The games of the XXXI Olymiad are in full swing, and competition is high. There are of course concerns about the quality and upkeep of the venues in Rio de Janerio, most namely the diving pool turning green. Even though these conditions are a sign of lack of forethought and planning, their conditions pale in comparison to those of venues of Olympiads past.

Take for example the stadiums and facilities of the Athens 2004 Olympic games - they more closely resemble the background shots of a post-apocalyptic movie than a former Olympic venue. The softball stadium has become overgrown, lawn chairs litter the swimming pool, and the canoeing tracks have completely dried up. While this state may be easily explained away either by the lack of interest in the sport or just the general crash of the Greek economy, it still begs the question - why were these large, expensive to maintain venues built permanently in the first place?

Another such example of this pattern of lackluster upkeep is the 1984 Winter Olympics held in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The ski jumps rot and litter the mountainside while the bobsled runs are defaced with years of graffiti. It's not like these sports are not common in the area - a better explanation would be that Sarajevo was hit hard by the collapse of the soviet bloc.

But not all Olympic venues are disaster stories. Take for example Los Angeles, Beijing or London, held in 1984, 2008 and 2012 respectively. While a large majority of their stadiums were permanent, the they aren't crumbling - they're thriving. Whether they host a shopping mall, concert venue, football (American or International) stadium or even the 2022 Winter Olympics!

While Olympic stadiums do have a tendency to falter after their games have closed, it isn't a death sentence. As long as the economy of the region doesn't completely fall under and productive use for the venues are kept up they seem to stick around. Another solution would be to build temporary facilities to be taken down after the games. While the fiascoes occurring right now in Rio may point to a fate resembling Athens or Sarajevo, only time can tell whether it will more closely resemble London or Beijing.