Bids for the 2004 Summer Olympics

Five cities made the shortlist with their bids to host the 2004 Summer Olympics (formally known as Games of the XXVIII Olympiad), which were awarded to Athens, on September 5, 1997. The other shortlisted cities were Rome, Cape Town, Stockholm and Buenos Aires.

Final selection
In the first round of voting, Buenos Aires and Cape Town tied with the lowest number of votes. Round two was therefore a tie-breaker round between the two cities, with Buenos Aires being eliminated. Stockholm was the next city to be eliminated followed by Cape Town. The final round saw Athens receive enough votes to defeat Rome and win the right to host the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Official voting results
Athens was the leader in all rounds of voting, except in Round 2, which was a tie-breaker due to a first round tie between Cape Town and Buenos Aires. Cape Town won that round over Buenos Aires, before losing out in the 4th round.

Applicant cities

 * 🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
 * 🇵🇷 San Juan, Puerto Rico
 * 🇹🇷 Istanbul, Turkey
 * 🇫🇷 Lille, France
 * 🇷🇺 Saint Petersburg, Russia
 * 🇪🇸 Seville, Spain