An updated study from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), building on a 2022 report, has found that 86 percent of all permanent venues used for the Olympic Games since Athens 1896 (the first Games of the modern era) and 94 percent of those from the 21st century are still in use today.
These data confirm that the Games deliver lasting benefits for their host communities, underscored the IOC. The “in-use” status means that the venue is regularly used for sport or non-sport activities, such as cultural events, leisure, entertainment, community and business. The updated report includes venues from Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022.
The new report, titled Over 125 Years of Olympic Venues: Post-Games Use, was released on Oct. 23 at the Olympic Legacy Forum in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The study examines 982 venues across four continents, in over 20 countries, which have hosted opening and closing ceremonies, medal events in all sports and disciplines, and Olympic villages across 53 summer and winter editions of the Games, from Athens 1896 to Beijing 2022.
Interestingly, of the seven competition venues that were used for the Olympic Games Athens 1896, five are still in use today: the Panathenaic Stadium, Athens Lawn Tennis Club, Bay of Zea, Zappeion and Velodrome. Most of the venues continue to host elite sporting events.
Focusing on the two new Games editions covered by the latest report, 100 percent of all permanent venues from Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 are still in use. The following edition of the Games, Paris 2024, used 95 percent existing or temporary venues. The upcoming Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will spread events across existing sites, while Los Angeles 2028 has adopted a “radical reuse” approach and will stage the Games without building a single new permanent venue, said the IOC.
The next update to the report is scheduled for 2029.
