Athens hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. After loosing a bid for the centennial games to Atlanta in 1996, Athens was finally given the opportunity to host the 2004 Summer Olympics. The city required substantial infrastructural work, including a new airport, highways and metro lines. The original estimate of 6 billion euros for games-related projects was far surpassed, as costs soared to over 10 billion euros. Though preparations were plagued by delays and criticism, in the end the Athens Games were a considered a huge success.  Four billion viewers watched the Games from all over the world, and  11,099 athletes from 202 countries participated, the largest number ever.