1997 World Championships in Athletics
The 6th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Amateur Athletic Federation, were held at the Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece between August 1 and August 10, 1997. In this event participated 1882 athletes from 198 participant nations. Athens used the successful organization of the World Championships the next month during the IOC Session in Lausanne during its campaign to host the 2004 Summer Olympics as proof positive of Athens' and Greece's ability and readiness to organize large-scale, international sporting events.