The Olympic Games are always a significant not only sporting but also cultural and economic event for the host country. It is always accompanied by grandiose, sometimes even fantastic construction. In those few cities that have been chosen to host such competitions the most modern stadiums, water facilities, rally tracks, hotels and entire Olympic villages with incredibly well-developed infrastructure are created from scratch. But unfortunately, all this splendor very often falls into disrepair after just a few years.

This depressing collection of photographs depicts all that remains of the former glory of the Olympic arenas created in the 21st century.

1. Beijing (China)

This sad fate has touched most of the stadiums and related facilities in Beijing. The Summer Olympics in China were held just 10 years ago, but time was relentless and ruthless to the splendor that was created by the incredible efforts of the hosts of the grand sporting event.

For the 2008 Olympic Games, China mobilized all its forces and invested huge sums of money to create not only sports facilities, but also an impressive show. For the construction of all facilities for the organization and holding of these Olympic Games was spent at least 40 billion dollars.

Even the legendary “Bird’s Nest” sports arena, where the grand opening and closing ceremonies were held, was not spared by time. Usually, the central stadiums are used, and they are actively involved in the cultural and sporting life of the country and the city in which they are located. Although the “Bird’s Nest” is not quite in a deplorable state, but celebrations are held very rarely, and such architectural marvel gradually begins to die, leaving no trace of its former pomp and luxury.

2. Athens (Greece)

Even the birthplace of the Olympic Games is a sad example of how a once brilliant project of 22 venues created for the 2004 summer competitions has become a complete disappointment and ruin. In fact, 21 of them are not being used at all.

Greece spent 11 billion euros on organizing and hosting the Olympics, but has never been able to recoup all the money invested in this costly project. Especially the venues that were created for rare sports such as softball and beach volleyball, which are no longer Olympic, are not in demand. Greece has fallen on hard times in recent years, and these kinds of facilities require enormous sums of money to maintain them.

3. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The Olympic Games were held in Rio de Janeiro just a couple of years ago in 2016. However, just six months later, the sports venues had turned into ruins and a dump because they had simply been stolen.

The abandoned Maracana stadium, one of the largest in the world, was reconstructed before the Olympics, costing the Brazilian treasury $400 million.

The Brazilian Summer Olympics were no exception, with a huge amount of money spent practically going down the drain. It is not for nothing that for several months in a row residents boycotted the games, disrupted construction in every way and staged riots.

4. torino (Italy)

During the preparation for the 2006 Winter Olympics 65 different sports arenas were created in Turin, an extensive transportation infrastructure and special villages for athletes and journalists were built.

A total of 1.7 billion euros was spent on the Turin Olympics, with a profit of only 265 million euros. Not all venues became abandoned catacombs, some of the ice arenas were converted into venues for exhibitions and conferences held in the city. Stadiums have been rebuilt to train local teams and host domestic matches, and there are facilities that have been abandoned altogether, consoling themselves that it is until better times.