Report: Olympic Security - US Support to Athens Games

It might surprise many people to learn just how extensively the US government provided security support to the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. Almost 20 entities and offices within a number of US agencies provided more than $35 million in security assistance and support to the government of Greece. Several members of Congress requested the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) to:

• Determine the US approach for providing security assistance to Greece for the 2004 Summer Olympics and how such security efforts were coordinated, and
• Examine the roles of US agencies in Athens Olympic security and their financial outlays, and
• Review lessons learned in providing security assistance in support of the Olympics and how those lessons are being incorporated into preparations for future Olympics, particularly the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy.

The results of the GAO's study were sent to the Congressional requesters in May 2005 in a 30-page report entitled OLYMPIC SECURITY - U.S. Support to Athens Games Provides Lessons for Future Olympics.