Editing 2004 Summer Olympics (section)

==Development and preparation==

=== Costs ===
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games cost the [[Government of Greece]] near €9 billion to stage.<ref name=greekembassy>{{cite web|url=http://www.greekembassy.org/Embassy/content/en/Article.aspx?office=3&folder=200&article=14269|title=Cost of Athens 2004 Olympics|access-date=13 November 2004|work=Embassy of Greek|publisher=greekembassy.org|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071219203443/http://www.greekembassy.org/Embassy/content/en/Article.aspx?office=3&folder=200&article=14269|archive-date=19 December 2007}}</ref> 
The Athens 2004 Organizing Committee (ATHOC), responsible for the preparation and organisation of the Games, concluded its operations as a company in 2005 with a surplus of [[Euro|€]]130.6 million.  The State's contribution to the total ATHOC budget was 8% of its expenditure against an originally anticipated 14%. The overall revenue of ATHOC, including income from tickets, sponsors, broadcasting rights, merchandise sales etc., totalled near €2.1 billion. The largest percentage of that income (38%) came from media rights. According to the cost-benefit evaluation of the impact of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games presented to the Greek Parliament in January 2013 by the Minister of Finance Mr. [[Yannis Stournaras|Giannis Stournaras]], the overall net economic benefit for Greece was positive.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.in.gr/economy/article/?aid=1231231141|title= Στα 8,5 δισ. ευρώ το συνολικό ακαθάριστο κόστος των Ολυμπιακών Αγώνων του 2004date=18 January 2013 | date=18 January 2013 }}</ref>

The Greek Ministry of Finance reported in 2013 that the expenses of the Greek state for the Athens 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games, including both infrastructure and organizational costs, reached the amount of €8.5 billion. The same report further explains that €2 billion of this amount was covered by the revenue of the ATHOC (from tickets, sponsors, broadcasting rights, merchandise sales etc.) and that another €2 billion was directly invested in upgrading hospitals and preserving archaeological sites.
Therefore, the net infrastructure costs related to the preparation of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games was €4.5 billion, substantially lower than the reported estimates,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3770981.stm|title=Olympics 'may cost Greece dear'|date=2 June 2004|via=news.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> and mainly included long-standing fixed asset investments in numerous municipal and transport infrastructures.

On the revenue side, the same report estimates that incremental tax revenues of approximately €3.5 billion arose from the increased activities caused by the Athens 2004 Olympic Games during the period 2000 to 2004. These tax revenues were paid directly to the Greek state specifically in the form of incremental social security contributions, income taxes and VAT tax paid by all the companies, professionals, and service providers that were directly involved with the Olympic Games. Moreover, it is reported that the Athens 2004 Olympic Games have had a great economic growth impact on the Greek economy, in the words of the Greek Minister of Finance, is that "as a result from the cost-benefit analysis, we reach the conclusion that there has been a net economic benefit from the Olympic Games".

===Comparison to other Olympic Games===

Cost per sporting event for Athens 2004 was US$9.8 million. This compares with US$14.9 million for Rio 2016, US$49.5 million for London 2012, and US$22.5 million for Beijing 2008. Average cost per event for the Summer Games since 1960 is US$19.9 million.

Cost per athlete for Athens 2004 was US$0.3 million. This compares with US$0.4 million for Rio 2016, US$1.4 million for London 2012, and US$0.6 million for Beijing 2008. Average cost per athlete for the Summer Games since 1960 is US$0.6 million.

Cost overrun for Athens 2004 was 49%, measured in real terms from the bid to host the Games. This compares with 51% for Rio 2016 and 76% for London 2012. Average cost overrun for the Summer Games since 1960 is 176%.

===Construction===

By late March 2004, some Olympic projects were still behind schedule, and Greek authorities announced that a roof it had initially proposed as an optional, non-vital addition to the Aquatics Center would no longer be built. The main Olympic Stadium, the designated facility for the opening and closing ceremonies, was completed only two months before the Games opened. This stadium was completed with a retractable glass roof designed by Spanish architect [[Santiago Calatrava]]. The same architect also designed the [[Athens Olympic Sports Complex#Athens Olympic Velodrome|Velodrome]] and other facilities.

Infrastructure, such as the [[tram|tram line]] linking venues in southern Athens with the city centre, and numerous venues were considerably behind schedule just two months before the start of the Games. The subsequent pace of preparation, however, made the rush to finish the Athens venues one of the tightest in Olympics history. The Greeks, unperturbed, maintained that they would make it all along. By July/August 2004, all venues were delivered: in August, the Olympic Stadium was officially completed and opened, joined or preceded by the official completion and openings of other venues within the [[Athens Olympic Sports Complex]] (OAKA), and the sports complexes in Faliro and Helliniko.

Late July and early August witnessed the [[Athens Tram]] become operational, and this system provided additional connections to those already existing between Athens city centre and its waterfront communities along the [[Saronic Gulf]]. These communities included the port city of [[Piraeus]], Agios Kosmas (site of the sailing venue), Helliniko (the site of the old international airport which now contained the fencing venue, the canoe/kayak slalom course, the 15,000-seat [[Helliniko Olympic Arena|Helliniko Olympic Basketball Arena]], and the softball and baseball stadia), and the [[Faliro Coastal Zone Olympic Complex]] (site of the taekwondo, handball, indoor volleyball, and beach volleyball venues, as well as the newly reconstructed [[Karaiskaki Stadium]] for football). The upgrades to the Athens Ring Road were also delivered just in time, as were the expressway upgrades connecting central Athens with peripheral areas such as Markopoulo (site of the shooting and equestrian venues), the newly constructed [[Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport]], Schinias (site of the rowing venue), Maroussi (site of the OAKA), Parnitha (site of the Olympic Village), Galatsi (site of the rhythmic gymnastics and table tennis venue), and Vouliagmeni (site of the triathlon venue). The upgrades to the [[Athens Metro]] were also completed, and the new lines became operational by mid-summer.

[[EMI]] released ''Unity'', the official pop album of the Athens Olympics, in the leadup to the Olympics.<ref name=unity/> It features contributions from [[Sting (musician)|Sting]], [[Lenny Kravitz]], [[Moby]], [[Destiny's Child]], and [[Avril Lavigne]].<ref name=unity/> EMI has pledged to donate [[US dollar|US$]]180,000 from the album to [[United Nations Children's Fund|UNICEF]]'s HIV/AIDS program in [[Sub-Saharan Africa]].<ref name=unity>{{cite news|url=http://www.star-ecentral.com/music/sleeve/notes.asp?file=archives/sleeve/2004/5/26/26UnityOlymp&date=5/26/2004/2 |title=Unity Olympics Album |work=The Star Online eCentral |year=2004 |access-date=16 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080422033643/http://www.star-ecentral.com/music/sleeve/notes.asp?file=archives%2Fsleeve%2F2004%2F5%2F26%2F26UnityOlymp&date=5%2F26%2F2004%2F2 |archive-date=22 April 2008 }}</ref>

At least 14 people died during the work on the facilities. Most of these people were not from Greece.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3920919.stm |title=Workers in peril at Athens sites |work=BBC News |date=23 July 2004 |access-date=16 August 2008}}</ref>

Before the Games, Greek hotel staff staged a series of one-day strikes over wage disputes. They had been asking for a significant raise for the period covering the event being staged. [[Paramedic]]s and ambulance drivers also protested. They claimed to have the right to the same Olympic bonuses promised to their security force counterparts.

{{wide image|Athens Olympic Sports Complex Panorama.JPG|700px|Panorama of Athens Olympic Sports Complex.}}