Athens 2004: The bitter legacy of the Olympic Games (5/5) • FRANCE 24 English

27 comments

1. The Olympics should rotate between the handful of countries that can really afford it and have existing venues. Like America, France, China etc.

2. You need a plan for post-games

3. She spoke eloquently about the Games….but where was the plan to make a SOCCER TEAM or College at the Site…or make it a tourist attraction for athletes to train….or raise the areas like BMX or let kids use it. How about HOUSING and sell the area….but to leave it in disgust is a SIN!!!

4. If the United Nations can’t Keep the World together , What’s the Point of these Money Wasting Olympics .

5. Let's look at Athens to distract us from the failure of France.

6. This is an all too common story. With the exception of Sydney, most nations' Olympic venues are abandoned and have fallen into disrepair. Even Beijing and its ‘Five Friendlies’ mascots, which in the wake of the 2008 games sat eerily in a forest behind a never-completed shopping center.

7. At least they didn't have peadophiles and gender benders competing. France will go down in history as an absolute mockery of a host nation. Worst opening ceremony ever witnessed and a shambles

8. The Athens Olympic stadium wasn't new. It was built in the 80's, but wanting to be bigger and better, they had to have that fancy roof.

   For their 1996 bid, they didn't propose to build a roof over the Olympic stadium.

   The problem with Athens was too many supposed permanent venues where there wasn't any need for such in the long term.

   What if Athens had hosted 1996? The centennial games? Using less infrastructure than what was around for 2004.

9. @ 2:20 Is that a "woman" or a woman

10. The builders got paid, architechs, etc. …. maintenance was never part of the deal… it was a one of

11. I personally don't watch the Olympics anymore. The Olympics are less about the athletes and more about how much money can be uselessly spent improving the hosting city. Now it's all about money and power!

12. Have you read the book?

    All things fall apart!

13. Big facilities like stadiums are a mistake these days with the internet revolution this century .Unless already built & in current high use. For simply renovations

14. Bread not circuses.

15. The olympic games are a racket!

16. Running around, playing with a ball, doing somersaults and the like, are hardly civilization advancing achievements and get way overblown attention. The admiration & adulation would be better saved for people with much more important accomplishments. Those working on cures for dreaded diseases, engineering energy efficient transportation, inventing new useful products, and similar are the real heroes. Let’s get our priorities right and quit wasting excessive time, money, and other resources on circuses and kid games.

17. Greece, the birth place of corruption.

18. Atlanta did the best job with a post-Olympics development plan. The Olympic Stadium was converted to a baseball stadium for the Braves.

19. I went to The Champions League Final there in 2007.

20. So much of a legacy of the Olympic Games, tosh.

21. Very sad to see

22. Like… Half the venues that were located in Hellinikon don't exist anymore. Because an enormous park, an entire residential area with skyscrapers and a marina are being built right now, and at a fast pace.
    As for the OAKA complex, none of it is abandoned. The Olympic Stadium isn't at all derelict. It's pretty much used actively. The concerts were never cancelled, and it managed all of its full capacity with Coldplay. Right now, they're going to renovate the glass roof. And the indoors basketball arena is right now going through a thorough renovation. And the Park of the Nations as well.

    As for the Olympic village itself, it's a residential area, with functional housing. Aka, with air conditioning, and full facilities.

    The Rowing Centre is actively used. It needs a bit more funding, but it's more than ok, and it's a popular destination for going out, especially for biking. The problems are within the Rowing Federation and its coach, not the facilities.

    I think this whole story is a distraction from the disaster of this year's Olympics.

23. Use what you have not build what you don't… this is just wasteful….debt on top of debt.

24. When can i just watch a Olympics without some Bolsheviks issulting Christianity i haven't wacthed the last two because of loser only caring about mon ey and not the athletes.

25. Smallest country to host the games? So we just forget the 3 the UK held then.

26. Modern olimpic games never should exist

27. Olympics are a complete waste of time and money!!