White Elephants

Photographs of sports venues built for global events and left behind in their aftermath.

Athens 2004

Rio 2016

Sochi 2014

Portugal 2004

Beijing 2008

Brasil 2014

South Africa 2010

Pyongchang 2018

White Elephants is a long-term photographic project documenting venues constructed for mega-events such as the Olympic Games, the Football World Cup, and continental championships. Once presented as symbols of progress and national ambition, many of these sites now stand underused, abandoned, or radically transformed. The project examines what remains after the spectacle has moved on.