2004 Summer Olympics

The Games of XXVIII Olympiad will be held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004. Athens was chosen as the host city in 1997, after surprisingly having lost the bid to organise the 1996 Summer Olympics, the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the modern Olympic Games. In 1997, they had a bid that was not only founded on their tradition, and they defeated Rome in the last round of voting, after Buenos Aires, Stockholm, Cape Town and San Juan had already received too few votes.

After that, the International Olympic Committee expressed its concern over the status of the progress of construction work of the new Olympic venues. A new Organising Committee was formed under President Gianna Agellopolos-Daskalaki and all preparations began. Athens today is being transformed into a city that uses state of the art technologies in transportation and urban development. Some of the most modern sporting venues in the world are being made ready to host the 2004 Olympic Games.

By late March of 2004, many Olympics projects were severely behind schedule, and Greek authorities announced that a roof would no longer be constructed over the main swimming venue. Olympic Stadium, the designated facility for the opening and closing ceremonies, is still currently under construction, with an estimated completion date of July 20, some three weeks before the games open. The current pace of preparation makes the rush to finish the Athens venues one of the tightest in Olympics history.

The lighting ceremony of the Olympic flame took place on March 25 in Ancient Olympia.

On March 12 2004, Greece officials asked NATO for assistance in securing these games against terrorism.

See also: 2004 Summer Paralympics

External link

• ATHENS 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games website