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In the summer of 2004 all roads lead to Athens. The 2004 summer Olympics were held in Athens is the sports spectacle that Olympic enthusiasts will be looking forward to. The extravaganza that is the Modern Olympics is conducted on a larger-than-life scale. Come on an Olympic expedition that will trace the history of the games and bring you abreast with the preparations for the Greece Olympics. Find out about the Summer Olympics mascots, sports categories and much more.
2004 Summer Olympics
It seems fitting that the 2004 summer Olympics will be held at Athens as this signifies a return to origins – the home of the first Modern Olympics. Athens was chosen by the IOC in preference over Buenos Aires, Cape Town, Rome and Stockholm. The 2004 Summer Olympics will be held from August 13 – 29 2004. The lighting ceremony of the Olympic Flame in Ancient Olympia prior to the Greece Olympics will be held on 25 March 2004.
Athens 2004 Olympics – Torch Relay
The Olympic flame has always been symbolic of the Olympic ideals of noble competition, friendship and peaceful coexistence. The Olympic torch is first lit in Ancient Olympia and then passed on to the stadium of the city hosting the Opening Ceremony of the Games. The Athens 2004 Olympics torch relay will be the first to travel the globe and return to the country that gave us the Olympics Games. The journey of the Athens 2004 Olympics flame will cover a distance of about 78, 000 km. The flame will pass the hands of about 3,600 torchbearers and will provide an opportunity for nearly 260 million people to view it in their own cities. For the first time, the Athens 2004 Olympics flame will travel to Africa and Latin America.
The torch for the Athens 2004 Olympics has been inspired from an olive leaf and was chosen to enhance the Flame with its upward dynamic shape. The Olive tree is a powerful tree in the Mediterranean regions and has been held sacred for thousands of years. Since the olive branch is the global symbol of peace and freedom, it is a fitting choice for the Athens 2004 Olympics torch.
Athens Olympics Mascot
The bell-shaped cartoons Phevos and Athena have been selected as the Athens Olympics mascots. The Athens Olympics mascots were inspired by two Greek Gods. They represent two children of today – a brother and sister. Phevos represents the God of light and music also known as Apollo while Athena is the Goddess of wisdom and is the patron of Athens. The Olympics mascots were created to symbolize a bond between Greek history and modern Olympic games.
Modern Olympics
The Modern Olympics can be traced to the religious festival held in dedication of Zeus, the supreme Greek God. Olympia in Greece was the symbolic site where the ancient games were held. These ancient games were then revived due to the efforts of the French educator Baron Pierre de Coubertin. The first Modern Olympics were held in Athens in 1896 where 14 nations sent nearly 250 athletes to compete in the ancient Panathenaic Stadium. Greece led the medals tally with 47 medals. The Modern Olympics were seen as an instrument to promote understanding and friendship among nations and uphold the true spirit of sportsmanship. Participants from all over the world live in an Olympic village at the site of the games. The Olympic games are organized and developed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The IOC chooses the venue of each Modern Olympics and the games that are to be held.
Modern Olympics include track and field athletics that comprise decathlon and heptathlon. Other games and sports like archery, badminton, baseball, softball, canoeing and kayaking have also been added to the list. Modern Olympics are now open to professionals as well as amateurs. Modern Olympics have seen many an instance where intense rivalry between nations has sometimes threatened the foundations as well as the very survival of the games. Nations assign political significance to the sporting feats of their teams resulting in antagonism. Modern Olympics have also been besieged with the problem of athletes resorting to illegal competitive advantages through the use of performance enhancing drugs. Gross commercialization in the form of licensing of the games to television networks is also part of the Modern Olympics scenario. But the spirit of the Modern Olympics has survived political boycotts and threats of modern terrorism. The Panathinaic marble stadium where the first Modern Olympics took place is being refurbished to stage the biggest sporting event in recent times – Summer Olympics 2004 at Athens.
2004 Greece Olympics – The Complete Picture
There will be a total of 37 disciplines within the 28 sports to be played at the 2004 Greece Olympics. An Olympic sport is one that should be widely practiced by men in at least 75 countries on 4 continents and by women in at least 40 countries on 3 continents. The various sports at the 2004 Greece Olympics:
- Aquatics
- Archery
- Athletics
- Badminton
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Boxing
- Canoeing
- Cycling
- Equestrian
- Fencing
- Football
- Gymnastics
- Handball
- Hockey
- Judo
- Modern Pentathlon
- Rowing
- Sailing
- Shooting
- Softball
- Table tennis
- Taekwondo
- Tennis
- Triathlon
- Volleyball
- Weightlifting
- Wrestling
Here are a few tips for those who are heading for Athens in the summer of 2004:
- Temperature in Athens in August is hot and dry with an average of 31 degree Celsius.
- Light clothing, walking shoes, hat, sunglasses and sunscreen are mandatory.
- Remember that only small bags are permitted at venues.
2004 Greece Olympics – The Statistics
- 28 sports will be played at 38 venues.
- Nearly 10,500 athletes and 5,500 teams from 201 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) will participate.
- 301 medal ceremonies will take place over 16 days.
- The Olympic village will house 16,000 athletes and team officials during the Olympics.
- Nearly 45,000 security personnel will work at the Greece Olympics games.
There has been harsh criticism of the preparations for the 2004 Olympics by the IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch. He stated that there have not been any dramatic improvements in the preparations and the city of Seoul is standing by to take over if necessary. Though this seems unlikely, it is indicative of the pressure that is being mounted on the government of Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis whose party has just won by a very narrow margin. In addition to heralding probably the largest sporting event of the decade, the 2004 Greece Olympics is also promoting a cultural Olympiad – an event that will showcase Greece’s cultural profile and highlight its essence. A four-year long series of cultural and artistic activities have been designed to address all segments of Olympic constituents. The Cultural Olympiad of the 2004 Greece Olympics will also include the IOC Opening Ceremony to be held at the Athens Concert Hall, Megaron on 9 August 2004.
Paralympic Games
The Paralympic Games will be held at Athens from 17 to 28 September 2004. The first Games for athletes with a disability were held in 1948 in Stoke Mandeville, England. The Paralympic Games can be traced to Rome in 1960 when the first Olympic style Games for athletes with a disability were organized. The Paralympic Games were held immediately after the Olympics Games. Nearly 400 athletes from 23 countries competed in 8 sports. The Paralympic Games have been organized every four years since then. They are always held in the same year as the Olympic games.
It was in 1988 in Seoul that the Paralympic Games were held at the same venue as the Olympics. Since then, the pattern continues. The symbol for the Paralympic games 2004 is Proteas, a sea horse named after an ancient deity of the sea. The name Proteas also signifies ‘being first’. The Paralympic Games aims at emphasizing the participants’ achievements and not their difficulty.
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