2004 Athens Summer Olympic Opening Ceremony (entire ceremony)

www.olympicceremony.org

2000 Sydney - Beijing 2008

The Games of the XXVIII Olympiad

Athens, Greece
2004

Opening Ceremony of the 2004 Olympics in Athens

Olympic Ceremony Records
italics indicate records at the time

• First City to Host Three Official or Unofficial Olympic Games (1896, 1906 intercalated games, 2004 - the 1906 games weren't "unofficial" unitl the IOC Congress of 1948)
• First Opening Ceremony to Fill Stadium Floor with Water
• First Holograph
• Most Nations Participating (201) - previous Sydney 2000 (199)
• Most Olympic Events (301) - previous Sydney 2000 (300)

Olympic Torch Relay Records

italics indicate records at the time

• Most Nations Traveled - 27 (previous Munich 1972 - 8) 
• First Global Torch Relay
• Longest Torch Relay - 132,129km (previous Sydney 2000 - 38,646km)

Opening Ceremony

Olympic Stadium (71,030)
August 13, 2004

Complete Video
(viewer's guide below in Ceremony Highlights)
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Official Report
(click the image below to download the Official Report - to large for embedding)

Opening Ceremony Highlights

Athens was under great financial stress coming into the games, yet their minimalist opening ceremony was magnificent.  Even though the ceremony could not compare to the size of Sydney, Athens incorporated many unique ideas and most importantly, planned the most effective music score combining the ethereal feel and modern minimalist grandeur of the event in every segment.  This would highly influence Beijing's music adaptations in 2008.

• Welcome (1:00)
• Drummers enter stadium
• Comet launches from the video screen to the stadium floor filled with water, lighting the Olympic Rings
• Wide Sea (6:20)
• Boy in paper boat starts his journey across the water-filled stadium floor
• President of Greece arrives with dignitaries
• Greek National Anthem
• Allegory (14:10)
• Centaur enters the stadium lake
• Giant marble head rises from the center of the lake
• Projections of great Greek thinkers on the head
• Head breaks into 8 pieces revealing statue of a young man
• Statue breaks into 6 pieces revealing another statue depicting freedom
• Cube appears on which a man walks
• Fragments fall to stadium floor as islands in the Aegean Sea
• Clepsydra (20:50)
• Procession of Greek images through time
• Book of Life (32:00)
• Pregnant woman walks toward holographic DNA strand in the center of the lake
• Goddess Athena makes an olive tree appear in the center of the stadium, islands come to together to form the Acropolis; water recedes
• Parade of Nations (39:30)
• "Oceania" performed by Bjork; dress covers athletes; dove projected upon the cloth (57:50)
• Dedication to all the previous Olympic Hosts (1:04:00)
• President of Greece declares the games open (1:08:00)
• Olympic Flag enters the stadium and is raised to the Olympic Hymn (1:09:30)
• Athlete's and Judge's Oaths (1:19:10)
• Olympic Flame enters the stadium; cauldron is lit by Nikos Kaklamanakis (Gold Medalist in Windsurfing) (1:21:00)

Photos

Gold Medal from the 2004 Olympics in Athens

2004 Athens Olympic Torch

Official Poster of the 2004 Olympics in Athens

Opening Ceremony of the 2004 Olympics in Athens

Opening Ceremony of the 2004 Olympics in Athens

Opening Ceremony of the 2004 Olympics in Athens

2004 Olympic Cauldron in Athens

OLYMPIC CEREMONY DATABASE

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1906 Athens Intercalated Games Opening Ceremony

www.olympicceremony.org
1904 St. Louis - London 1908

The Second International Olympic Games in Athens

Intercalated Games of 1906

Athens, Greece

Panathinaiko Stadium hosts the 1906 Olympics

Olympic Ceremony Records
italics indicate records at the time

• First Illegitimate Modern Olympic Games
• First Parade of Nations (in alphabetical national order)

Opening Ceremony

Panathinaiko Stadium (45,000)
April 22, 1906

Video

Official Report

Opening Ceremony Highlights

The Official Reports above detail the history about these Intercalated Games - officially known as the Second International Olympic Games.  These were subsequently demoted in later years, but at the time, they  were held at the same standard, if not higher as these were much more successful than Paris 1900 or St. Louis 1904.  These games also mark the first Olympic Closing ceremony where 6,000 children participated.

• 50,000 spectators attended (the stadium seating only 45,000)
• King George accompanied King Edward VII of England into the stadium.
• The first parade of nations parading behind their national flags
• Greece entered the stadium last as the host country
• After a short speech by the Organizing Committee President, the games were declared open by King George of Greece
• The Olympic Hymn by Samaras was performed by mass choir and mass orchestra
• The athletes cleared the field and the first events took place immediately following

During the week, and in the Closing Ceremony, several mass artistic demonstrations were performed including Cycling and Gymnastics as can be seen in the video.

Photos

Gold Medal from the 1906 Games

Opening Ceremony Parade of Nations

Olympic Program Cover

OLYMPIC CEREMONY DATABASE

SUMMER

1896 1900 1904 Intercalated 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952
1956 Equestrian 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016

WINTER

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1896 Athens Summer Olympic Opening Ceremony

www.olympicceremony.org

Paris 1900

The Games of the I Olympiad

Athens, Greece
April 6, 1896

Opening Ceremony of the 1896 Olympic Games in Athens

Olympic Ceremony Records 
italics indicate records at the time

• First Olympic Opening Ceremony of the Modern Era
• First Olympic Opening Ceremony Spanning More Than One Day
• First Use of the Olympic Anthem
• First Olympic Games in Europe
• First Use of an Orchestra
• First Use of a Choir
• First Incorporation of a Religious Service with the Olympic Opening Ceremony
• First Parade of Athletes (not separated by country)
• Largest Stadium to Host the Opening Ceremony (45,000)
• Largest Crowd to Attend the Opening Ceremony (80,000)
• Most Countries Participating (14)
• Most Athletes Participating (241)
• Most Olympic Events (43)

Opening Ceremony
Panathinaiko Stadium (45,000)
April 6, 1896

Video
Opening Ceremony Highlights

The first Olympics had two ceremonies.  The first ceremony on April 5 - Easter Day, as described in the official report using the Julian calendar (March 24), was to commemorate the founding of the games and dedicating the new stadium and statue to the person who funded much of the games, George Averoff.  A great description and pictures are included in the official report above but here are the highlights of this first ceremony.

• Starting early in morning, people, sporting companies with flags and bands, officials, and athletes marched into the stadium.
• The hills surrounding the stadium were packed with spectators
• The royal family arrives and a speeches were made celebrating Averoff in a torrent of rain
• A hymn was sung, commissioned in honor of Averoff
• The Crown Prince spoke then drew a string on the statue that dropped a Greek flag covering a statue of George Averoff on the stadium floor.
• Greek representative placed a laurel and a Hungarian representative place a wreath at the foot of the statue

The following are the highlights of the official opening ceremony the following day, April 6 - Greek Independence Day.

• Many officials attended the chanting of a Te Deum with the Royal Family before they went to the stadium for the ceremony in a parade.
• Almost twice as many spectators attended the ceremony than what the stadium could hold.
• According the official report, one of the most exciting parts about the ceremony were the attire of the ladies in their plumed hats and gowns.
• Bands paraded through the stadium for an hour before the ceremony.
• The Royal Family entered the stadium to a huge ovation; the Crown Prince speaks and introduces King George I who declares the games open.
• A collection of all the Athenian Philharmonic Societies join in a large choir with large orchestra to perform "Cantata for the Olympic Games" by Spiridion Samara (music found in several later official reports) - what would become the Olympic Anthem.
• The cantata was so overwhelmingly loved and cheered for so long, that they performed an encore of the piece.
• The athletes then entered the stadium en masse and the first events took place soon thereafter

Photos

Olympic Victory Medal
(Gold Medals were not awarded until 1900)

Opening Ceremony

Olympic Program Cover

OLYMPIC CEREMONY DATABASE

SUMMER

1896 1900 1904 Intercalated 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952
1956 Equestrian 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016

WINTER

1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 20141980 1984 1988 1992 1994 1998 2002 2006
2010 2014 2018