The new museum is located near the 2004 Olympic stadium.
By Philip Barker
Athens has a new Olympic museum in Maroussi, the very district which was home to 1896 Olympic marathon champion Spiridon Louis.
“We believe that it will support Greece’s contribution in the modern Games. The Athens Olympic Museum is an international museum that showcases the history of the Games highlighting the Hellenic Influence in the formation of the Olympic Movement. There is a special space dedicated to the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and of course the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. It will be really worth a visit” said IOC member and Hellenic Olympic Committee President Spyros Capralos.
“All the collections of the Athens Museum are new. There is a special area in the Museum dedicated to Olympia and the Olympic Games of antiquity.”
No exact date has been fixed for the opening of the building as Athens is still subject to COVID-19 measures which have seen the postponement this week of the planned IOC session. The museum is expected to open as soon as practicable.
It is within walking distance of the 2004 Olympic stadium which was named in honour of Louis. It occupies buildings used by television and radio broadcasters during Athens 2004 on a site known as the “Golden Hall”. This complex now also includes a shopping centre and an aquarium.
The museum was built after a government agreement with the Lamda development company.
It forms part of a renovation project of the Olympic Athletic Centre of Athens (OAKA) which formed the main Olympic park in 2004.
It is part of the Olympic museums network and will work closely with the Olympic museum in Lausanne.
There are no comments published yet.