2004 Athens Olympics

In the summer of 2004 all eyes will be on Athens Greece as the city hosts what might possibly become the most important Olympics ever. Unless things change drastically before then, these Olympics will take place in a time where war and terrorism is on the minds if not the streets of just about everyone reading this.

These are uncertain times to be sure. But the spirit of the Olympics is that for this two week period we put our troubles behind us and stop fighting. We forget the things that separate us and come together in the spirit of competition and friendship. For those people who choose to focus on the differences between themselves and other people and find it difficult to forgive and forget their enemies for any amount of time, I paraphrase the great lyricist-philosopher Tom Leher singing about National Brotherhood Week:

".....It's only for 2 weeks so have no fear.
Be thankful that it doesn't last a whole year!"

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For two weeks Americans and Iranians, Greeks and Turks, Arabs and Israelis, British and French, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Jews, Carnivores and Vegetarians will put their political, religious, ethical and ethnic differences aside and compete on the athletic fields, courts and waters of Athens and the surrounding hills and mountains.

The Olympics in Athens may not be as spectacular as those held in Sydney, Australia. But they may be better. Greece is the smallest country that has ever hosted the Olympics and even now there is concern that Athens won't be able to pull it off. Construction is behind schedule. People in high places are arguing about issues that should have been settled months ago. Costs are escalating. Probably of most concern is that people are afraid that Athens won't be able to provide the security to make the games safe for the spectators and participants. But anyone familiar with Greece knows that this is how things are here.

To the outside observer it does appear that things are a mess and disorganization and chaos are threatening these Olympics. The person who knows Greece and the Greeks is aware that this is just the madness of their method. What appears to be a mess is simply the gathering of opposing forces which at the last moment will turn all their efforts in the same direction and in a miraculous way pull it off.

Of course doing everything at the last minute makes things a lot more expensive. When construction is delayed the construction companies can charge whatever they want to a government desperate to show the world that it can handle the responsibilities of hosting the Olympics, and the government will pay whatever is necessary. But in the end, by August of 2004 the world will be sitting in front of their TVs watching images of athletes and ancient sites and nobody will care how we got here.

In the summer of 2004 Athens will fill up with people to whom the beauty of the island and countryside will just be a side attraction and for many, something they never even see. To a true sports minded Olympic fanatic type the games could be held in the Detroit ghetto and they would still come in droves. Athens will be full of people who care little about Athens and are just there to see the games.

There will also be those people who love Greece for its' beauty and culture and will either head for the hills or avoid Greece altogether in the summer of 2004. But most people will be somewhere in between and will see this as an opportunity to be a part of something 'important' like the games and at the same time combine it with a holiday in a place they have always wanted to go. But where do you put a million visitors in a city that has hotel space for maybe a hundred thousand of them?

Already there are renovation projects in Athens and some old hotels whose doors have been closed for years are not only getting face-lifts but are being completely modernized. There are plans to rent a number of cruise ships and use them as floating hotels in Faliron with shuttle connections to the Athens Metro for access to events.

There are people combing the city looking for Athenians eager to rent their houses and apartments to make in a couple weeks the kind of money it takes a year for some to earn. The Olympic committee is now reserving rooms in hotels but these will be mostly for officials, Athletes, sponsors, government officials and those willing to pay big bucks or Euros to be close to the action. That means there is a possibility that there will be a shortage of rooms for those people who are coming as spectators.

On the bright side there should be plenty of houses and apartments available in August when most Athenians go to the islands or to their villages. As for hotels on nearby islands bookings will have to be made well in advance because this is a time when they are full with or without the Olympics. Islands like Aegina, Hydra, Poros, Spetses, Agistri, Kea, Kythnos, Syros, Tinos, Mykonos, Serifos, Sifnos, Andros and Evia are all within 3 hours of Athens by highspeed boats and one could conceivably commute to the games though this might get tiresome after a few days and you may want to sell your tickets and watch it on the bigscreen by the pool, in the bar or from your room.

Another option which is sort of a secret but may not be for long is to charter a sailboat or yacht. You can use it as your own floating hotel in any of the marinas in Athens and if you get bored with the Olympics just take off.

Security

In a world as insecure as this there is no real security. But in Athens the possibility that you will be killed by a terrorist is almost as likely as being eaten by wild dogs or electrocuted while shaving. Not very likely. During the Olympics and the period leading up to it which has already begun, Greece is very aware that all eyes are upon it and just as the image of the country now will have a positive or negative effect on the Olympics, what happens during the Olympics will have an affect on what happens to Greece after the Olympics.

In other words they are going to go to great measure to make certain that nothing goes wrong. Does that mean nothing will go wrong? Of course not. No matter what you do to make yourself secure, no matter how many locks you put on your door or how many bars on your windows there is still the danger of being robbed. But your bars and locks make it more difficult just as the vigilance of the police and the Athenians themselves make an incident less likely.

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Venues and Transportation

The events will be held in a variety of locations most of them accessible by the new Athens Metro and the rest by other means of transportation. Getting to and from the evens should not be a problem for anything on the metro lines. As for the other places it remains to be seen.

Because most Athenians leave the city during the month of August, traffic is usually not a problem. But what will happen in August of 2004 is anyone's guess. Will the Athenians stick around for the festivities or will they go off to the islands and villages to watch it on TV? But by the time the Olympics and the spectators arrive there will be a number of changes in transportation in Athens. There will (hopefully) be a light rail system in place to get people to the events that are not on the regular metro lines.

There will be strict parking control in the city which will in effect make the streets wider and traffic flow more smoothly. There will not only be an increase in the number of buses but also in the lanes that are used exclusively for buses. There will be a 32 kilometer train connection to the Athens airport and all the roadwork projects that enable travelers get into the city quickly or avoid it altogether should be finished. There will also be tram service on many of the avenues that have become pedestrianized and another going all the way to the beach at Glyfada.

People with Physical Disabilities

In what is a major if not revolutionary step for Greece all the venues and transportation will be accessible for people with physcial disabilities. There will be loading zones with special ramps for wheelchairs, special parking areas for vans and staff who will be there to assist not only handicapped specters at the Olympics but athletes and participants of the Paralympics too. In fact the plan is to upgrade the entire city to make it more friendly for the physically challenged.

Paralympic Games

Two weeks after the Olympic Games, the best Paralympic athletes will come to Athens to compete in the Paralympic Games. From the 17th to the 28th of September 2004 Athens will welcome 4,000 Paralympic athletes from about 130 countries, as well as over 2,000 team officials. All will be accommodated at the Paralympic Village. Because the weather in September is better and there will be less difficulty in finding accommodations this will be the more attractive option for many people and will perhaps be one of the best Paralympics ever.

For those of you who don't know what Paralympics are, they are the Olympics for handicapped or people we call 'physically challenged' and in my opinion is the most inspiring sporting event in the world. It is the hosting of this event which will not only raise the awareness and compassion of the people of Athens about the disabled , but it should change the city and make it one of the most handicapped-accessible cities in the world, something it is far from at the moment. The Paralympic Games will be held at the same Olympic Venues as the summer Olympics but they will be upgraded.

So if you have nothing better to do in the summer of 2004 why don't you come to Athens? If not for the summer games in August then for the Paralympic Games in September. Or just pick an island and watch the fun on TV.

Used with permission from Matt Barrett's Athens Survival Guide