Billed as the first Olympic Games to be held since 393 CE and symbolically starting on Greece’s Independence Day (6 April), its Opening Ceremony filled the refurbished Panathenaic stadium to its 50,000 capacity, with similar numbers of spectators thronging the adjacent streets and surrounding hillsides.
Over the next nine days, the stadium, the existing Zappeion Building, and a small number of purpose-built facilities (a velodrome, shooting gallery, and seating for the swimming competitions) saw the staging of 45 events ranging from track and field athletics to cycling, weightlifting, and tennis.
Beyond the stadium, the city of Athens enthusiastically embraced the Games. Municipally sponsored illuminations, torchlight processions, pyrotechnics, and a cultural program of theatre and concerts provided after-hours entertainments for visitors.
