Greek authorities have closed the Spyros Louīs Athens Olympic Stadium, the country’s largest sports facility, due to concerns about the stability of its steel roof, designed by Santiago Calatrava, built for the 2004 Athens Olympics and costed €130 million.

With a capacity of 70,000 spectators, the stadium hosts major sporting events and concerts, but all activities have currently been suspended. The building is part of the Athens Olympic Athletic Center (OAKA), a sports complex that began deteriorating immediately after the Olympic Games. The Greek government, criticized for the state of the project, had promised renovation in 2021, commissioning a study on the condition of its structures. The nearby velodrome, part of the same complex, also raises structural concerns. Unfortunately, it is not the first work designed by Santiago Calatrava to have similar issues.

Calatrava left the maintenance authorities with specific instructions in which it was clear that the preservation of the roof was extremely complex and costly (approximately 10 million euros per year), and Evangelos Venizelos, the then Minister of Culture, shortly after the inauguration, stated: “If we had known that the work was so complex, we wouldn’t have done it”.