FAMOUSLY, the Sydney Olympics of 2000 was the 鈥済reen Olympics鈥�. Not so Athens in 2004. Already notorious for the construction companies鈥� slow start in the race to get the stadiums finished on time, the games were condemned on 15 July by conservation group WWF as an environmental also-ran.
Unlike Sydney, Athens will not use solar power for any of its Olympic sites. The rowing centre has destroyed an important wetland and forests. The Olympic and press villages have both been built on greenfield sites, and a promised ecological park never got out of the starting blocks. Native trees that were to have been planted have been replaced by thirsty foreign species that need irrigation, despite warnings that the city could run short of water during the games.
Environmental planning 鈥渉as crumbled under the weight of other priorities鈥�, says Demetres Karavellas, director of WWF in Greece. On a scale of 0 to 4, WWF rated the games at 0.8. The only good point was the city鈥檚 investment in public transport for the games, Karavellas says.
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