The Greek state did not have the means to finance the rebuilding of the stadium, so the organizing committee of the Games turned to the wealthy expatriate Greeks. Georgios Averoff was a successful businessman from Metsovo who settled in Alexandria and made his fortune dealing in textiles, gum Arabic, ivory, ostrich feathers, grain and cotton. He offered sufficient funds to cover the cost of rebuilding the stadium; the day before the inauguration of the Olympic Games, Crown Prince Constantine unveiled the marble portrait statue of Averoff which was set up to the right of the stadium’s entrance. Averoff himself was unable to attend due to his old age (he was 78 at the time).