One year from today, September 17, 2004, the Opening Ceremony of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games will begin. The Games run from September 17 to September 28, 2004.
According to the Athens 2004 Web site, about 4,000 athletes will compete in 19 sports, with 14 being the same as in the Olympic Games. They are archery, cycling, football, judo, riding, sailing, shooting, swimming, tennis, table tennis, track, volleyball, wheelchair basketball and wheelchair fencing. Four (boccia, goalball, powerlifting and wheelchair rugby) are only in the Paralympic Games.
Also twenty of the twenty-eight Olympic competition venues in Attica will be used for the events.
The 2004 Paralympic Games will have the most participants ever. So far 143 countries will be participating and the Games will be attended by 600 members of the International Paralympic Committee, 1,450 members of International Federations, about 10,000 members of National Paralympic Committees and 3,000 media representatives.
International Sports Broadcasting (ISB) will televise more than 300 hours of live Paralympic competition.
About 35,000 people are involved in the organizations of the Games and 15,000 of them are volunteers.
The operational planning of the Paralympic Games is almost complete a year before the event.
Sponsors participating in the Games so far include Visa International, Alpha Bank, Olympic Airways, Shell, Swatch, Adidas, ABB-Alstom-Siemens-DIEKAT, Schenker and Ticketmaster. There is also a wide range of official Paralympic products available including lapel pins, hats, bags, handkerchiefs and ties. They can be purchased at all Olympic stores authorized to sell Olympic and Paralympic products.
The Olympic Village will be renamed the Paralympic Village and will accommodate the athletes, their escorts and about 1,000 judges and referees.
Members of the Paralympic Family, the Paralympic Chefs de Mission, and guests will stay at the Athens Intercontinental and the Ledra Marriott Hotels while press representatives will be housed at selected Athens hotels.
