The 2004 Olympic Games

Athens is also the city of the Olympic idea. Olympic Games were first conceived and organised in Greece. The Olympic Games of antiquity, a major athletic-cultural activity for all Greeks, used to take place every four years, during which, conflicts and disputes were put aside and truce was declared. Greeks gathered to Olympia to worship their Gods and to compete in athletics and in arts. The winners' sole prize was eternal glory and a wreath made of a wild olive branch, which was always cut from the same olive-tree, the kallistefano.

The Olympic Games, which included the foot race, wrestling, the Pankration, the Pentathlon, chariot racing, as well as artistic and literary competitions, came to an end in 393 AD. Fifteen centuries later, in 1896, they were revived where they had been born, in Greece, by the French historian Pierre de Coubertin. Since then, every four years a torchbearer, like the ancient heralds, starts out from Olympia carrying the sacred flame to the place where the Games are held.

The choice of Greece as the country which hosted the 2004 Olympic Games was neither based on sentimental criteria nor was it of a symbolic nature. The existing infrastructure of accommodation, sports complex and conference facilities as well as recognition of the ability to organize world events of any size played a significant role.

State-of-the-art sports facilities were constructed to accommodate the Olympic Games, such as

• The Olympic Yachting Centre included the construction of an artificial islet, recreational areas and Olympic facilities such as buildings and other sheltered areas that cost approximately 30 million EURO and will provide unique opportunities for commercial, residential and leisure use.

• The Olympic Rowing, Canoeing and Slalom Centre that cost 40 million EURO, extends its scope to a multiple recreation and sports pole and finally,

• The Olympic Equestrian Centre and the new Athens racetrack, at a cost of 100 million EURO apart of its use for the Olympic Games, is a permanent facility for international and national competitive events.

By undertaking the Olympic Games, Greece became a cultural centre for international meetings.

Most importantly, all the projects conducted for the 2004 Olympic Games enriched the country's infrastructure, making it even more capable to accommodate big events.

Blending sport and culture, tradition and innovation, Athens offers the participants of a congress the unique opportunity to find themselves not simply in a place able to accommodate their needs but also in the homeland as well as the 2004 Olympic Games destination.