping. All three disciplines are further divided into individual and team contests for a total of six events....
(6) - Fencing
Fencing at the 2004 Summer OlympicsFencing at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place at the Fencing Hall at the Helliniko Olympic Complex. Ten gold medals were awarded in individual and team events further divided into three styles of fencing: épée, foil and sabre....
(10) - Field Hockey
Field hockey at the 2004 Summer OlympicsField Hockey at the 2004 Summer Olympics was held at the Olympic Hockey Centre located within the Helliniko Olympic Complex. The competitions for both men and women was split into two groups with the top two teams after the preliminary rounds progressing through to the semi-finals.-Men's...
(2) - Football
Football at the 2004 Summer OlympicsThe football tournament at the 2004 Summer Olympics started on 11 August, , and ended on 28 August.The men's tournament is played by U-23 national teams, with up to three over age players allowed per squad...
(2) - Gymnastics
_pictogram.svg.png)
Gymnastics at the 2004 Summer OlympicsAt the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, three disciplines of gymnastics were contested: artistic gymnastics , rhythmic gymnastics and trampoline...
(18) - Handball
Handball at the 2004 Summer OlympicsHandball at the 2004 Summer Olympics had a men's and a women's team competitions with the preliminary rounds taking place in the Sports Pavilion at the Faliro Coastal Zone Olympic Complex...
(2) - Judo
Judo at the 2004 Summer OlympicsJudo at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place in the Ano Liossia Olympic Hall and featured 368 judoka competing for 14 gold medals with seven different weight categories in both the men's and women's competitions. Japan dominated the event by taking 8 gold and 2 silver medals.Gold and silver medals...
(14)
- Modern pentathlon
Modern pentathlon at the 2004 Summer OlympicsThe modern pentathlon at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place at the Olympic Modern Pentathlon Centre at the Goudi Olympic Complex as single day events for men and women on August 26 and August 27, respectively....
(2) - Rowing
Rowing at the 2004 Summer OlympicsRowing at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place at the Schinias Olympic Rowing and Canoeing Centre and featured 550 competitors taking part in 14 events....
(14) - Sailing
Sailing at the 2004 Summer OlympicsSailing at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place at the Agios Kosmas Olympic Sailing Centre with eleven events being contested.The events were split into four classes for men, four for women, and three mixed classes that were open to both men and women...
(11) - Shooting
Shooting at the 2004 Summer OlympicsIn shooting at the 2004 Summer Olympics, 390 competitors from 106 nations contested 17 events . The competition took place at the Markopoulo Olympic Shooting Centre, located in the east of the Greek region of Attica....
(17) - Softball
Softball at the 2004 Summer OlympicsSoftball at the 2004 Summer Olympics was held at the Olympic Softball Stadium in the Helliniko Olympic Complex from August 14 to 23. The United States won the gold while Australia took silver and Japan , the bronze....
(1) - Swimming
Swimming at the 2004 Summer OlympicsSwimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place in the Olympic Aquatic Centre with the athletes competing in 32 events. There was a total of 937 participants from 152 countries competing.-Medal table:-Men's events:...
(32) - Synchronized swimming
Synchronized swimming at the 2004 Summer OlympicsSynchronized swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics was held in the Olympic Aquatic Centre where 104 competitors challenged for 2 gold medals in the duet and team events. Each event was made up of a technical and free routine with the points added together to determine the medalists.-Medal...
(2) - Table tennis
Table tennis at the 2004 Summer Olympicsthumb|rightTable tennis at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place in the Galatsi Olympic Hall with 172 competitors in 4 events.-Medal summary:-Medal table:-References:*...
(4)
- Taekwondo
Taekwondo at the 2004 Summer OlympicsTaekwondo at the 2004 Summer Olympics were held in the Sports Pavilion at the Faliro Coastal Zone Olympic Complex where 124 competitors competed in eight events, four each for men and women....
(8) - Tennis
Tennis at the 2004 Summer OlympicsTennis at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place on ten separate courts at the Olympic Tennis Centre. The surface was hardcourt, specifically DecoTurf....
(4) - Triathlon
Triathlon at the 2004 Summer OlympicsAt the 2004 Summer Olympics, the triathlon events were held at the Vouliagmeni Olympic Centre. Fifty triathletes contested the female event on August 25, and the same number contested the male event on August 26, making up a total of 100 competitors....
(2) - Volleyball
_pictogram.svg.png)
Volleyball at the 2004 Summer Olympicsthumb|right|Indoorthumb|right|BeachVolleyball at the 2004 Summer Olympics consisted of indoor volleyball held at the Peace and Friendship Stadium and beach volleyball held at the Olympic Beach Volleyball Centre, in the southern portion of the Roth Pavilion; both were located at the Faliro Coastal...
(4) - Water polo
Water polo at the 2004 Summer OlympicsWater polo at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place at the Olympic Aquatic Centre where women competed for only the second time in the event at the Summer Olympics....
(2) - Weightlifting
Weightlifting at the 2004 Summer OlympicsAt the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, fifteen events in weightlifting were contested, in eight classes for men and seven for women. Competition was held in the Nikaia Olympic Weightlifting Hall.-Doping:...
(15) - Wrestling
Wrestling at the 2004 Summer OlympicsWrestling at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place in the Ano Liossia Olympic Hall and was split into two disciplines, Freestyle and Greco-Roman which are further divided into different weight categories. Men competed in both disciplines whereas women only took part in the Freestyle event with 18...
(18)
Highlights
- Greek sprinters Konstantinos KenterisKonstantinos KenterisKonstandinos Kenderis, also spelled as Konstadinos Kederis is a former Greek athlete...
and Ekaterini Thanou withdraw from the games after allegedly staging a motorcycle accident in order to avoid a drug test. - World record holder and strong favourite Paula RadcliffePaula RadcliffePaula Jane Radcliffe, MBE is an English long-distance runner. She is the current women's world record holder in the marathon with her time of 2:15:25 hours...
crashes out of the women's marathonMarathonThe marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...
in spectacular fashion, leaving Mizuki NoguchiMizuki Noguchiis a Japanese professional long-distance runner who specialises in the marathon event. She is an Olympic champion over the distance and set two world records in 2005....
to win the gold. - While leading in the men's marathon with less than 10 kilometres to go, Brazilian runner Vanderlei de LimaVanderlei de LimaVanderlei Cordeiro de Lima is a former long-distance runner who specialised in marathons. He received international renown after a spectator, a laicized Irish priest, attacked him at the 2004 Summer Olympics marathon while he was leading the race at 35 km...
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 medalPierre de Coubertin medalThe Pierre de Coubertin medal is a special medal given by the International Olympic Committee to those athletes who demonstrate the spirit of sportsmanship in Olympic events.The medal was inaugurated in 1964 and named in honour of Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the International Olympic...
for sportsmanship. - British athlete Kelly HolmesKelly HolmesDame Kelly Holmes, DBE, MBE is a retired British middle distance athlete. She specialised in the 800 metres and 1500 metres events and won a gold medal for both distances at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens...
wins gold in the 800 m and 1500 m. - Liu XiangLiu XiangLiu Xiang is a Chinese 110 meter hurdler. Liu is an Olympic Gold medalist and World Champion. His 2004 Olympic gold medal was the first in a men's track and field event for China....
wins gold in the 110 m hurdles, equalling Colin Jackson'sColin JacksonColin Ray Jackson CBE is a British former sprint and hurdling athlete who specialised in the 110 metres hurdles. Over his career representing Great Britain and Wales he won an Olympic silver medal, became world champion three times, went undefeated at the European Championships for 12 years and...
1993 world record time of 12.91 seconds. This was China's first ever gold in men's track and fieldTrack and fieldTrack and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
. - The Olympics saw Afghanistan'sAfghanistan at the 2004 Summer OlympicsAfghanistan returned to the Olympic Games at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.Afghanistan was banned from Olympic competition in 1999, during Taliban rule, but was reinstated in 2002. At the 2004 Games, female athletes represented Afghanistan for the first time in the country's history...
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 GuerroujHicham El GuerroujHicham El Guerrouj "King of the Mile" is a Moroccan former middle distance runner...
wins gold in the 1500 m and 5000 m. He is the first person to accomplish this feat at the Olympics since Paavo NurmiPaavo NurmiPaavo Johannes Nurmi was a Finnish runner. Born in Turku, he was known as one of the "Flying Finns," a term given to him, Hannes Kolehmainen, Ville Ritola, and others for their distinction in running...
in 1924. - Greek athlete Fani HalkiaFaní HalkiáFani Chalkia is a Greek hurdler.Chalkia won the gold medal in the women's 400m hurdles at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. During the semifinals Halkia set an Olympic record of 52.77 seconds....
comes out of retirement to win the 400 m hurdles. - The US women's 4x200m swimming team of Natalie CoughlinNatalie CoughlinNatalie Anne Coughlin is an American swimmer and eleven-time Olympic medallist.At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Coughlin became the first American female athlete in modern Olympic history to win six medals in one Olympics and the first woman ever to win a 100 m backstroke gold in two consecutive...
, Carly PiperCarly PiperCarly Piper is an American swimmer and Olympic gold medalist. As part of the American team, she held the world record in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay .-Personal:...
, Dana VollmerDana VollmerDana Vollmer is an American college and international swimmer and Olympic gold medalist. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece she won a gold medal in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay with Natalie Coughlin, Kaitlin Sandeno, and Carly Piper that set the world record in the event.She has won...
and Kaitlin SandenoKaitlin SandenoKaitlin Sandeno is a retired American swimmer, and was part of the team that set the world record in the 4x200 m freestyle relay at the 2004 Summer Olympics.-Career:...
win gold, smashing the long standing world record set by the German Democratic RepublicGerman Democratic RepublicThe German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
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 RicoPuerto Rico national basketball teamThe Puerto Rico men's national basketball team represents Puerto Rico in international basketball competitions such as the Olympics, the World Championship, and the Americas Championship...
92-73. - ArgentinaArgentina national basketball teamThe Argentina national basketball team represents Argentina in basketball international competitions, and is controlled by the Argentine Basketball Federation....
wins a shocking victory over the United States in the semi-finals of men's basketball. They go on to beat ItalyItaly national basketball teamThe Italian national basketball team is the national basketball team representing Italy. It is administrated by the Federazione Italiana Pallacanestro ....
84-69 in the final. - Windsurfer Gal FridmanGal FridmanGal Fridman is an Israeli windsurfer and Olympic gold medalist.He was born in Karkur, Israel, and lives in nearby kibbutz Sdot Yam.Fridman won a bronze medal in the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics, and a gold medal in the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics...
wins IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
's first-ever gold medal. - Dominican athlete Félix SánchezFelix SanchezFélix Sánchez —nicknamed Super Felix, the Invincible and the Dictator— is a track and field athlete from New York City, United States who competes for The Dominican Republic...
won the first ever gold medal for the Dominican RepublicDominican RepublicThe Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
in the 400 m hurdles event. - German kayaker Birgit FischerBirgit FischerBirgit Fischer is a kayaker, who has won eight gold medals over six different Olympic Games, a record she shares with Aladár Gerevich, spanning seven Olympiads: twice representing East Germany , then four times representing the reunited nation...
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 PhelpsMichael PhelpsMichael Fred Phelps is an American swimmer who has, overall, won 16 Olympic medals—six gold and two bronze at Athens in 2004, and eight gold at Beijing in 2008, becoming the most successful athlete at both of these Olympic Games editions...
wins 8 medals (6 gold and 2 bronze), becoming the first athlete to win 8 medals in non boycotted Olympics. - United States' gymnastGymnastGymnasts are people who participate in the sports of either artistic gymnastics, trampolining, or rhythmic gymnastics.See gymnasium for the origin of the word gymnast from gymnastikos.-Female artistic:Australia...
Carly PattersonCarly PattersonCarly Rae Patterson is an American singer and former gymnast. She is the 2004 Olympic All-Around Champion and a member of the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame...
becomes only the second American woman to win the all-around gold medal. - Chilean Tennis players Nicolás Massu and Fernando Gonzalez won the gold medal in the Doubles Competition, while Massu won the gold and Gonzalez the bronze on the Singles competition. This were Chile's first-ever gold medals.
- Anchored by BrazilBrazil at the 2004 Summer OlympicsBrazil competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. Brazilian athletes were represented by the Brazilian Olympic Committee . The largest Brazilian delegation ever consisted of 247 athletes , which represented 42 more athletes than in Sydney 2000 and 22 more than in Atlanta 1996 —...
, South AmericaSouth AmericaSouth America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
had its best Olympics, with nine Gold Medals.
Closing Ceremony
Olympic Stadium (Athens)
The Olympic Stadium "Spiros Louis" , is part of the Athens Olympic Sports Complex. It is named after the first modern Olympic marathon race winner in 1896, Spiros Louis.-History:...
, 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
Twelve Girls Band
Twelve Girls Band are an all female Chinese musical group that initially consisted of twelve members before the addition of a thirteenth. Twelve Girls Band use traditional Chinese instruments to play both traditional Chinese and Western music. Formed on June 18, 2001, the women were selected by...
) sang Mo Li Hua
Mo Li Hua
Mo Li Hua , is a popular Chinese folk song. The song dates to 18th century. In time, many regional variations were created, and the song gained popularity both in China and abroad. It has been used during events such as 2004 Summer Olympics, 2008 Summer Olympics and 2010 Shanghai Expo opening...
(Jasmine Flower) and the medal ceremony for the last event of the Olympics, the men's marathon
Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics - Men's marathon
The Men's Marathon event at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place on August 29, 2004 in the streets of Athens, Greece. The streets were recently painted for the event, which provided an excellent road surface for the athletes. Drawing upon the ancient origins of the race, the marathon began in...
, was conducted, with Stefano Baldini
Stefano Baldini
Stefano Baldini is a retired Italian athlete and the 2004 Olympic and former European champion in the marathon....
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
Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki
Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki is a Greek business woman. She is best known for being the president of the bidding and organizing committee for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece...
, President of the Organising Committee, and by President Dr. Jacques Rogge
Jacques Rogge
Jacques Rogge, Count Rogge , is a Belgian sports bureaucrat. He is the eighth and current President of the International Olympic Committee .-Life and career:...
of the IOC
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
, in which he described the Athens Olympics as "unforgettable, dream Games".
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
Juan Antonio Samaranch
Don Juan Antonio Samaranch y Torelló, 1st Marquis of Samaranch, Grandee of Spain , known in Catalan as Joan Antoni Samaranch i Torelló , was a Catalan Spanish sports administrator who served as the seventh President of the International Olympic Committee from 1980 to 2001...
, who used to always say 'these were the best ever games'. Dr. Rogge had described Salt Lake City 2002
2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 77 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout...
as "superb games" and in turn would continue after Athens 2004 and describe Turin 2006
2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...
as "truly magnificent games."
The national anthems of Greece and China
March of the Volunteers
March of the Volunteers is the national anthem of the People's Republic of China , written by the noted poet and playwright Tian Han with music composed by Nie Er. This composition is a musical march...
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
Wang Qishan
Wang Qishan is a politician in the People's Republic of China who currently serves as the Vice-Premier in charge of economic, energy and financial affairs under premier Wen Jiabao. Previously Wang served in regional positions in Hainan and Beijing...
. After a short cultural performance by Chinese actors, dancers, and musicians directed by eminent Chinese director Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou is a Chinese film director, producer, writer and actor, and former cinematographer. He is counted amongst the Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers, having made his directorial debut in 1987 with Red Sorghum....
, Rogge declared the 2004 Olympic Games closed. The Olympic flag was next raised again on February 10, 2006 during the opening ceremony of next Winter Olympic games
2006 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony
The Opening Ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics was held on February 10, 2006 beginning at 20:00 CET at the Stadio Olimpico in Turin, Italy....
in Torino
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
.
A young Greek girl, Fotini Papaleonidopoulou, lit a symbolic lantern with the Olympic Flame
Olympic Flame
The Olympic Flame or Olympic Torch is a symbol of the Olympic Games. Commemorating the theft of fire from the Greek god Zeus by Prometheus, its origins lie in ancient Greece, where a fire was kept burning throughout the celebration of the ancient Olympics. The fire was reintroduced at the 1928...
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
George Dalaras
George Dalaras , also possibly spelled as Yorgos or Giorgos Dalaras, is a Greek singer. He is of international fame and has recently been selected as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency. He was born in Nea Kokinia, Piraeus. His father was Loukas Daralas, a singer of rebetiko.-Early...
, Haris Alexiou
Haris Alexiou
Haris Alexiou is a Greek singer. She is considered one of the most popular singers in Greece and has been commercially successful since the 1970s. She has worked with important Greek songwriters and composers, has performed at top musical theatres all over the world and has received several awards...
, Anna Vissi
Anna Vissi
Anna Vissi , known as Anna Vishy in Cypriot Greek, is a Greek-Cypriot recording artist and actress...
, Sakis Rouvas
Sakis Rouvas
Anastasios "Sakis" Rouvas II , often referred to mononymously as Sakis, is a Greek musician, television and film artist, businessman, and former pole vaulter who is one of the most successful and influential entertainers of all time in Greece and Cyprus...
, Eleftheria Arvanitaki
Eleftheria Arvanitaki
Eleftheria Arvanitaki is a Greek folk singer. She originates from the island of Icaria...
, Alkistis Protopsalti, Antonis Remos
Antonis Remos
Antonis Remos , is a Greek laïko singer.-Early life:Antonis Remos was born in Düsseldorf, West Germany. He was raised there by his Greek parents, and later his family moved back to their native Thessaloniki, Greece, where he finished school. During his childhood he got involved with music and...
, Mixalis Xatzigiannis, Marinella
Marinella
Marinella is one of the most popular Greek singers whose career has spanned several decades. She has sung professionally since 1957. Since the beginning of her career, she has released 66 personal albums and has been featured in albums of other musicians.-Early life:She was born Kyriaki...
and Dimitra Galani, as thousands of athletes carried out symbolic displays on the stadium floor.
Medal count
| 1 | 35 | 39 | 29 | 103 | |
| 2 | 32 | 17 | 14 | 63 | |
| 3 | 28 | 26 | 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 | 13 | 31 | |
| 15 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 16 |
OAKAAthens Olympic Sports ComplexThe Olympic Athletic Center of Athens "Spiros Louis" or OACA , is a sport facilities complex located at Marousi, northeast Athens, Greece...
- Athens Olympic Aquatic CentreAthens Olympic Aquatic CentreThe Olympic Aquatic Centre is a complex at the Athens Olympic Sports Complex, consisting of two outdoor pools and one indoor pool, that was built for the 1991 Mediterranean Games. It was refurbished and expanded for the 2004 Summer Olympics. The larger of the outdoor pools, which seats 11,500...
- diving, swimming, synchronized swimming, water polo - Athens Olympic Tennis CentreAthens Olympic Tennis CentreThe Olympic Tennis Centre is a grouping of 16 tennis courts at the Athens Olympic Sports Complex. It hosted the tennis matches at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece...
- tennis - Athens Olympic VelodromeAthens Olympic VelodromeThe Olympic Velodrome is a stadium at the Athens Olympic Sports Complex, built in 1991 for the Mediterranean Games. It was extensively refurbished in order to host the track cycling events at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece...
- cycling (track) - Olympic Indoor HallOlympic Indoor HallThe O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall which is part of the Olympic Athletic Center of Athens "Spiros Louis" , was completed in 1995 and was the largest indoor venue in use for sporting events at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. It is located in the suburb of Maroussi...
- basketball (final), gymnastics (artistic, trampolining) - Olympic StadiumOlympic Stadium (Athens)The Olympic Stadium "Spiros Louis" , is part of the Athens Olympic Sports Complex. It is named after the first modern Olympic marathon race winner in 1896, Spiros Louis.-History:...
- ceremonies (opening/ closing), athletics, football (final)
HOCHelliniko Olympic ComplexThe Helliniko Olympic Complex is situated at Ellinikon on the east coast of Greece south of Athens, approximately 16 kilometres from the Olympic Village. It was built on the site of the former Ellinikon International Airport for the staging of the 2004 Summer Olympics and 2004 Summer Paralympics...
- Fencing HallHelliniko Fencing HallThe Helliniko Fencing Hall is an arena adjacent to the Indoor Arena. It hosted the fencing matches at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The facility seats 3,800 for the preliminary matches and 5,000 for the final matches...
- fencing - Helliniko Indoor ArenaHelliniko Olympic ArenaThe Helliniko Olympic Indoor Arena is a multi-use sports indoor arena that is located in Ellinikon, Athens, Greece. It is approximately 10 miles from the Athens Olympic Village. It was built on the site of the former Ellinikon International Airport for the 2004 Summer Olympics and the 2004 Summer...
- basketball, handball (final) - Olympic Baseball CentreElliniko StadiumHelliniko Stadium is a stadium located at the Helliniko Olympic Complex in Ellinikon, located approximately 8 kilometres south of the center of Athens, near Glyfada on the Mediterranean coast. Ethnikos Piraeus F.C...
- baseball - Olympic Canoe/Kayak Slalom CentreHelliniko Olympic Canoe/Kayak Slalom CentreThe Helliniko Olympic Canoe/Kayak Slalom Centre is located in the Helliniko Olympic Complex in Greece. The venue hosted the canoe slalom events for the 2004 Summer Olympics. It consists of a competition course, a secondary training course, and a warm-up lake of natural form that occupies a total...
- canoeing (slalom) - Olympic Hockey CentreHelliniko Olympic Hockey CentreThe Helliniko Olympic Hockey Centre was the site of the field hockey events at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Located in the Helliniko Olympic Complex, the facility consists of two hockey fields...
- field hockey - Olympic Softball StadiumHelliniko Olympic Softball StadiumThe Helliniko Olympic Softball Stadium is a softball stadium located in the Helliniko Olympic Complex. It hosted the softball competitions during the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. The venue consists of a main softball field of 4,800 seats - though only 3,400 seats were made publicly available...
- softball
FaliroFaliro Coastal Zone Olympic ComplexThe Faliro Coastal Zone Olympic Sports Complex is a complex in the coastal zone of Athens, Greece. It consists of two indoor arenas and a beach volleyball stadium, and it hosted Handball, Taekwondo, and volleyball events at the 2004 Summer Olympics...
- Faliro Olympic Beach Volleyball CentreFaliro Olympic Beach Volleyball CentreThe Faliro Olympic Beach Volleyball Centre is a stadium in the Faliro Coastal Zone Olympic Complex that hosted the beach volleyball competition for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The stadium holds a total of 9,600 individuals, though the public seating capacity is limited to 7,300...
- volleyball (beach) - Faliro Sports Pavilion ArenaFaliro Sports Pavilion ArenaThe Faliro Sports Pavilion Arena which is part of the Faliro Coastal Zone Olympic Complex is an indoor arena in Faliro, near Piraeus, Athens, Greece. It is nicknamed "The Little Peace And Friendship Stadium", due to its similarity in design and close proximity to the Peace and Friendship Stadium...
- handball, taekwondo - Peace and Friendship StadiumPeace and Friendship StadiumThe Stadio Eirinis kai Filias , known as S.E.F., is a multi-use indoor sports arena that is located in Faliro, Piraeus, Athens, Greece. It is the central venue of the Faliro Coastal Zone Olympic Complex and is mostly known for being the long-time home court of the famous Euroleague basketball club...
- volleyball (indoor)
GOCGoudi Olympic ComplexGoudi Olympic Complex is a sports complex in Athens, Greece. It held two of the sports venues used during the 2004 Summer Olympics.- Post-Olympics Development :...
- Goudi Olympic HallGoudi Olympic HallThe Goudi Olympic Hall is an indoor arena located in the Goudi Olympic Complex in Greece. The venue hosted the badminton events for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.The venue opened in 2004 right before the start of those games....
- badminton - Olympic Modern Pentathlon CentreOlympic Modern Pentathlon CentreThe Olympic Modern Pentathlon Centre was the site of the modern pentathlon events at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The venue seats 2,500 for the swimming part of the competition, 5,000 for the riding and running parts each, and 3,000 for the fencing and shooting...
- modern pentathlon
Football venues
- Kaftanzoglio StadiumKaftanzoglio StadiumKaftanzoglio stadium is a sports stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece. The stadium was built with money donated by the Kaftanzoglou Foundation, hence its name. At the time of its opening on 27 October 1960, the stadium was one of the highest quality stadiums in the Balkans...
(ThessalonikiThessalonikiThessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
) - Karaiskakis StadiumKaraiskakis StadiumKaraiskakis Stadium is in the Neo Faliro area of Piraeus, Greece. It is the home ground of Olympiacos F.C. and is named after Georgios Karaiskakis , hero of the Greek War of Independence, who was mortally wounded near the area....
(AthensAthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
) - Pampeloponnisiako Stadium (PatrasPatrasPatras , ) is Greece's third largest urban area and the regional capital of West Greece, located in northern Peloponnese, 215 kilometers west of Athens...
) - Pankritio Stadium (HeraklionHeraklionHeraklion, or Heraclion is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete, Greece. It is the 4th largest city in Greece....
) - Panthessaliko StadiumPanthessaliko StadiumPanthessaliko Stadium is a stadium located at Volos, Greece. The stadium was the site of football matches during the 2004 Summer Olympics. It was officially opened on July 30, 2004 and has a capacity of 22,700 seats, though only 21,100 seats were made publicly available for the Olympic matches...
(VolosVolosVolos is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about 326 km north of Athens and 215 km south of Thessaloniki...
)
Other venues
- Agios Kosmas Olympic Sailing CentreAgios Kosmas Olympic Sailing CentreThe Agios Kosmas Olympic Sailing Centre hosted the sailing events at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The center is located about four miles from downtown Athens along the coast. It was officially opened on August 2, 2004, a few weeks before the Olympics, though test events were...
- sailing - Ano Liosia Olympic HallAno Liosia Olympic HallAno Liossia Olympic Hall was the host to judo and wrestling at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The arena seats up to 9,300, but only 6,000 seats were made available for the Olympics. The hall is situated in Ano Liosia, a suburb northwest of central Athens...
- judo, wrestling - Galatsi Olympic HallGalatsi Olympic HallThe Galatsi Olympic Hall is an indoor arena in Athens, Greece. It is located in Galatsi and it was the site of table tennis and rhythmic gymnastics at the 2004 Summer Olympics. The arena was completed in May 2004 and officially opened on July 30, 2004, shortly before the beginning of the Olympics...
- gymnastics (rhythmic), table tennis - Kotzia SquareKotzia SquareKotzia Square is a square in central Athens, Greece. The square retains several charactertics of 19th century local neoclassical architecture, such as the City Hall of the Municipality of Athens and the National Bank of Greece Cultural Center.-Location:...
- cycling (individual road race) - Marathon (city)Marathon, GreeceMarathon is a town in Greece, the site of the battle of Marathon in 490 BC, in which the heavily outnumbered Athenian army defeated the Persians. The tumulus or burial mound for the 192 Athenian dead that was erected near the battlefield remains a feature of the coastal plain...
- athletics (marathon start) - Markopoulo Olympic Equestrian CentreMarkopoulo Olympic Equestrian CentreThe Markopoulo Olympic Equestrian Centre hosted the equestrian events at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The venue is located at Markópoulo on the outskirts of the Athens suburbs. It was completed in December 2003 and officially opened on August 12, 2004, shortly before the beginning of...
- equestrian - Markopoulo Olympic Shooting CentreMarkopoulo Olympic Shooting CentreThe Markopoulo Olympic Shooting Centre was the site of the shooting events at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The venue is located in Markópoulo, on the outskirts of the eastern suburbs of Athens. It has a seating capacity of 4,000, though a public capacity of only 2,330 for the Olympics...
- shooting - Nikaia Olympic Weightlifting HallNikaia Olympic Weightlifting HallThe Nikaia Olympic Weightlifting Hall is an indoor arena in Nikaia, near Piraeus. It hosted the weightlifting events at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The venue was officially opened on August 14, 2004, the day after the beginning of the Games...
- weightlifting - Panathinaiko StadiumPanathinaiko StadiumThe Panathinaiko or Panathenaic Stadium , also known as the Kallimarmaro , is an athletic stadium in Athens that hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896...
- archery, athletics (marathons finish) - Peristeri Olympic Boxing HallPeristeri Olympic Boxing HallThe Peristeri Olympic Boxing Hall is an indoor arena located in Peristeri, to the west of central Athens. The hall was the site of the boxing events at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece...
- boxing - Schinias Olympic Rowing and Canoeing CentreSchinias Olympic Rowing and Canoeing CentreThe Schinias Olympic Rowing and Canoeing Centre was built to host the rowing and canoe sprint events at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Greece....
- canoeing (sprint), rowing - Stadium at OlympiaStadium at OlympiaThe stadium at the archaeological site of Olympia, Greece is located to the east of the sanctuary of Zeus. It was the location of many of the sporting events at the Ancient Olympic Games....
- athletics (shot put) - Vouliagmeni Olympic CentreVouliagmeni Olympic CentreThe Vouliagmeni Olympic Centre was the site of the men's and women's triathlon at the 2004 Summer Olympics at Athens, Greece. It also hosted the individual time trial cycling events. Located at Vouliagmeni, to the southeast of Athens, the temporary facility seated up to 3,600, though only 2,200...
- cycling (individual time trial), triathlon
Broadcast rights
: Seven NetworkSeven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
: BRTN
Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroep
The Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie , or VRT, is a publicly-funded broadcaster of radio and television in Flanders ....
: Rede Globo
Rede Globo
Rede Globo , or simply Globo, is a Brazilian television network, launched by media mogul Roberto Marinho on April 26, 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Organizações Globo, being by far the largest of its holdings...
, SBT
SBT
Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão is a Brazilian television network. The network first aired in 1981, and its headquarters are based in Osasco, at the CDT Anhanguera complex. SBT is owned by Silvio Santos , a popular Brazilian TV host...
, Rede Bandeirantes
Rede Bandeirantes
Rede Bandeirantes , officially nicknamed Band or Band Network, is a television network from Brazil, based in São Paulo. Part of the Grupo Bandeirantes de Comunicação , it aired for the first time in 1967...
, Rede Record
Rede Record
Rede Record de Televisão is a Brazilian television network, founded in 1953 by Paulo Machado de Carvalho, also founder of Rádio Record. Currently it is owned by businessman Edir Macedo, founder and bishop of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God. Since 2007 it is Brazil's second largest...
, Rede Manchete
Rede Manchete
Rede Manchete was a television network from Brazil. It first aired on June 5, 1983 in Rio de Janeiro and simultaneously in other 5 Brazilian cities, like São Paulo on Rede Exclesior's old channel 9 frequency...
, SporTV
SporTV
SporTV is a Brazilian cable television network that has its programming based on all sports, launched in 1991 by Globosat. It's the most watched sports channel in Brazil.- Auto Racing :*Formula One *Stock Car Brasil...
and ESPN Brasil
ESPN Brasil
ESPN Brasil is a Brazilian cable television network. Launched in June 1995 through a joint venture between ESPN Inc. and Grupo Abril's television arm TVA, ESPN Brasil was the first country-specific version of ESPN outside the United States. Today, the network has 12.2 million subscribers...
(it was the last time all the networks had the rights, under the OTI
OTI
As a three-letter acronym, OTI may refer to:* Office of Transition Initiatives, an office of United States Agency for International Development founded in 1994...
contract): RTB and Astro Olympics
Astro SuperSport
Astro SuperSport 2 is the first sister channel of Astro SuperSport. Launched on November 18, 2009, it is broadcast on Astro via Channel 816. Sporting events that are aired on this network events include the BWF Super Series, the ATP World Tour Finals, the Bundesliga, the Ligue 1 as well as American...
: CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
: TVN
Televisión Nacional de Chile
TVN is Chile's state-owned television station. Its inaugural transmission took place on 1969. TVN is owned, but not funded, by the state, and it functions independently from it; a very particular case of public television in South America...
: CCTV
China Central Television
China Central Television or Chinese Central Television, commonly abbreviated as CCTV, is the major state television broadcaster in mainland China. CCTV has a network of 19 channels broadcasting different programmes and is accessible to more than one billion viewers...
: TF1
TF1
TF1 is a national French TV channel, controlled by TF1 Group, whose major share-holder is Bouygues. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network...
: ARD
ARD (broadcaster)
ARD is a joint organization of Germany's regional public-service broadcasters...
and ZDF
ZDF
Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen , ZDF, is a public-service German television broadcaster based in Mainz . It is run as an independent non-profit institution, which was founded by the German federal states . The ZDF is financed by television licence fees called GEZ and advertising revenues...
: ERT: ATV
Asia Television Limited
Asia Television Limited is one of the two free-to-air television broadcasters in Hong Kong, the other being rival Television Broadcasts Limited . It launched in 1957 under the name Rediffusion Television as the first television station in Hong Kong...
and TVB
Television Broadcasts Limited
Television Broadcasts Limited, commonly known as TVB, is the second over-the-air commercial television station in Hong Kong. It commenced broadcasting on 19 November 1967...
: Doordarshan
DoorDarshan
Doordarshan is an Indian public service broadcaster, a division of Prasar Bharati. It is one of the largest broadcasting organizations in India in terms of the infrastructure of studios and transmitters. Recently, it has also started Digital Terrestrial Transmitters. On September 15, 2009,...
: TVRI: RTÉ
Raidió Teilifís Éireann
Raidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...
: Rai
Rai
Rai may refer to:Acronyms*RAI, radioactive iodine, in the medical context of the treatment of thyroid problems*RAI, Radiotelevisione Italiana, Italian public broadcasting*Praia International Airport in Cape Verde, IATA airport code...
: NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
: TDM Olympics
Canal Macau
Canal Macau is a Portuguese-language television channel in Macau owned by Teledifusão de Macau and together with its sister Cantonese language station has Macau TV....
: RTM TV1 and Astro Olympics
Astro SuperSport
Astro SuperSport 2 is the first sister channel of Astro SuperSport. Launched on November 18, 2009, it is broadcast on Astro via Channel 816. Sporting events that are aired on this network events include the BWF Super Series, the ATP World Tour Finals, the Bundesliga, the Ligue 1 as well as American...
: NPO: PTV 4
National Broadcasting Network
People's Television is the flagship government television network owned by the Philippine Government through People's Television Network, Inc. . Its head office, studios and transmitter are located at Broadcast Complex, Visayas Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City .-History:The country's government...
: TVP
Telewizja Polska
Telewizja Polska Spółka Akcyjna is Poland's public broadcasting corporation...
: VGTRK Olympiade: Singapore Television Twelve SportsCity
MediaCorp TV12 Central
MediaCorp TV12 Central or Central was an English and Tamil language Television channel in Singapore it was launched on 31 March 1996 replacing Premiere 12 it was launched since on 1 January 1994 as Television Corporation of Singapore since 1994.The channel was a combination of 3 distinct...
(was delayed simulcast on SPH MediaWorks Channel i
SPH MediaWorks Channel i
SPH MediaWorks Channel i as called by the name Channel i is a defunct Singapore English language television channel which began broadcasting on 20 May 2001. It was formerly known as SPH MediaWorks TV Works as called name TV Works...
and SPH MediaWorks Channel U
SPH MediaWorks Channel U
SPH MediaWorks Channel U as called name Channel U was defunct Chinese language television channel in Singapore which began broadcasts on 6 May 2001...
form SPH MediaWorks
SPH MediaWorks
SPH MediaWorks Ltd was an ephemeral free-to-air terrestrial television broadcaster in Singapore. In 6 May 2001, SPH MediaWorks brought 2 alternative free-to-air terrestrial television channels to the audience in Singapore, operating SPH MediaWorks Channel U and SPH MediaWorks Channel i.A...
): KBS, MBC
Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation
Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC (Hangul : 문화방송주식회사, Munhwa Bangsong Jushikoesa) is one of four major national South Korean television and radio networks. Munhwa is the Korean word for "culture". Its flagship terrestrial television...
and SBS: TVE: SRG SSR idee suisse
SRG SSR idée suisse
SRG SSR is the Swiss public broadcasting organisation, founded in 1931 as SRG-SSR. Headquartered in Bern, SRG SSR is a non-profit organisation, funded mainly through radio and television licence fees and making the remaining income from advertising and sponsorship.Switzerland's system of direct...
: TTV
Taiwan Television
Taiwan Television Enterprise, Ltd. , commonly known as TTV is launched), is the first television broadcast station in Taiwan...
, CTV
China Television
China Television Company, Ltd. was established on September 3, 1968 by the then-ruling Nationalist Party of the Republic of China . The party owned the majority stake of the network...
and CTS
Chinese Television System
Chinese Television System is a broadcast television station in Republic of China .-History:Founded on October 31, 1971, CTS started off as a joint venture between the ROC's Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Education. At the time of its establishment, CTS was the only VHF-supported...
: National Sports
National Broadcasting Services of Thailand
National Broadcasting Services of Thailand was formed by Radio Thailand and Television of Thailand' and is a national public broadcasting state media government mass media conglomerate of radio and television services in the Kingdom of Thailand. It is owned and operated by Government's Public...
: BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
: NBC
Olympics on NBC
NBC Sports' coverage of the Olympic Games consists of broadcasts on the various networks of NBC Universal in the United States, including the NBC broadcast network, Spanish language network Telemundo, and many of the company's cable networks....
Legacy
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
Athens Metro
The Athens Metro is an underground rapid transit system serving Athens, the capital city of Greece. It was constructed and owned by Attiko Metro S.A. and operated until 2011 by Attiko Metro Etaireia Leitourgias S.A....
system; the "Tram
Athens Tram
The Athens Tram is public tram network system serving Athens. It is constructed, owned and operated by Tram S.A. , subsidiary company of Attiko Metro S.A. ....
", a new metropolitan tram (light rail) system system; the "Proastiakos
Proastiakos
Proastiakós , is the name used for the suburban services of TrainOSE, servicing Greece's three largest cities: Athens, Thessaloniki and Patras; providing them with modern commuter rail links, towards their suburbs and also towards other cities and towns located around them.The service, operated by...
", a new suburban railway system linking the airport and suburban towns to the city of Athens; the "Attiki Odos
Attiki Odos
Attiki Odos is a privately owned toll motorway in Greece. The Proastiakos high-speed suburban rail is set almost entirely in the median of the motorway, along its main section. The motorway's numbers are 6 for the main section, 64 for the Hymettus Beltway and 65 for the Aigaleo Beltway...
", 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
Parthenon
The Parthenon is a temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their virgin patron. Its construction began in 447 BC when the Athenian Empire was at the height of its power. It was completed in 438 BC, although...
and the Panathinaiko Stadium
Panathinaiko Stadium
The Panathinaiko or Panathenaic Stadium , also known as the Kallimarmaro , is an athletic stadium in Athens that hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896...
(the site of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896
1896 Summer Olympics
The 1896 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad, was a multi-sport event celebrated in Athens, Greece, from April 6 to April 15, 1896. It was the first international Olympic Games held in the Modern era...
). 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, 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 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 Panathinaikos FC Panathinaikos Football Club is a Greek professional football club based in Athens. Founded in 1908, they play in the Super League Greece and are one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Greek football history. They have won 20 Greek Championships and 17 Greek Cups.Panathinaikos is the most... , AEK FC (football; Greek Super League, UEFA Champions League UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It... ), Greek national football team Greece national football team The Greece national football team represents Greece in association football and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation, the governing body for football in Greece. Greece's home ground is Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus and their head coach is Fernando Santos... (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 A1 Ethniki The Greek Basket League , commonly referred to as the Greek Basketball League or Greek Basketball Championship, is the highest professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by HEBA... ); Greek National Basketball Team Greece national basketball team The Greece national basketball team is the representative for Greece in international men's basketball competitions, organized and run by the Hellenic Basketball Federation. Traditionally, Greece is considered among the world's top basketball powers; they were runners-up in the 2006 FIBA World... , 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 Peace and Friendship Stadium The Stadio Eirinis kai Filias , known as S.E.F., is a multi-use indoor sports arena that is located in Faliro, Piraeus, Athens, Greece. It is the central venue of the Faliro Coastal Zone Olympic Complex and is mostly known for being the long-time home court of the famous Euroleague basketball club... |
Volleyball | Home court for Olympiacos BC Olympiacos BC Olympiacos B.C. , also known simply as Olympiacos and Olympiacos Piraeus, is a Greek professional basketball club, part of Olympiacos CFP, based in Piraeus. The basketball club, founded in 1931, is one of the most successful in Greece and a traditional powerhouse in European competitions... (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 F.C. (Football; Greek second division Beta Ethniki Football League, former Beta Ethniki, is the second highest professional football league in Greece.-History:In its first years, the system of conduct was very intriguing. It began in 1954 as regional championship, separated in two groups, North and South. Then, the participating teams were the... ) |
| Hellinikon Softball Stadium | Softball | Concerts |
| Agios Kosmas Olympic Sailing Centre Agios Kosmas Olympic Sailing Centre The Agios Kosmas Olympic Sailing Centre hosted the sailing events at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The center is located about four miles from downtown Athens along the coast. It was officially opened on August 2, 2004, a few weeks before the Olympics, though test events were... |
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 Ano Liosia Olympic Hall Ano Liossia Olympic Hall was the host to judo and wrestling at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The arena seats up to 9,300, but only 6,000 seats were made available for the Olympics. The hall is situated in Ano Liosia, a suburb northwest of central Athens... |
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 Galatsi Olympic Hall The Galatsi Olympic Hall is an indoor arena in Athens, Greece. It is located in Galatsi and it was the site of table tennis and rhythmic gymnastics at the 2004 Summer Olympics. The arena was completed in May 2004 and officially opened on July 30, 2004, shortly before the beginning of the Olympics... |
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 Goudi Olympic Complex Goudi Olympic Complex is a sports complex in Athens, Greece. It held two of the sports venues used during the 2004 Summer Olympics.- Post-Olympics Development :... |
Badminton, Modern Pentathlon | Now the site of the ultra-modern Badminton Theater, hosting major theatrical productions |
| Markopoulo Olympic Equestrian Centre Markopoulo Olympic Equestrian Centre The Markopoulo Olympic Equestrian Centre hosted the equestrian events at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The venue is located at Markópoulo on the outskirts of the Athens suburbs. It was completed in December 2003 and officially opened on August 12, 2004, shortly before the beginning of... |
Equestrian | Horse racing, Domestic and International Equestrian meets, Auto racing (rallye) |
| Markopoulo Olympic Shooting Centre Markopoulo Olympic Shooting Centre The Markopoulo Olympic Shooting Centre was the site of the shooting events at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The venue is located in Markópoulo, on the outskirts of the eastern suburbs of Athens. It has a seating capacity of 4,000, though a public capacity of only 2,330 for the Olympics... |
Shooting | Converted to the official shooting range and training center of the Hellenic Police. |
| Nikaia Olympic Weightlifting Hall Nikaia Olympic Weightlifting Hall The Nikaia Olympic Weightlifting Hall is an indoor arena in Nikaia, near Piraeus. It hosted the weightlifting events at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The venue was officially opened on August 14, 2004, the day after the beginning of the Games... |
Weightlifting | Has hosted fencing competitions in the years following the Olympics, but has recently been turned over to the University of Piraeus University of Piraeus The University of Piraeus is a university located in Piraeus, Greece with a total of nine academic departments focused mainly on economics, business management and information technology. It is currently one of the leading academic institutions in the country... for use as an academic lecture and conference center. |
| Parnitha Olympic Mountain Bike Venue Parnitha Olympic Mountain Bike Venue The Parnitha Olympic Mountain Bike Venue was the site of the Mountain Biking events at the 2004 Summer Olympics at Athens, Greece. The venue is located at Parnitha, a mountain to the north of Athens in Acharnai.-References:... |
Mountain Biking | Part of the Parnitha Parnitha Mount Parnitha is a densely forested mountain range north of Athens, the highest on the peninsula of Attica, with an elevation of 1,413 m and a summit known as Karavola... National Park. In public use for biking and hiking. |
| Peristeri Olympic Boxing Hall Peristeri Olympic Boxing Hall The Peristeri Olympic Boxing Hall is an indoor arena located in Peristeri, to the west of central Athens. The hall was the site of the boxing events at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece... |
Boxing | Partially converted to a football pitch, also in use for gymnastics competitions. |
| Schinias Olympic Rowing and Canoeing Centre Schinias Olympic Rowing and Canoeing Centre The Schinias Olympic Rowing and Canoeing Centre was built to host the rowing and canoe sprint events at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Greece.... |
Rowing and Canoeing | One of only three FISA-approved training centers in the world, the others being in Munich Munich Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat... and Seville Seville Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level... . Hosts domestic and international rowing and canoeing meets. Part of the Schinias National Park, completely reconstructed by the German company Hochtief Hochtief Hochtief Aktiengesellschaft is Germany's largest construction company. It is based in Essen but operates globally, ranking as the top general builder in the United States through its Turner Corporation subsidiary, and in Australia through the Leighton Group. In 2010 it employed more than 70,000... . |
| Vouliagmeni Olympic Centre Vouliagmeni Olympic Centre The Vouliagmeni Olympic Centre was the site of the men's and women's triathlon at the 2004 Summer Olympics at Athens, Greece. It also hosted the individual time trial cycling events. Located at Vouliagmeni, to the southeast of Athens, the temporary facility seated up to 3,600, though only 2,200... |
Triathlon | Temporary facility, not in existence presently. |
| Kaftanzoglio Stadium Kaftanzoglio Stadium Kaftanzoglio stadium is a sports stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece. The stadium was built with money donated by the Kaftanzoglou Foundation, hence its name. At the time of its opening on 27 October 1960, the stadium was one of the highest quality stadiums in the Balkans... |
Football | Home pitch for Iraklis FC (football; Greek Super League) and temporary home pitch for Apollon Kalamarias FC Apollon Kalamarias Apollon Kalamarias is a Greek association football club based in the district of Kalamaria, in southeast Thessaloniki, Greece.The club was suspended from playing in the Second Division for the 2009-10 season, due to unsettled debts... (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 Gamma Ethniki Football League 2, formerly known as Gamma Ethniki, is the third highest professional football league in Greece.-History:It began in 1965 as an amateur championship, while in 1983 it was changed to professional... ). 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 Panthessaliko Stadium Panthessaliko Stadium is a stadium located at Volos, Greece. The stadium was the site of football matches during the 2004 Summer Olympics. It was officially opened on July 30, 2004 and has a capacity of 22,700 seats, though only 21,100 seats were made publicly available for the Olympic matches... |
Football | Home pitch for Niki Volou FC (football; Greek third division). Has also hosted concerts, conventions and track-and-field meets. |
| Panathainaiko Stadium Panathinaiko Stadium The Panathinaiko or Panathenaic Stadium , also known as the Kallimarmaro , is an athletic stadium in Athens that hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896... |
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 Minister for Health and Social Solidarity (Greece) The Ministry for Health and Social Solidarity is a government department of Greece. The incumbent minister is Andreas Loverdos.-List of Ministers for Health, Welfare and Social Insurance :... , 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
- Olympic records at the 2004 Summer OlympicsOlympic records at the 2004 Summer Olympics-Archery:*Men's Individual : Korea's Park Kyung Mo, 173 points*Women's Individual : Korea's Yun Mi Jin, 173 points -Shooting:...
- World records at the 2004 Summer OlympicsWorld records at the 2004 Summer OlympicsA number of new world records were set in various events at the 2004 Summer Olympics.-Archery:*Men's individual : South Korea's Im Dong-hyun, 687 points*Women's individual : South Korea's Park Sung Hyun, 682 points *Women's team : South Korea's Lee Sung Jin, Park Sung Hyun, Yun Mi Jin, 2030 points...