Eerie images show abandoned Olympic venues frozen in time around the world
25 photos show Olympics venues months and years after their use
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NBCUniversal Media, LLC
Olympic host cities spend big money on infrastructure, stadiums, athlete housing, and event courses that in some cases get unused years after medals are awarded and cheering spectators have moved on to the next Olympic Games.
Olympic host cities spend millions on infrastructure that in some cases gets unused years after medals are awarded and spectators have moved on to the next Olympics.
What happens to Olympic stadiums and event courses after the Games are over?
The below photos show frozen-in-time moments at abandoned Olympic venues months and years after their use.
This photograph taken on Feb. 19, 2024, shows the abandoned beach volleyball stadium at the Faliro Olympic coastal zone in Athens. Used sparingly in the last 20 years, the fate of Greece's 2004 Olympic venues is emblematic of the country's long-running failure to capitalize on the legacy of a Games that cost 8.5 billion euros ($9.1 billion) according to the Greek finance ministry. (Photo by ANGELOS TZORTZINIS/AFP via Getty Images)The partially dismantled bobsleigh track which was damaged during past conflicts lies abandoned on Mount Trevevic, near Sarajevo on Feb. 6, 2024, as Sarajevo begins marking the 40th anniversary of the XIV Winter Olympics. The track was built 40 years ago as one of the Olympic venues during Sarajevo's XIV Winter Olympics in 1984. The venue has never been used for official competition since. (Photo by ELVIS BARUKCIC/AFP via Getty Images)A ski-jumping venue lies abandoned on Mount Igman, near Sarajevo, on Feb. 7, 2024, as Sarajevo begins marking the 40th anniversary of the XIV Winter Olympics. Two ski jumping ramps (80 meters and 120 meters) were built 40 years ago as one of the Olympic venues during Sarajevo's XIV Winter Olympics in 1984. The venue has never been used for competition since. (Photo by ELVIS BARUKCIC/AFP via Getty Images)This photograph taken on Feb. 19, 2024, shows the interior of the abandoned beach volleyball stadium at the Faliro Olympic coastal zone in Athens. Used sparingly in the last 20 years, the fate of Greece's 2004 Olympic venues is emblematic of the country's long-running failure to capitalize on the legacy of a Games that cost 8.5 billion euros ($9.1 billion), according to the Greek finance ministry. (Photo by ANGELOS TZORTZINIS/AFP via Getty Images)This photograph taken on Feb. 19, 2024 shows the abandoned beach volleyball stadium at the Faliro Olympic coastal zone in Athens. (Photo by ANGELOS TZORTZINIS/AFP via Getty Images)This photo, taken on July 20, 2018, shows Huanhuan, one of five mascots for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, lying amongst trees behind an abandoned, never-completed mall in Beijing. (GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images)This photo taken on July 20, 2018, shows Fu Niu Lele, the mascot for the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games, lying amongst trees behind an abandoned, never-completed mall in Beijing. (GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images)
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The abandoned Historic Bobsleigh Track for the Olympic Winter Games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936 on Aug. 11, 2021, in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. The Bobsleigh track was constructed in 1910 and was renovated in 1933 before being used for the Olympic Winter Games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 1936. The track was demolished in 1966, but remnants of the track can be seen on sleigh rides near the lake. (Photo by Athanasios Gioumpasis/Getty Images)The abandoned Historic Bobsleigh Track for the Olympic Winter Games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936 on Aug. 11, 2021, in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. (Photo by Athanasios Gioumpasis/Getty Images)Abandoned Igman Olympic jumps in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 14, 2015. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)A picture taken on Feb. 5, 2014, shows Sarajevo's abandoned bob sleigh track. Built and used as an Olympic venue during Sarajevo's 1984 Winter Olympic Games, the track was heavily damaged during Bosnia's 1992-95 war. ELVIS BARUKCIC/AFP via Getty ImagesGeneral view of the former Olympic Village in Athens, Greece on July 31, 2014. Ten years earlier the XXVIII Olympiad was held in Athens with the motto "Welcome Home." (Photo by Milos Bicanski/Getty Images)General view of the Olympic Aquatic Center in Athens, Greece on July 31, 2014. (Photo by Milos Bicanski/Getty Images)General view of the Olympic Canoe/Kayak Slalom Center at the Helliniko Olympic complex in Athens, Greece. (Photo by Milos Bicanski/Getty Images)A view from the mostly abandoned Olympic Aquatics stadium at the Olympic Park on May 20, 2017, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In the nine months after the Olympic games, very few events were organized in the Olympic Park venues. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)A drawing of Russian revolutionary leader Vladimir Ilyich Lenin can be seen on the wall of the main amphitheater in the abandoned Hindenburghaus facility where functions and cultural shows were staged at the site of the 1936 Berlin Olympic Village on May 17, 2021, in Elstal, Germany. Built for the 1936 Berlin Olympics, the village later served as an infantry school for the Nazi-era Wehrmacht and a military hospital during World War II. After the war the Soviet Army took it over as a military base and also as a training facility for its own Olympic athletes. A number of the original buildings still stand at the site, including housing for athletes, a swim hall, a gym, other training facilities and a theatre. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images)A swimming pool lies abandoned in the former swim hall at the site of the 1936 Berlin Olympic Village on May 17, 2021, in Elstal, Germany. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images)A swimming pool lies abandoned in the former swim hall at the site of the 1936 Berlin Olympic Village on May 17, 2021, in Elstal, Germany. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images)A gymnasium hall lies abandoned at the site of the 1936 Berlin Olympic Village on May 17, 2021, in Elstal, Germany. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images)Deserted houses for athletes in the former Olympic Village (Olympic Games 1936 in Berlin). (Photo by Martin Sachse/ullstein bild via Getty Images)Deserted houses for the athletes in the former Olympic Village (Olympic Games 1936 in Berlin). A bathroom at the Jesse Owens House. (Photo by Montag/ullstein bild via Getty Images)Abandoned Igman Olympic Jumps in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 14, 2015. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)General view of the former Olympic Village in Athens, Greece on July 31, 2014. (Photo by Milos Bicanski/Getty Images)Inside view of the abandoned Hindenburghaus facility where functions and cultural shows were staged at the site of the 1936 Berlin Olympic Village in Elstal, Germany. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images)The 2020 Fan Park at the Tokyo Olympics was supposed to be a place where spectators could go and enjoy a variety of experiences and performances. The Fan Park was closed off to the public to comply with Tokyo’s state of emergency during the COVID pandemic.
