Top 10 Cruise Destinations to have Hosted the Summer Olympics
It is one of the world’s truly global events, that has seen hosts from every corner of the world bidding and been awarded the hosting rights since the modern version of the game started way back in 1896.
Whilst it is fair to say that the gloss has been taken off the event over the past decade or so, it still remains one of the most watched events on television whenever it takes place.
That gives the hosts cities the perfect excurse to show off what they have to offer and that often inspires those watching along to want to visit.
Thankfully, many of the hosts for the Summer Olympics are not just incredible places to visit, but they are also popular ports of call for cruise ships, so that got us thinking, what are the top 10 cruise destinations to have hosted the Summer Olympics?
That is just what we answer in this list.
Our Top 10 Cruise Destinations to have Hosted the Summer Olympics
Athens, Greece
When it come to a list like this one, there can only be one host city to top the list and that is Athens.
Not only is Greece the spiritual home both historically and of the modern Olympics, but it is also a popular tourist city and one of the world’s leading cruise ports.
The port of Piraeus is a leading turnaround port for ships exploring the Eastern Mediterranean and is also popular port of call for ships exploring the Greek Islands and the Adriatic.
Athens is home to many historic sites including the Acropolis and the Parthenon but for many it is the incredible food on offer that is the main attraction.
In 2004 the games would return to its spiritual home for the first time since the first ever modern game sway back in 1896.
Those games would be overshadowed by the huge costs involved for what is a relatively poor country and the issues they caused.
For a visiting point of view, it has led to the interest opportunities to visit several venues from both games, despite been hosted a century apart.
There was a non-official Olympics held in the city in 1906.
Barcelona, Spain
Barcelona is one of the world’s leading cruise ports, one of the Europe’s most popular tourist destinations and famed for its Catalan culture.
It is home to many sites of interest, from Montjuic hill to the Camp Nou and from Barri Gotic to the iconic Sagrada Familia, Barcelona is just one of those cities where you need to walk around it with your camera in hand.
It also must be one of the most famous hosts of the Olympic Games, helped by the use of the Freddy Mercury song Barcelona.
The games were also a defining one as they featured the top professionals of the NBA in the Basketball event and saw several smaller European countries readmitted after the fall of the Soviet Union.
Civitavecchia/Rome, Italy
The port of Civitavecchia is the gateway to the historic city of Rome, the capital of Italy, that is one of the most popular cities in Europe for tourists- and it is no surprise why.
A visit to the city is like stepping back in time as you can explore many of the historic sites from the Roman empire, including the forum and the colosseum.
The city just oozes history and culture at every turn turning Rome almost into a living museum.
Civitavecchia is also one of the Mediterranean’s leading cruise ports and one of the regions busiest turnaround ports.
The city hosted the Olympics in 1960 and the main stadium for those games, the Stadio Olimpico still remains the nations national stadium today.
The games are now best remembered for a young boxer named Cassius Clay, who would go onto announced himself to the world and who would be better known as Muhammad Ali.
Los Angeles, USA
Los Angeles is one of the most famous cities in the world and is somewhere that many people think they know well before they even visit.
That is because of the vast number of films and television programmes to have been filmed and/or set there.
It is also a top cruise destination for ships sailing on the USA’s pacific coast as well as been a leading turnaround port in the country.
From the iconic Hollywood sign to Disneyland and from the beaches of Santa Monica to the shopping of Rodeo Drive, LA is a city to see and to be seen in.
The city first hosted the games way back in 1932 and the again in 1984 and it has also been awarded the 2028 hosting of the games.
Unfortunately, the 1932 games were impacted by the Great Depression, whilst the 1984 games were impacted by a boycott from the Soviet Union and 13 other countries.
Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo is one of the world’s greatest cities, but it is also one of the most crowded and that can put off many visitors.
For us, that just makes it a great place to visit on a cruise as if you are confident enough, you can use its vast metro system to explore or if you prefer, you can take advantage of organised tours before heading back to the calmer surrounds of your ship.
Tokyo has hosted the event twice and both have been historic, for differing reasons.
The city became the first in Asia to host the Olympics when it first hosting the games in 1964 and it sadly became the first to host the games in an odd year as the 2020 edition moved to 2021 and sadly had few fans in attendance in 2020.
The 1964 edition was the first to be broadcast worldwide on television and is thought of as the first truly global games.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Rio de Janeiro is an incredible city, famed for the iconic Christ the Redeemer, its Copacabana Beach and the stunning natural beauty of the mountains that surround the city.
It is also a city with many problems, including a high crime rate but that just makes it an incredible port of call as you can safely travel the city on an organised tour before returning to your ship.
The cities hosting of the game in 2016 was mired in controversary, including a number of criminal offences in the bidding process and became famous for numerous issues in the hosting of the events, but it was also a games full of colour and passion from those in attendance thanks to it becoming the first South American hosts of the Summer Olympics.
Sydney, Australia
Sydney is a destination on many people’s bucket list and is the leading cruise port in Oceania.
The port is a not only Australia leading turnaround port, but it is also a popular port of call for ships sailing in the region all looking to give those onboard the chance to see iconic sights such as the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge.
The Sydney Olympics took place in the year 2000 and would quickly become famous for the massive Stadium Australia, that would see 114,714 fans pack into it for the closing ceremony.
Helsinki, Finland
Helsinki is the capital of Finland and has all you would expect from a major European capital city including plenty of shopping opportunities, lots of museums and attractions, plenty of historic sights of interest but all with the friendliness of the Nordics and the natural beauty of Finland.
After nearly hosting the games in 1940, it was awarded to them after originally set to be hosted in Japan, but the games were then cancelled, Helsinki finally got their chance to shine in 1952.
This was the first games to feature a USSR team, who would go on to challenge the historically dominate United States.
Stockholm, Sweden
Stockholm has one of the very best entries of any cruise port of call as you sail through the Stockholm archipelago and into the town centre cruise dock.
Thankfully, the beautiful city lives up to that and has lots to offer visitors in what is very friendly and walkable city.
From a games point of view, the city interestingly hosted their first one way back in 1912, in an event that last from April to November before jointly with Melbourne in Australia in 1956, as they would host the equestrian events at those games due to strict quarantine laws in Australia at the time.
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
The capital of the Netherlands is one of Northern Europe’s leading destinations for tourists and has long been a popular port of call for cruise ships sailing in the region.
The city is full of history and culture, including some of the world’s most famous museums and art galleries and it is also home to great shopping, a thriving coffee house scene and it is just one of those great places to simply walk around and see what you come up, all whilst been surrounded by its famous canals.
Its first foray into the Olympics came in 1920, when the city hosted the sailing events of the Antwerp games but just 8 years later, in 1928, it would become the full hosts of the 9th Olympiad.
Those games would go down in history as been the first to allow female competitors in track and field events and it was also the first to have sponsors, including the Coca-Cola company.
