Here’s some background information about the 2004 Olympics which were held in Athens,Greece.
August 13-29, 2004 - The Olympic Games are held.
Sept. 17-28, 2004 - The Paralympic Games are held.
September 5, 1997 - Athens, Greece, is chosen over Buenos Aires, Cape Town, Rome and Stockholm.
2004 Games Facts and Stats:
301 medal ceremonies take place over a period of 16 days.
28 sports are represented across 35 venues.
10,500 athletes and 5,500 team officials from 201 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participate.
45,000 volunteers.
More than 21,500 media outlets to cover the Games (16,000 broadcasters, including AOB and 5,500 photo/written press).
2004 Torch Relay
The International Torch Relay travels around the world for 35 days visiting 34 cities in 27 countries. It continues for 36 more days inside Greece prior to the Olympics.
The Torch changes time zones 37 times, use 20 local currencies and 19 languages.
The Torch visits all former host cities.
International Route:
- 3/25/04 - Lighting of the Olympic Torch in ancient Olympia, Greece
- 6/4/04 - Sydney, Australia
- 6/5/04 - Melbourne, Australia
- 6/6/04 - Tokyo, Japan
- 6/7/04 - Seoul, South Korea
- 6/8/04 - Beijing, China
- 6/10/04 - Delhi, India
- 6/11/04 - Cairo, Egypt
- 6/12/04 - Cape Town, South Africa
- 6/13/04 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- 6/15/04 - Mexico City, Mexico
- 6/16/04 - Los Angeles, USA
- 6/17/04 - St. Louis, USA
- 6/18/04 - Atlanta, USA
- 6/19/04 - New York, USA
- 6/20/04 - Montreal, Canada
- 6/21/04 - Antwerp, Belgium
- 6/22/04 - Brussels, Belgium
- 6/23/04 - Amsterdam, Belgium
- 6/24/04 - Geneva, Switzerland
- 6/24/04 - Lausanne, Switzerland
- 6/25/04 - Paris, France
- 6/26/04 - London, UK
- 6/27/04 - Barcelona, Spain
- 6/28/04 - Rome, Italy
- 6/29/04 - Munich, Germany
- 6/30/04 - Berlin, Germany
- 7/1/04 - Stockholm, Sweden
- 7/2/04 - Helsinki, Finland
- 7/3/04 - Moscow, Russia
- 7/5/04 - Kiev, Ukraine
- 7/6/04 - Istanbul, Turkey
- 7/7/04 - Sofia, Bulgaria
- 7/8/04 - Nicosia, Cyprus
- 7/9/04-8/13/04 - The Torch Relay across Greece
2004 Venues:
Competitions take place in 35 Olympic venues.
OAKA, Athens Olympics Sports Complex - includes the Olympic Stadium, Tennis Centre, Indoor Hall, Aquatic Centre, and Velodrome
Helliniko Olympic Complex - includes the Softball Centre, Baseball Centre, Hockey Centre, Indoor Halls 1 and 2, and Canoe/Kayak Centre
Athens Centre - Includes Panathinaiko Stadium and Cycling road race
Faliro Coastal Zone Complex - Includes Beach Volleyball Centre and Sports pavilion
Schinias and Marathonas area - Includes Schinias Olympic Rowing and Canoeing Centre and Marathon start
Markopoulo - Includes Shooting Centre and Equestrian Centre
West Attica - Includes Nikaia Olympic Weightlifting Hall, Ano Liossa Olympic Hall, Parinitha Olympic Mountain Bike Venue, and Peristeri Olympic Boxing Hall
Football in Olympic Cities around Greece - Pampeloponnisiako Stadium, Panthessaliko Stadium, Kaftanzoglio Stadium, Pankrito Stadium, and Karaiskaki Stadium
2004 Olympic Village, Media and Visitor Accomodations:
July 30, 2004 - September 1, 2004 - The Olympic Village in full operation for 34 days, on a 24-hour basis.
The Olympic Village housed 16,000 athletes and team officials during the Olympic Games and 6,000 during the Paralympic Games.
There are 366 buildings, consisting of 2,292 apartments with 8,814 rooms and 17,428 beds.
Sixteen square meters of space are available to every athlete - making the Athens Olympic Village the most spacious village ever.
In the greater Athens area, there are over 30,000 hotel rooms available.
Seven media villages host around 9,000 media representatives.
2004 Security:
Olympic security is the responsibility of the Greek (Hellenic) Police and the Olympic Games Security Division (OGSD).
Greece is a member of a seven-nation Olympic Security Advisory Group (OAG), which includes France, UK, Israel, Germany, US, Australia and Spain.
Forty-five thousand security personnel work at the Olympic Games: 25,000 from the police, 7,000 from the military, 3,000 coast guards, 1,500 fire-fighters, 3,500 private security contractors and 5,000 trained volunteers.
2004 Transportation:
The Athens area has 120 km of new and 90 km of upgraded roads by the time of the games.
The Metro, in combination with the new tram and the new suburban rail, currently under construction, moves approximately 1 million passengers a day.
March 2001 - The Athens International Airport opens, and is voted one of the three best airports in the world by the International Air Transport Association.
2004 Budget:
Athens 2004 has a balanced budget of 1.92 billion euros or $2.5 billion dollars.
Eighty-eight percent of the budget comes from broadcast rights, sponsoring and licensing programs and ticket sales.
