attendance of some early events. Eventually, however, a total of more than 3.5 million tickets were sold, which was higher than any other Olympics with the exception of Sydney (more than 5 million tickets were sold there in 2000). In 2008, it was reported that most of the Olympic venues had fallen into disrepair: according to those reports, 21 of the 22 facilities built for the games had either been left abandoned or are in a state of dereliction, with several squatter camps having sprung up around certain facilities, and a number of venues afflicted by vandalism, graffiti or strewn with rubbish. These claims were disputed and are likely to be inaccurate, as most of the facilities used for the Athens Olympics are either in use or in the process of being converted for post-Olympics use. The Greek Government has created a corporation, Olympic Properties SA, which is overseeing the post-Olympics management, development and conversion of these facilities, some of which will be sold off (or have already been sold off) to the private sector, while other facilities are still in use just as during the Olympics, or have been converted for commercial use or modified for other sports. Concerts and theatrical shows, such as those by the troupe Cirque du Soleil, have recently been held in the complex. See also Outline of Athens Timeline of Athens References External links Official website of the Municipality of Athens Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Greece Archaeological sites in Attica Capitals in Europe Capitals of Greek states City-states Greek regional capitals Populated coastal places in Greece Populated places established in the 5th century BC Populated places in ancient Greece Populated places in Central Athens (regional unit) Roman sites in Greece