ABSTRACT
The Athens 2004 Olympic Games are seen today as emblematic of negligence or systematic mismanagement in many forms: the Greek state's outrageous expenditure that led the country to an era of financial crisis, the lack of transparency in decision-making that has characterized Greek political life. Greek society largely subscribed to the nationalist dream cultivated by the media, anticipating that a successful Olympics would achieve for Greece both improved financial standing and greater prestige within the global community. Focusing on the Athens Olympic Sports Complex (AOSC), comprising the Olympic Stadium and its surrounding park, this chapter discusses the role of Athens 2004 Olympic architecture as, on the one hand, a device that represented and supported the ideological construction of the 2004 Games and, on the other, a platform for the debate on Greece's changing national identity. As investigative journalists and photographers have brought such reports to light, the tone of outrage has changed notably since the London Olympics of 2012.
