In 1869, the Greek Parliament allocated 860,000 square feet to the building of facilities for an updated version of the Olympic Games. It took five years to put down the cornerstone for the first building for those Games, the Zappeion. Since the Games were an idea who time had not come yet, there didn't seem to be any hurry to get it done. The first-class building was finished in 1888, and the Olympics still weren't on the horizon.
Finally, the Games came back in 1896, and Athens was ready. The Zappeion hosted the fencing competition. The connection to the Olympics returned in 2004, when the Games returned to Athens. The building was turned into the press center for the competition.
In the meantime, the Zappeion has become the home for conferences and big events. For example, it was the spot where Greece formally signed documents to become a part of the European community.
No comments:
Post a Comment