Athens celebrates first birthday of 2004 Olympics 14 August 2005 Greece on Saturday celebrated the first anniversary of the widely-praised opening ceremony of Athens 2004 Olympic Games. More than 150 children celebrated the opening of the Athens Olympics, blowing out a candle on a festive birthday-cake and enjoying gifts and games in the event's luxury stadium. These stadium open-days will be held next year with children from all schools, not only in Attica, that enjoy athletics and Olympic sports. Celebration of the Olympics will continue, Deputy Culture Minister Fani Palli-Petralia told the children invited from summer camps. She noted that the government had worked to repair and maintain sport facilities used in the games, and was proceeding well with a plan to turn them into public and private use in the future. This was a dream Olympics we held, in which the sole sponsor was the Greek taxpaying public, which is why it is time for citizens to reap the benefit. Our approach is people-centered, the minister said. Meanwhile, to celebrate the opening of the Athens Olympic Games, a large-scale concert was held in the evening by China's Red Poppy Ladies Percussion and winner of Euro Vision Elena Paparizou in the Olympic Beach Volleyball venue, where an audience of nearly 10,000 attended the performance. Author : www.Greece-Athens.com