<p>2004 Summer Olympics
Games of the XXVIII Olympiad
Ancient victors were crowned with olive
wreaths (Greek: kotinos) a tradition echoed
with this Games' medalists. The colours of
the logo come from the flag of Greece.
Host city
Athens, Greece
Motto
Welcome Home
Nations
participating
201[1]
Athletes
participating
10,625[1]
Events
301 in 28 sports
Opening
ceremony
August 13
Closing
ceremony
August 29
Officially
opened by
President Konstantinos
Stephanopoulos
Athlete's Oath
Zoi Dimoschaki
Judge's Oath
Lazaros Voreadis
Olympic Torch Nikolaos Kaklamanakis
Stadium
Olympic Stadium
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, offi-
cially known as the Games of the XXVIII
Olympiad, was a premier
international
multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from
August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto
Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed,[1]
some 600 more than expected, accompanied
The ceremony for the lighting of the flame is
arranged as a pagan pageant, with "priest-
esses" dancing.
by 5,501 team officials from 201 countries.[1]
There were 301 medal events in 28 different
sports.[1] Athens 2004 marked the first time
since the 1996 Summer Olympics that all
countries with a National Olympic Committee
were in attendance. It was also the first time
since 1896 that the Olympics returned to
Athens.
Bid
Athens was chosen as the host city during the
106th IOC Session held in Lausanne on
September 5, 1997. Athens had lost its bid to
organize the 1996 Summer Olympics to At-
lanta nearly seven years before, on Septem-
ber 18, 1990, during the 96th IOC Session in
Tokyo. Under
the direction of Gianna
Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, Athens pursued an-
other bid, this time for the right to host the
Summer Olympics in 2004. The success of
Athens in securing the 2004 Games was
based largely on Athens' appeal to Olympic
history and the emphasis that it placed on
the pivotal role that Greece and Athens
played in the promotion of the Olympic Move-
ment. After leading all voting rounds, Athens
easily defeated Rome in the 5th and final
vote. Cape Town, Stockholm,