Older, worse, decrepit: Abandoned Olympic facilities today

There is less than a week left before the start of the Olympic Games in Rio, and the organizers of the event are hastily putting the finishing touches.

The Olympic village was called uninhabitable, although athletes still have to settle there, and the pier for sailing competitions was destroyed by three-meter waves. In addition, the cost of hosting the Games is growing rapidly.

With each new Olympiad, more and more cities around the world are wondering: is the game worth the candle?

A springboard near Sarajevo, where competitions were held as part of the 1984 Winter Olympics.

Most cities simply do not have the infrastructure necessary for the two-week accommodation of thousands of athletes, coaches, spectators and media representatives on their territory. The sums needed for the construction of Olympic facilities for advanced projects are growing, and research suggests that investing billions of dollars in a two—week event is not the best investment.

The swimming pool where swimming competitions were held during the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.

The worst scenario for the host cities is if, after the Games, the Olympic facilities become the fifth wheel in the cart, on which an insane amount of money was also spent. This has happened more than once with different cities of the world. Of course, the reasons for this development are different in each case. The capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, for example, was seriously affected by the civil war, which caused the destruction of many Olympic venues left after the 1984 Winter Olympics.

The Berlin Olympic Village today, perhaps, makes a depressing impression.

Time spares nothing, including the panels of the times of socialism.

Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta (Georgia, USA) hosted the 1996 Summer Olympics. In 1997, it was decided to demolish it.

The Olympic Flame Bowl was moved from the Olympic Stadium in Atlanta when it was reconstructed into the home baseball stadium of the Atlanta Braves club. Now it stands proudly above the highway.

Chinese tourists look over the fence at the National Stadium, also known as the "Bird's Nest", where the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics were held.

A sign on an abandoned field in the center of Beijing, where a baseball stadium was once located.

The venue for the beach volleyball competitions during the 2008 Summer Olympics does not seem to be in the best condition.

A lonely dog on an abandoned field where there was once a baseball stadium.

Homemade brooms are lying around where there was once a green zone during the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Parking near the bike track is now used as a platform for driving tests.

An abandoned concrete pedestal, where the winners of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Sarajevo were awarded in 1984.

An abandoned railway station near the Olympic Stadium in Munich, built for the 1972 Summer Olympics.

An abandoned swimming pool built for the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki.

Abandoned Olympic Hotel, Moscow.