What Happens to Old Olympic Venues? A Look Back at the Last 6 Olympic Cities
We all love watching cities build state-of-the-art competition venues for the Olympics. Not only are they fresh and new, but seeing how planners manage to incorporate them into the city's skyline is nothing short of fascinating. But what happens to the venues after the Games are over? Well, we have found out what the past six Olympic cities have done with their venues and what Paris plans to do with theirs.
Vancouver (2010)
The 2010 Winter Olympic Games, held in Vancouver, Canada, certainly made a splash. Nowadays, the main venue — the Richmond Olympic Oval — is still in use. Residents of the city use it daily for games, its fitness center and its multifunction event spaces. The city is also building residential areas nearby.
London (2012)
London, England, hosted the Summer Olympics back in 2012. They were held in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park with the city building six venues in total entitled the Lee Valley White Water Centre, the Basketball Arena, the Copper Box Arena, the Velodrome, the Aquatics Centre, the London Stadium and the Riverbank Arena. All of them are still in use today, with the London Stadium making history as the first-ever European venue to host a Major League Baseball game.
Sochi (2014)
After hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, only four of the venues are still standing. The Iceberg Skating Palace — which cost $43.9 million to build — and the Ice Cube Curling Center aren’t used very often. However, the Bolshoy Ice Dome is now home to the hockey team HC Sochi, and the Fisht Olympic Stadium is now used for PFC Sochi’s soccer games.
Rio de Janeiro (2016)
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The pool might have turned green in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, but what about the other venues? Well, most of them have been destroyed or abandoned. The Village where all the athletes stayed was turned into a luxury condominium building but is now reportedly abandoned. The aquatics center — entitled Barra Olympic Park — is now a sports school. Finally, the Rio Olympic Velodrome is being turned into a museum to highlight Rio’s time hosting the games.
Pyeongchang (2018)
Pyeongchang, South Korea, was the host of the 2018 Winter Olympics. Its main venue was the Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium. It took over a year to build and cost $109 million to construct, however after it hosted its designated events, the stadium was destroyed.
Tokyo (2020)
Tokyo, Japan, hosted the 2020 (or 2021) Games. The city's main venue — the Tokyo Olympic Stadium or the Japan National Stadium — was originally built in 1964 for that year’s Summer Olympics. Then, in 2012, Tokyo tore it down and rebuilt it for the 2019 Rugby World Cup and the 2020 Summer Games. The stadium is still open to visitors today and even offers tours where guests can see what it was like to compete there.
Beijing (2022)
The most recent Winter Olympic Games were held in Beijing, China, in 2022. The city reused many of its venues from the 2008 Summer Games, with International Olympic Committee Director for Sustainability Marie Sallois saying, “By making full use of existing venues and equipping them with innovative technologies, Beijing 2022 cuts emissions, reduces environmental impacts, and reduces the consumption of water, energy, and materials.”
“Many of the Beijing 2022 venues are designed with flexibility in mind to serve the athletes as well as the local population in a variety of ways and throughout the whole year.”
Two years later, the venues are still standing and used for many things around the city.
Paris (2024)
This year's Summer Olympics are being held in Paris, France. In an effort to make the Games more sustainable, the city repurposed old structures like the Grand Palais and Versailles. It also built more temporary buildings that in theory should be easy to find other uses for. The city has yet to announce what it will do with the venues when the 2024 Paris Games are over.
Looking to the future, the 2026 Winter Olympics will be held in Italy, with Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo serving as two of the host cities. The 2028 Summer Olympic Games will be heading to sunny Los Angeles, before winter Olympians head to the French Alps for the 2030 Winter Olympics. Australia will set the scene for the 2032 Summer Olympics, while the 2034 Winter Olympic Games will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah.
For more of our Olympic coverage, keep scrolling!
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