2004 Summer Olympics

The 2004 Summer Olympics were held in Athens, Greece, from August 13 to August 29, 2004. These games brought together athletes from all over the world to compete in many different sports. Over ten thousand athletes from 201 countries participated, making it a very big and important event.

Athens was a special place to host the Olympics because it is where the Olympic Games began in ancient times. This was the second time Athens had hosted the Summer Olympics, the first being way back in 1896. During these games, many amazing records were broken, and athletes from many countries won their first-ever Olympic gold medals, including Chile, Chinese Taipei, Dominican Republic, Georgia, and Israel.

The United States won the most medals, followed by China and Russia. The games were considered a big success and helped improve Athens with new buildings, roads, and transportation. Many people remember the 2004 Olympics as wonderful and unforgettable.

Host city selection

Main article: Bids for the 2004 Summer Olympics

Athens was chosen to host the 2004 Summer Olympics during a meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, on September 5, 1997. Athens had previously tried to host the 1996 Summer Olympics but lost to Atlanta. This time, under the leadership of Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, Athens made a new bid. The success of this bid was due to its focus on the history of the Olympics and the important role Greece could play in supporting the Olympic Movement. The 2004 bid was praised for being humble and honest, unlike the 1996 bid.

Before being chosen, there were worries about Athens being ready to host such a big event. However, Athens successfully organized several other international sports events, which helped show that they could handle the Olympics. Athens won the final vote against Rome, with other cities like Cape Town, Stockholm, and Buenos Aires being eliminated earlier. Six other cities had also submitted bids but were not chosen.

Development and preparation

The 2004 Summer Olympic Games cost the Government of Greece about €9 billion to organize. The Athens 2004 Organizing Committee finished its work in 2005 with extra money left over. The Greek government helped with 8% of the costs, less than they first thought.

The Games brought money to Greece. Taxes went up by about €3.5 billion from 2000 to 2004 because of all the activity around the Olympics. The Games helped the Greek economy grow.

Many buildings and roads were built for the Olympics. Some were finished just in time. The main stadium got a special glass roof made by an architect from Spain. Trains and trams were added to help people get around the city easily.

Sadly, at least 14 people died while working on the buildings for the Olympics. Most of these people were not from Greece.

Before the Olympics started, some workers in hotels went on strike asking for better pay. Also, paramedics and ambulance drivers protested because they wanted the same extra pay as security workers.

Torch relay

The lighting ceremony of the Olympic flame happened on 25 March 2004 in Ancient Olympia. For the very first time, the flame traveled around the world in a relay to many cities that have hosted the Olympics before and after, as well as other big cities, before coming back to Greece.

Broadcasting

Athens Olympic Broadcasting was the main provider for the Games, sharing more than 35,000 hours of events with over 300 TV channels worldwide. Local broadcasts were handled by ERT, which used all three of its channels (ET1, NET, and ET3) to show Olympic events for over 24 hours each day.

Online coverage

For the first time, big TV companies could share video of the Olympics on the Internet, but only in certain places to protect their agreements. The International Olympic Committee did not allow athletes, coaches, or team staff to create special weblogs or websites to share their own views of the Games. They could not post audio, video, or photos they took, unless they already had a personal website that was not made just for the Olympics. NBC created its own website, NBCOlympics.com, which gave video clips, medal counts, and live results. Its main job was to show when and where Olympic sports would be on NBC Universal’s many networks. The Games were shown on TV around the clock, either on one network or another.

Technology

The people organizing the 2004 Summer Olympics used lots of technology to make sure everything worked well. They had two special networks—one for getting ready for the Games and one for the Games themselves. They used over 11,000 computers, many servers, printers, phones, and other devices all connected by miles of cables.

This technology helped more than 150,000 staff, volunteers, and guests. It also kept everyone informed, including people watching on TV and online. A special team worked around the clock in the Technology Operations Center to watch everything and fix any problems.

The Games

Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, took place on August 13, 2004. It began with a countdown followed by fireworks. The ceremony featured music, dance, and symbolic performances representing Greek culture and history. Athletes from 201 nations marched into the stadium, with Greece entering last as the host country. The ceremony ended with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron and a fireworks display.

Participating National Olympic Committees

All National Olympic Committees except Djibouti took part in the Athens Games. Two new committees, Kiribati and East Timor, joined for the first time. Afghanistan returned to the Games after being banned in 2000. The number of participating nations increased from 199 to 201.

Sports

The 2004 Summer Olympics included 301 events across 28 sports. For the first time, women competed in wrestling and the sabre event in fencing. Wheelchair racing was featured as a demonstration sport. The games also saw athletes competing in the ancient site of Olympia for the first time in modern history.

Highlights

Some notable moments included Greece achieving its best medal count in over 100 years, Australia winning the most gold medals right after hosting the Olympics, and Kelly Holmes of Britain winning gold in both the 800m and 1500m races. Liu Xiang of China set a world record in the 110m hurdles, and Michael Phelps of the United States won eight medals. Carly Patterson of the United States became the second American woman to win the all-around gold medal in gymnastics.

Closing ceremony

The closing ceremony on August 29, 2004, celebrated Greek culture and marked the official end of the Games. It included performances by Greek artists and a handover to Beijing, the host of the next Olympics. The Olympic flag was passed from Athens to Beijing, and a young Greek girl symbolically extinguished the Olympic Flame.

Medal table

These are the top ten nations that won medals in the 2004 Games.

Key

 ‡  Changes in medal standings (see here)

  *   Host nation (Greece)

Venues

Main article: Venues of the 2004 Summer Olympics

The 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, took place at many different venues. Some of the main places included the Athens Olympic Aquatic Centre for diving and swimming, the Athens Olympic Tennis Centre for tennis, and the Olympic Stadium for the opening and closing ceremonies.

Other important venues were the Helliniko Indoor Arena for basketball and handball, the Faliro Olympic Beach Volleyball Centre for beach volleyball, and the Markopoulo Olympic Shooting Centre for shooting. There were also venues spread across Greece, such as Kaftanzoglio Stadium in Thessaloniki and Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus, used for football matches.

• Athens Olympic Aquatic Centre – diving, swimming, synchronized swimming, water polo

• Athens Olympic Tennis Centre – tennis

• Athens Olympic Velodrome – cycling (track)

• Olympic Indoor Hall – basketball (final), gymnastics (artistic, trampolining)

• Olympic Stadium – ceremonies (opening/ closing), athletics, football (final)

• Faliro Olympic Beach Volleyball Centre – volleyball (beach)

• Faliro Sports Pavilion Arena – handball, taekwondo

• Peace and Friendship Stadium – volleyball (indoor)

• Agios Kosmas Olympic Sailing Centre – sailing

• Ano Liosia Olympic Hall – judo, wrestling

• Galatsi Olympic Hall – gymnastics (rhythmic), table tennis

• Kotzia Square – cycling (individual road race)

• Marathon (city) – athletics (marathon start)

• Nikaia Olympic Weightlifting Hall – weightlifting

• Panathenaic Stadium – archery, athletics (marathons finish)

• Peristeri Olympic Boxing Hall – boxing

• Schinias Olympic Rowing and Canoeing Centre – canoeing (sprint), rowing

• Stadium at Olympia – athletics (shot put)

• Vouliagmeni Olympic Centre – cycling (individual time trial), triathlon

OAKA

HOC

• Fencing Hall – fencing
• Helliniko Indoor Arena – basketball, handball (final)
• Olympic Baseball Centre – baseball
• Olympic Canoe/Kayak Slalom Centre – canoeing (slalom)
• Olympic Hockey Centre – field hockey
• Olympic Softball Stadium – softball

Faliro

GOC

• Goudi Olympic Hall – badminton
• Olympic Modern Pentathlon Centre – modern pentathlon

MOC

• Markopoulo Olympic Equestrian Centre – equestrian
• Markopoulo Olympic Shooting Centre – shooting

Football venues

• Kaftanzoglio Stadium (Thessaloniki)
• Karaiskakis Stadium (Piraeus)
• Pampeloponnisiako Stadium (Patras)
• Pankritio Stadium (Heraklion)
• Panthessaliko Stadium (Volos)

Other venues

Marketing

Mascots

Main article: Athena, Phevos and Proteas

Mascots have been part of the Olympic Games since the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France. For the 2004 Olympics, there were two official mascots: Athena and Phevos. They were named after Athena, the goddess of wisdom, and Phoebus, the god of light and music. The designs were inspired by ancient daidala, which were special toy dolls.

Sponsors

Legacy

To remember the 2004 Olympics, special coins were made in Greece. These coins show famous places in Greece and pictures of old and new sports.

Getting ready for the Olympics helped improve Athens. New things were built, like a big airport named after Eleftherios Venizelos, trains, trams, and roads. These improvements are still used today. Some buildings were turned into parks or shops.

There were discussions about whether the money spent on the Olympics helped or hurt Greece, especially during a tough time for the country's money situation. Some people thought it cost too much, but others said the benefits were important too.