Stadia are also a key ingredient in the marketing of cities and even nations. They are often symbolic of the aspirations of a nation, which is not surprising considering that the tourist impact on Athens for the 2004 Olympic Games (see Figure 5.3) was reported to be around 1.9 million overnight stays during the two weeks of the event. They have evolved into a building type that contains all the elements required to achieve a critical mass capable of sustaining independent city life. Such a critical mass is com- posed of mixed elements including residential, com- mercial, retail and leisure, all working together with the other services and transport infrastructure that are required to make the ‘stadium city’ thrive.