Thousands of athletes from around the world will gather inside the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro for the opening ceremony of the 2016 Olympic Games on Friday night.
For most competitors, the Olympics are the pinnacle of their career. A chance to win gold in a stunning stadium in front of the world's watching eyes.
But while the pristine arenas will have supporters packing the terraces to the rafters, they quickly become defunct.
London's Olympic home is one of the lucky ones, having recently been taken over by West Ham United ahead of the new Premier League season, meaning the Queen Elizabeth Park retains in active use.
However, other stadiums are not quite so lucky.
Some locations, that have been used for some of sports most memorable moments in both the summer and winter Olympics, have been left to rot.
The Olympic Games returned to its spiritual home of Athens back in 2004, but the sporting legacy that it hoped to leave clearly has not been felt by the stadia.
Softball, baseball and kayak venues are now smothered in dust as they stand disused and unloved.
Rubble and litter can be pictured underneath the seats that were once rammed with excited supporters, cheering their countries on to gold.
Move on four years and there is similar sights in Beijing, as similar sports failed to find the love they needed to maintain the venues in China.
The volleyball stadium has been left with its artwork torn down, unused and locked behind a fence.
It's a similar story to the kayaking venue.
Two of the five mascots for the Games, Nini and Yingying, can be found dumped in wasteland behind the site of a mall that was never actually completed.
It is not just a modern day problem. In Germany, you can still find the old Olympic village from the 1936 Games standing tall in Berlin.
However, they are out of use, being left to stagnate.
The somewhat haunting venues of the Sarajevo 1984 Winter Olympics on Mount Igman and Mount Trebevic can also be accessed.
Weed and moss surround the disused bobsleigh tracks and ski jumps that were once graced by the greatest athletes of their time.
Fast forward to 2013 and Winter Olympics venues are already being left unattended - including the Central Stadium in Socchi.
Athletes villages from Turin in 2010 have also been abandoned.
One thing is for sure: the Maracana will not be left to rot - but there is every chance that the other venues at the Rio 2016 Games could face a similar fate.
