21 Historic Olympic Venues That Are Now Completely Abandoned

12. The Kayak and Canoe Slalom Course – Athens 2004 (Greece)

Built at great expense for the 2004 Summer Olympics, this artificial water course was once a thrilling venue for whitewater sports. Today, it sits bone-dry and crumbling under the Mediterranean sun, its once-rushing waters reduced to cracked concrete channels. With Greece’s economic struggles, maintenance was abandoned, and the venue now stands as a stark reminder of overspending and poor planning. The irony? Greece is surrounded by some of the best natural whitewater in Europe.