Volunteers carry the official Olympic flag into the Olympic stadium in a handover ceremony to China during the Olympic Games closing ceremony in Athens. Photo by AFP
Thousands of people are to be involved in what Greek journalists call "the great migration" now that the Athens Olympics are over.
Both sportsmen and visitors are to crowd to the Athens airport where the expected number of overseas passengers over the next 48 hours is about 200 000. Thousands of Athenians are also expected to flock to the airport on their way to the Aegean islands and family gatherings all over the country.
Greek journalists comment Athens has never seen so many people leaving the city.
On Monday alone some 70,000 sportsmen, official guests and foreign visitors will get on 900 flights. Almost the same number of departures is expected for Tuesday.
The number of departures is over 50 % higher than the average for August - Greece's peak holiday month.
The eight cruise ships used as 5-star hotels at the Port of Pirea are also ready to leave.
About 4000 security officials as well as around 45 thousand volunteers brought to Athens from all over the country are also going home. Still, most of the army and police officers will have to wait till the end of September when the Paralympics will be over.
From the beginning of August Greek security forces were involved in one of the hugest security operation in peacetime Europe but fortunately had little trouble.
Airport officials report that there are no flight delays despite the heavy traffic. For a better functioning the access to terminals is denied to non-passengers and parking rules are tightened.
Meanwhile musicians and circus artists entertain those who wait.