Athens 2004: The bitter legacy of the Olympic Games (5/5)

FRANCE 24 English

Since the creation of the modern Olympic Games in 1896, the competition to be selected as the host city has been fierce. Cities vie with innovation and resources to stand out and attract athletes and spectators from around the globe. Follow our special coverage this week as we bring you a daily focus report on cities that have hosted the Olympics, from Los Angeles to Beijing, Athens, Barcelona, and Munich. In Greece, this year marks the 20th anniversary of the organisation of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. It was a huge occasion in a country that saw the birth of the Olympic Games in antiquity and their rebirth in 1896. The sporting event has however left an ugly scar on the Greek capital as many venues, then brand-new, were soon abandoned after the Games. Alexia Kefalas, Nathalie Savaricas and S&#233;rafim Yannopoulos report.Read moreRevisiting host cities: Munich, a model Olympic village (1/5)Read moreRevisiting host Olympic cities: Los Angeles, a profitable legacy (2/5)Read moreRevisiting host cities: How the 1992 Summer Olympics transformed Barcelona (3/5)Read moreBeijing 2008 and 2022: China's ambitious Olympic projects (4/5)  Visit our website: http://www.france24.com  Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English  Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/France24_en

Transcript

00:00August 13, 2004.

00:14The Athens Olympic Games Opening Ceremony takes place inside a brand new stadium.

00:19The imposing roof is designed by award-winning Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava.

00:26Millions tune in to watch the return of the Games to their birthplace.

00:31A grandiose event, a country brimming with pride.

00:36The world saluted the smallest country to ever have hosted the Summer Olympic Games

00:40for its majestic organisation in these impressive sporting facilities.

00:50Twenty years on, what remains of these Games?

00:57The Olympic Stadium is currently closed, indefinitely.

01:01The roof steel structure has been deemed unsafe.

01:04Dozens of scheduled shows, including British rock band Coldplay's summer concerts, have

01:09been cancelled for now.

01:13All these years, the state should have maintained this.

01:19Everything is falling apart, it's all rusty, full of ghosts.

01:26Sure we had the financial crisis and cuts, but the truth is no one cares, not even the

01:30state.

01:31Citizens can't do much.

01:34The emblematic beach volley stadium, where the sand hasn't changed since 2004, has the

01:39same fate.

01:40The stands are degraded, graffitis and garbage have become permanent fixtures.

01:46And yet Greece paid more than 500 million for these stadiums.

01:52The establishment is citing the financial crisis that hit the country in 2010 for ten

01:56years to justify the lack of maintenance and operation of these constructions.

02:01But silence reigns when it comes to gauging the intangible, such as introducing new sports

02:06or organising Paralympic competitions.

02:09A comprehensive sense of failure.

02:12That's a problem.

02:13In Greece there was no development plan for after the 2004 Olympics, that's a fact.

02:21Yana Gelopoulou was the first woman to preside over the organisation committee of the Games.

02:28She fought for this heritage, for the tangible as much as the intangible, like equal gender

02:34participation at the Olympic Games, but also access with reduced mobility.

02:40Today she wants to believe that all is not lost.

02:43In 2004, we revived the ancient Olympic spirit by making everything at a human scale, with

02:51thousands of volunteers and new infrastructure.

02:56As you know, in 1896, a Frenchman and a Greek brought the Olympic Games back to life.

03:03We're linked and we here in Athens know from our own experience that Paris will leave a

03:08unique Olympic legacy.

03:13On its side, the government pledged 57 million euros to renovate the Olympic Stadium and

03:18is relying on private funds to salvage these facilities, just like the Olymikon project.

03:24The old canoe, kayak, baseball and softball complexes will soon turn into one of the largest

03:29urban parks of Europe.

03:31This green lung will include hotels, residences, beaches, marinas and aims to resolve the housing

03:37problem in the south of the Greek capital.

03:40We're creating a world-leading mixed-use development, combining state-of-the-art residential, commercial,

03:46sports, tourism, leisure and entertainment offerings.

03:50In the centre, the largest coastal park in Europe doubles the amount of green space in

03:54the Athens metropolitan area.

03:57Greece has come a long way since the 2004 Olympics and the Olymikon is both a major

04:02driver of and an inspiring symbol for all that we have achieved and all that is yet to come.

04:09The works at the Olymikon are expected to be completed by 2025.

04:14At last, there is some hope that other white elephants will also be transformed.

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