Athens 2004: Olympic venues overview
Thirty-three competition venues were used for the Olympic Games Athens 2004, 21 of which remain in use today. Eleven of the competition venues were existing, 20 were new and two were temporary. Ten of the new venues, six of them located at the Helliniko Complex, are no longer in use. Five of the venues were outside Athens.
The Galatsi Olympic Hall, for example, hosts sports like basketball and rhythmic gymnastics, art classes, music concerts, television sets and governmental offices. The Agios Kosmas sailing centre functions as a private marina, while the International Broadcasting Centre was repurposed into one of the most popular shopping malls in Athens. Additionally, the Olympic and media villages have been sold off as private residencies, and the Phaleron Sports Pavilion has become a convention centre, hosting trade shows and music concerts. Re-built for the Games, the Karaiskaki Stadium is the home of Greece’s most decorated football club, Olympiacos.
Nine Olympic venues have not fared well, particularly in the Hellinikon Complex, which was built within the wider redevelopment area of the former Athens airport in the south of the city. Failure to move forward with the overall development project led to its demolition in 2025. Three other venues located in different areas of the city also remain unused, namely the Phaleron Olympic Beach Volleyball stadium, the Nikaia Weightlifting Hall and the Goudi Olympic Complex, which was used as a theatre for a number of years after the Games.
The Olympic Stadium, which hosted the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, and the track and field and football competitions, is not in use today due to major structural work in the roof.