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Almost two decades on from the 2004 Athens Olympics, Greece is reminded of the cost that often comes with hosting the quadrennial competition.
The European nation spent a whopping £8billion to bring the torch back to its borders, a hefty chunk of which went to building an Olympic Park worthy of the occasion. Renovations to the Olympic Stadium alone cost around £250million, though that venue at least remains in use today.
But the same can't be said for the Park itself, which once functioned as the home of the Summer Games and welcomed sports fans in their throngs. But the site more closely resembles a ghost town 19 years on, featuring overgrown pitches and stained stadia that haven't seen punters in many years.
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Images of the grounds today show empty pools, deserted standing areas and venues that have given way to nature since being neglected. Located in the northern Marousi district in Athens, the barren bleachers stand as testament to a time that held so much promise for the country.
Instead, the 2008 economic crisis meant Greece had to divert its attention away from maintaining the site or finding alternative uses. The EU member was hit particularly hard by the economic downturn as debt reached record numbers, resulting in a recession that required multiple bailouts to keep the country afloat.
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The softball stadium is one such venue sat gathering dust in the post-Olympic area. Athens is one of only five host cities to stage the sport to date, and Paris organisers have already confirmed it won't be making a comeback in 2024.
Following the Games, the ground was converted into a football pitch and attracted local outfit Ethnikos, but they moved on from the venue in 2014. Since then, it was more recently used as a temporary site to house more than 3,000 refugees who were being processed into the country.
Greece's government also funded the building of the Olympic Slalom Centre to host water events. But the massive area now sits dried up as a shadow of its former self.
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Greece hosted the first official Summer Olympics in 1896, but it was more than a century before the Games returned to the country. The event was framed as an emotional homecoming for what is viewed as the showcase's birthplace.
And although the 2004 edition of the sporting celebration received widespread plaudits at the time, many have speculated on the contribution its cost had on the financial crisis that unfolded in the years to come. Greece isn't the only country to struggle in maintaining its Olympic facilities once the Games are over, however, with 2016 host Brazil also now home to a collection of costly monuments.
- Olympics
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