THE abandoned Olympic park was once the jewel in Athens’ crown, but has now become the personification of a Greek tragedy.
The country spent an eyewatering £8billion to bring the international sporting event back to its birthplace – yet the facilities have been left to rot after the extravagant homecoming.
Stands once lined by thousands of sports fans remain eerily empty[/caption]
The crumbling canoeing and kayaking slaloms are desolate and dried up[/caption]
It is hard to believe athletes such as Michael Phelps once graced the pool facilities[/caption]
The derelict site of the 2004 Olympic Games, initially a symbol of the grandeur of ancient Greece, has become an eyesore in the capital.
It is now a sad reminder of the global financial crisis which crippled the nation and left the government unable to afford the upkeep of the iconic infrastructure.
Stands that were formerly packed with spectators are now overgrown with weeds as the stadiums were deserted by officials.
Although eerie remnants of some structures remain, the facilities appear ravaged beyond repair after years of exposure to the elements.
The neglected Olympic pools are filled with grimy rainwater and debris, but the diving boards have somehow clung to life.
It’s hard to believe it is where then-19-year-old Michael Phelps won the first six of his record 22 gold medals and set two World Records.
Heaps of rubbish and pieces of broken pool filters now swim in the murky waters.
The canoeing and kayaking slaloms dried up, while even the sailing centre that was repurposed as a marina has fallen into disrepair.
Explorers who want to walk in the footsteps of sporting greats would have to dodge a great deal of rubble while navigating the stadiums.
The abandoned beach volleyball venue in Neo Faliro, the hockey and softball stadiums as well as the taekwondo arena each look post-apocalyptic.
The Hellinikon Stadium, used for baseball, was converted into a football ground for Ethnikos Piraeus FC, but they ditched it in 2014.
After the team moved to a smaller facility, it has now been repurposed as a makeshift refugee camp by Greek officials.
Those awaiting processing are housed in white tents and now use the stadium stands to dry their washing, according to CNN.
The scenes are a far cry from 2004, when Greeks clung to hope that the Olympics returning to its home would mark a new chapter for the country.
Hellenic Olympic Properties, the company tasked with managing the Olympic venues portfolio, struggled to find investors for the venues.
The lack of cash flow is evident in images of the decomposing sites.
Even the marble blocks dedicated to medal winners in the former Olympic Village are on their last legs and have been defaced with graffiti.
Fields where the world’s greatest athletes frolicked across are now yellowed and dead after being torched by Greece’s scorching sun.
The only sign of life in the vicinity is the tufts of weeds spurting between the outdoor seating and the occasional visit from wildlife.
The state-of-the-art venues would prove ridiculously costly to revive, leaving them destined to become Greece’s modern ruins.
Officials have admitted they are kicking themselves for not making the most of their extravagant investment after hosting the Games.
Former Olympic weightlifting champion turned Socialist MP, Pyrros Dimas, said: “We didn’t take advantage of this dynamic that we got in 2004.
“We simply made the biggest mistake in our history: We switched off, locked up the stadiums, let them fall to pieces, and everything finished there.
“We spent a lot of money for some projects (that) are shut and rotting.
“There were projects that should have cost 2 and 3 million (euros) and suddenly became so big that they cost 13 and 14 million. There was no control.”
Although the Games were regarded as a success, even the construction process was blighted by delays, astronomical costs and the deaths of at least 14 workers.
The legacy of the doomed infrastructure has served as a warning for other nations ploughing cash into an Olympics bid.
But the likes of Beijing, Berlin and Italy didn’t heed the cautionary tale and each have hauntingly similar sites staining their skylines.
Despite the large majority of venues being left to the mercy of the world, the iconic Panathenaic Stadium still stands tall.
The historic arena, built entirely out of marble for the first-ever Olympics held in Athens, managed to dodge the bullet of decline and has been given a new lease of life.
It is open to ticket-paying visitors, who can run on the track, take in the majesticness from the stands, or visit the on-site Olympic museum.
The Olympic Rings were recently returned to the stadium after almost 12 years in the hopes of reinvigorating the grounds.
President and International Olympic Committee member Spyros Capralos said: ” I cannot hide my joy but also my emotion, because the symbol of the Olympic Games has returned after many years.
“Now all Greeks and foreigners who visit the Panathenaic Stadium will remember the presence of the Olympic Circles and the historic sporting events that took place there.”
Most of the other venues remain padlocked, although the badminton facility has now become a successful concert hall.
The Olympic Stadium itself has been used for soccer teams such as AEK and Panathinaikos, as well as being used for performances.
The Olympic Indoor Hall went on to host the Eurovision Song Contest in 2006, as well as the Euroleague Final Four the following year.
We previously told how an abandoned stadium with a bigger capacity than the Emirates was reduced to rubble.
The Vicente Calderon Stadium was once the home of Atletico Madrid, but six years on from its closure it is set to be turned into a park.
And a European stadium has been left to rot after a building blunder left the stands facing the wrong way.
The empty ground located in Kosovo bizarrely has seats not in view of the pitch.
The former Olympic baseball stadium is now a makeshift refugee camp[/caption]
Swimming pools in the former Olympic Village are filled with rubbish and rainwater[/caption]
The neglected sites have been dubbed the modern Greek ruins[/caption]
The formerly grand Olympic complex cost a whopping £8billion[/caption]