Central Olympic Stadium

The Athens Olympic Stadium in the Marousi suburb served as the main venue of the 2004 Summer Olympics. It opened in 1982 for the European Athletics Championships and is named after Spyridon Louis, winner of the first modern marathon at the 1896 Games. For the 2004 Olympics the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava added a striking pair of glass-and-steel arched roofs that still define the OAKA Olympic complex. With around 70,000 seats it is one of the largest stadiums in Greece, home ground of Panathinaikos Athens and a traditional venue for Greek national team matches. Concerts by Madonna, U2 and the Rolling Stones have also taken place here. Like the rest of the Olympic complex, it has faced ongoing pressure to find sustainable post-Olympic use.