Athens - Pride, mixed with large doses of relief, prevailed among Olympics host Athens on Sunday as it was saying farewell to the much coveted Games.
"The Games were a very pleasant experience, a real celebration and we enjoyed it a lot.
"But it's about time they finish," said Sterjos Chatzistergiou, an employee with Greece's electricity utility PPC, sipping his coffee in downtown Athens on the Games' final day.
The Olympics dominated Athenians' daily lives for months.
Tens of thousands had to stay home in the traditional holiday month of August to organise them, from hospital workers to policemen.
Car traffic was severely restricted to ease the Olympic family's movement.
"I had a lot of trouble, especially moving around in the city because of the construction ahead of the Games.
"But in the end it was worth it for everybody," said Nikos Floros, a private employee.
"A lot of construction was done, the city was transformed for the better," he explained.
"We won the challenge and we're happy we proved wrong all those who had said we wouldn't make it," said Rirchardos Someritis, a columnist with Greek daily To Vima.
"The Games were successful, the country got the promotion it wanted.
"We were worried the Games could backfire on Greece's image if they had been a failure," said a doctor who did not want to be named.
"Whether the Games made sense financially, I don't
know - it's the economists that need to tell us," he added.
Greece spent at least $8.7bn on the Games.
Many Greeks felt the Games were never threatened by an extremist attack and the related expenditure was only meant to allay security fears of the countries involved in the Iraq war.
"Among the negatives of the Games was their cost... much of which was spent on security measures imposed upon us from abroad," said Christos Pasalaris, a columnist.
But Someritis disagreed. "Security fears were not a paranoia, we live in difficult times," he told AFP.
"The measures weren't exaggerated - the same were taken in the European football championships in Portugal, but the reporting about them in the media was.
"It was so shrill, particularly in the US, that it scared off many people," Someritis said.
Greek Sunday papers agreed the Games were successful, on balance.
Organisation, transport, and security were the Olympics' strong suit, they said.
Empty seats in many competitions were regarded as the Games' biggest drawback.
