Culture

Unforgettable highlights from Olympic opening ceremonies

  • Opening ceremony of the first modern Olympic Games, Athens 1896, Copyright: picture-alliance/dpa

    1896: The first modern Olympic Games

    The Olympic Games were held in Ancient Greece from c. 776 BC-393 AD, until they were banned by Emperor Theodosius as a "pagan cult." French academic Pierre de Coubertin initiated their revival in Athens from April 6-15, 1896. Those Games were opened by Greece's King George. The Olympic Hymn, composed by Spyridon Samaras with lyrics by Greek poet Kostis Palamas, was performed for the first time.

  • Opening ceremony from the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Copyright: picture-alliance/Xinhua

    1920: First Olympic flag and oath in Antwerp

    Less than two years after the end of World War I, the Olympics were held in Antwerp. The Olympic flag, designed in 1913, was flown for the first time. The six colors on the flag - the white background plus blue, yellow, black, green and red rings - contain the colors of all other national flags. The athletes' Olympic oath (pictured) was also introduced as a commitment to fair and clean sport.

  • Opening ceremony of the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam, Copyright: Getty Images/Central Press

    1928: Greece establishes symbolic order in Amsterdam

    By the 1928 Summer Games in Amsterdam, much of the present-day protocol had been established. It was the first time the Greek national team entered the stadium first during the parade of athletes. Participating countries follow in alphabetical order according to a language chosen by the host country (usually its main language). Athletes from the host country march in last.

  • Torch bearer at the opening to the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Copyright: picture-alliance/akg-images

    1936: Torch relay established in Nazi Germany

    For the first time in 1936, a torch was relayed from Olympia, where the Olympic flame was lit, to Berlin - a tradition that has since become inseparable with the Games. The idea, said leading sports historian Manfred Lämmer, stemmed from Jewish archaeologist Alfred Schiff. Some 3,000 athletes participated in the relay and track star Fritz Schilgen (pictured) carried the torch into the stadium.

  • Opening ceremony at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Copyright: picture-alliance/Schirner Sportfoto

    1936 trivia: Flag mix-up

    As Nazi flags were raised in Berlin for the Games, a much less foreboding flag incident occurred. When the teams from Liechtenstein and Haiti met at the opening, they were shocked to discover that their flags were identical. Liechtenstein responded by adding an emblem to theirs.

  • Yoshinori Sakai carries the torch into the stadium at the opening ceremony of the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Copyright: Getty Images

    1964: Tokyo commemorates Hiroshima

    Yoshinori Sakai - also known as the Hiroshima Baby - was born on August 6, 1945, the same day the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. He was just 19 when he carried the Olympic torch into the stadium in Tokyo, setting a symbol for world peace and creating an unforgettable Olympic moment. The 1964 Games were the first to be held in Asia.

  • Opening ceremony of the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, Copyright: picture-alliance/AP Photo

    1980: Conspicuous absences in Moscow

    The Olympic Games are inseparable from the political climate. Dick Palmer, secretary of Britain's Olympic team (front right), is carrying the Olympic banner to represent the absent British Olympic Association in protest during the opening ceremony in Moscow. Japan and West Germany were among those that joined the US-led boycott and didn't attend to protest the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

  • Archer Antonio Rebollo shoots the Olympic flame at the opening of the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Copyright: picture-alliance/Lehtikuva Oy

    1992: Barcelona's archer takes aim

    In a spectacular display of sportsmanship, Catalonian Paralympic archer Antonio Rebollo didn't run the Olympic torch up to light the flame, but shot it with his bow and arrow at the opening of the 1992 Games in Barcelona. Apparently, he was instructed to shoot just above the cauldron, while an Olympic official lit the actual flame in a perfectly choreographed maneuver.

  • Olympische Momente Galerie

    1996: Muhammad Ali's magical moment

    If the flame lighting in Barcelona was impressive, four years later in Atlanta, it was tear-jerking. Boxer Muhammad Ali was a controversial figure in the US after going to court for refusing to serve in the Vietnam War, but was also a hero for his athletic performance and commitment to his Muslim beliefs. While lighting the flame in 1996, he was visibly shaking due to Parkinson's disease.

  • Singer Bjork at the opening ceremony of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens

    2004: A dress for the world in Athens

    In recent years, the artistic element of the otherwise strict protocol of the opening ceremony has taken on greater significance, though the motto of peace remains consistent. In 2004 in Athens - the birthplace of the Games - eccentric Icelandic singer Bjork performed her song "Oceana" and donned a dress that slowly unfurled over the athletes' heads to reveal a 10,000-square-foot world map.

  • Drummers at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing 2008, Copyright: Getty Images/AFP/P. Ugarte

    2008: Superlatives in Beijing

    Beijing pulled out all the stops in 2008 for an opening ceremony said to cost $100 million. (London in 2012 cost just $40 million.) Exactly 2,008 percussionists rigged with glowing sticks performed on fou drums, ancient Chinese percussion instruments. The thundering performance and show of unity was a highlight of the three-hour-long opening ceremony, which incorporated over 14,000 performers.

  • Image of Queen Elizabeth parachuting in to the opening of the 2012 London Olympic Games, Copyright: Reuters

    2012: Old hat for Queen Elizabeth

    In London in 2012, Queen Elizabeth became the first head of state to have officially opened two Olympic Games. And she did so in style - with a stunt double "parachuting" into the opening ceremony. She opened her first Games as Queen of Canada in Montreal in 1976. In her speech, she declared per protocol: "I declare open the Olympic Games of 2012, celebrating the XXX Olympiad of the modern era."


From tear-jerking torch bearers like the Hiroshima Baby and Muhammad Ali, to the hymn and flag, the Olympic opening ceremony has imbued protocol with cultural and political meaning - and brought us goose-bump moments.

  • Date 02.08.2016
  • Author Kate Müser