Five cities made the shortlist with their bids to host the 2004 Summer Olympics (formally known as Games of the XXVIII Olympiad), which were awarded to Athens, on September 5, 1997.

The other shortlisted cities were Rome, Cape Town, Stockholm and Buenos Aires.

In Chapter 5, Rule 34 of the official rulebook, the bidding process begins when an aspiring city submits a bid to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) by their own National Olympic Committee (NOC).

[2] The files are then examined by the IOC Evaluation Commission, with athletes, representatives, the International Paralympic Committee, and more.

The final round saw Athens receive enough votes to defeat Rome and win the right to host the 2004 Summer Olympics.