National and Post-national Dynamics in the Olympic Design: The Case of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.

NATIONALISM; STADIUMS; CALATRAVA, Santiago, 1951-; OLYMPIC Games (28th : 2004 : Athens, Greece); GREEK history, 1974-; CULTURAL identity; EUROPEANIZATION

ATHENS (Greece); GREECE

The article is a case study of the Athens Olympic Stadium which was designed by Santiago Calatrava. The stadium's use during the Games' opening and closing ceremonies, the perception of self-hood, otherness, and national identity in the context of Greek allegiance, the image and branding of a "New Greece" that was culturally and economically Europeanized, and the myth of the nation-state are discussed.