The outside cover Rio's Olympic aquatic stadium is falling off just six months after the games.YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP/Getty Images
The demolished remains of the former Rio Media Center, constructed to host some visiting media for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.Mario Tama/Getty Images
Pamphlets sit among the demolished remains of the former Rio Media Center.Mario Tama/Getty Images
Abandoned prefabricated houses remain next to the Olympic golf course, created and used for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP/Getty Images
Athens Olympic rings shown in disrepair. $15 billion was spent on Athen's facilities. Fortunately, some have found new life.i09
The Athens Olympic stadium. i09
The Athens track and field arena. i09
A toppled sign for a Beijing changing room. $40 billion was spent on the Beijing Olympic village. Confidentielles
Beijing's baseball field.The Blaze
The outside view of the Beijing beach volleyball stadium.i09
The Beijing kayaking venue. i09
Berlin's Olympic village. Controversy clouded the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin as well, with Hitler using the event as a platform to promote a nominally “kinder” Germany to the world stage. Many countries threatened to boycott the Olympics that year, but ultimately most participated anyway.Flickr/ norbertloev
Berlin gymnastics arena. Flickr/ unkreatives
The rings inside the Berlin aquatic Center. i09
Berlin aquatic center. Flickr/safefire
A mural in an abandoned Olympic building in Berlin.i09
Unused Olympic building in Berlin.i09
These Olympic rings in Germany are barely visible. Flickr/ morgennebel
Berlin's Olympic village. Flickr/ alicepopkorn
Remnants of the outdoor Helsinki Olympic pool. Back in 1952, Helsinki was the twelfth host of the modern games, so the deterioration is less shocking than some. Confidentielles
A pummel horse still stands in the Helsinki gymnastics stadium. Confidentielles
Perhaps the saddest of all is Sarajevo, whose war-torn façade includes the 1984 Olympic bobsleigh track, which was reported to have been used as an artillery stronghold during the Bosnian War nearly a decade later.Buzzfeed
Another view of the Sarajevo bobsleigh track. Flickr/ marcofieber
Sarajevo track being reclaimed by nature. Flickr/ marcofieber
The Olympic hotel in Sarajevo. i09
Sarajevo ski jump.Buzzfeed
Decaying outdoor Olympic rings in Sarajevo. Hedwig Klawuttke / Wikimedia Commons
The Sarajevo sports complex. MSGT Michael J. Haggerty / Wikimedia Commons
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - NOVEMBER 21: Media pamphlets sit among the demolished remains of the former Rio Media Center, constructed to host some visiting media for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, on November 21, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The temporary structure was demolished two months ago following the Olympics but much of the rubble has yet to be cleared away. The hazardous rubble, which provides potential mosquito breeding grounds, is located downtown beside city hall, a convention center, and a day care center. Rio de Janeiro's state government is in the midst of a deep financial crisis. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
A great deal of preparation and construction go into hosting the Olympic Games -- but in many instances, the structures built only await dilapidation following the events' close.
Given the competition, cost, and sacrifices involved in creating and preparing spaces for the elite athletic ritual, the sight of since-abandoned Olympic villages often leaves viewers feeling a bit gutted. The photos above -- solemn, sparse images of elaborate sites succumbing to nature -- call the motivations of Olympic host cities into question, as well as the long-term value of the spectacles we observe every other year.
