Overview

The 2004 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, were staged in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004. The event marked the first time since the inaugural modern Olympics of 1896 that the Summer Games were held in Greece. Approximately 10,625 athletes participated, competing for medals in 301 events spread across a broad programme of disciplines.

Key facts

  • Dates: August 13–29, 2004.
  • Host city: Athens, Greece.
  • Athletes: about 10,625 competitors.
  • Events: 301 medal events in 28 sports and their disciplines.
  • Participation: representatives from over 200 National Olympic Committees.

The programme combined traditional summer sports with modern additions and drew participants from a wide range of countries. The schedule included preliminary rounds, heats, and finals across athletics, aquatics, team sports, combat sports, and others, culminating in the athletics programme that is traditionally a centrepiece of the Games.

Venues, ceremonies and organisation

Athens used a mixture of newly built and historic venues. The Athens Olympic Stadium and the surrounding complex staged many of the major athletics and ceremonial events, while the Panathenaic Stadium — the all-marble stadium that hosted competitions in 1896 — was used for symbolic moments such as the marathon finish and select ceremonies. The Olympic flame was lit in Olympia according to ancient custom and carried on an international relay before arriving in the host city.

Hosting the Games required major investment in transport and urban infrastructure, including roads, public transit upgrades, and sporting facilities. Those improvements shaped public discussion about the long-term legacy of the Games, with attention to how venues and spending would be used after the event.

Sporting highlights and significance

The competition produced memorable performances across athletics, swimming, gymnastics and team sports, and it demonstrated both elite achievement and global participation. Beyond medals and records, the Athens Games were widely noted for their symbolic return to the birthplace of the ancient Olympics and to the site of the first modern Olympiad. The Paralympic Games followed in the same city later that year, continuing the international sporting programme and accessibility initiatives launched for the Summer Games.

Overall, the 2004 Summer Olympics combined modern organisational scale with historical symbolism, reasserting Greece's special place in Olympic history while leaving a complex legacy of infrastructure, culture and sport.