1924 Chamonix Winter Olympic Opening Ceremony

www.olympicceremony.org
St. Moritz 1928

I Olympic Winter Games

Chamonix, France
1924

Stade Olympique de Chamonix - site of the first Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games

Olympic Ceremony Records
italics indicate records at the time

• First Olympic Winter Games
• First Nation to Host 2 Official Olympic Games (1900, 1924 Winter)
• First Opening Ceremony Held on Ice
• Largest Crowd to Attend an Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony (~10,000)
• Largest Stadium to Host an Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony (45,000)
• Most Nations Participating in a Winter Olympics - 16
• Most Athletes Participating in a Winter Olympics - 258
• Most Events in a Winter Olympics - 16

Opening Ceremony

Stade Olympique de Chamonix (45,000)
January 24, 1924

Video

Opening Ceremony Highlights

The Opening Ceremony of the first Winter Olympics were extremely simple.  Officially, the IOC did not recognize these games separate from the 1924 Summer Games in Paris at the time, so the simple ceremony was mainly designed to detail the taking of the Olympic Oath.  Another interesting element was that the Parade of Nations were held entirely in alphabetical order, with France entering in the middle of the order.

• Parade of Nations
• French Under Secretary of State declares the games open
• Olympic Oath

Photos

Gold Medal from the 1924 Olympic Winter Games in Chamonix, France

Official Poster of the I Olympic Winter Games in Chamonix, France

Athlete's Oath at the 1924 Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony

Opening Ceremony of the I Olympic Winter Games in Chamonix, France

OLYMPIC CEREMONY DATABASE

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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

OLYMPIC CEREMONY DATABASE: Every Summer and Winter Olympic Opening Ceremony

The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games may be the largest art form in the modern world and certainly one of the rarest.  I provided all the Summer Olympic ceremonies in a countdown to London 2012, and now I am providing all of the Winter Olympic ceremonies in a countdown to Sochi 2014!

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE EVERY OLYMPIC OPENING CEREMONY

or visit

www.olympicceremony.org

These postings are dedicated to the artistic development of the opening ceremony including visual arts, music, and other aspects of one of the rarest and largest art forms on earth.  Of course, the first ceremonies were not as elaborate as the most recent ones, but you will be able to watch the development.  Here is what you have to look forward to:

• Video of EVERY Official Opening Ceremony (the complete ceremony if possible)
• The official ceremony reports - took me MANY hours to compile - with hundreds of pictures!
• Photos of the official aspects of the games (medals, torch, poster, etc.)
• Most importantly - info, records, and highlights of the artistic development of the opening ceremony

CLICK ON THE OLYMPICS BELOW TO LEARN ABOUT THE OPENING CEREMONY

SUMMER GAMES
CLICK HER FOR SUMMER GAMES CEREMONY RECORDS

1896 Athens

1900 Paris

1904 St. Louis

1906 Intercalated Games Athens

1908 London

1912 Stockholm
1916 cancelled Berlin

1920 Antwerp

1924 Paris

1928 Amsterdam

1932 Los Angeles

1936 Berlin

1940 cancelled Tokyo/Helsinki

1944 cancelled London

1948 London

1952 Helsinki
1956 Equestrian Games Stockholm

1956 Melbourne

1960 Rome

1964 Tokyo

1968 Mexico City

1972 Munich (entire ceremony)

1976 Montreal (entire ceremony)

1980 Moscow (entire ceremony)

1984 Los Angeles (entire ceremony)

1988 Seoul (entire ceremony)

1992 Barcelona (entire ceremony)

1996 Atlanta (entire ceremony)

2000 Sydney (entire ceremony)

2004 Athens (entire ceremony)

2008 Beijing (entire ceremony)
2012 London (entire ceremony)
2016 Rio de Janeiro (entire ceremony)

WINTER GAMES
1924 Chamonix
1928 St. Moritz
1932 Lake Placid
1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen
1940 cancelled Sapporo/St. Moritz/Garmisch-Partenkirchen
1944 cancelled Cortina d'Ampezzo
1948 St. Moritz
1952 Oslo
1956 Corina d'Ampezzo
1960 Squaw Valley
1964 Innsbruck
1968 Grenoble
1972 Sapporo
1976 Innsbruck
1980 Lake Placid
1984 Sarajevo (entire ceremony)
1988 Calgary (entire ceremony)
1992 Albertville (entire ceremony)
1994 Lillehammer (entire ceremony)
1998 Nagano (entire ceremony)
2002 Salt Lake City (entire ceremony)
2006 Torino (entire ceremony)
2010 Vancouver (entire ceremony)
2014 Sochi (entire ceremony)
2018 Pyeongchang (entire ceremony)

Keep in mind, that this may be the largest comprehensive online collection studying the Olympic opening ceremony art and how it has evolved since 1896 - it's completely free for everyone and will contain one of the world's largest online collections of Opening Ceremony video.  If you have any video to contribute, please contact me!

I hope that my years of collecting and researching video and other information will be helpful in the future study of this art form, as it is one of the most significant art forms in the modern world.

This collection of information and video are in many cases very rare and in some cases, the first digitized production available online.  Each film attempts to recreate the ceremony in its entirety with the exception of the Parade of Nations (for obvious time reasons).  Special posts and information on the ceremonies will also be available for the 1906 Intercalated Games, the Olympic Games cancelled because of the World Wars, and the 1956 Equestrian Games. Again, much of this information is rare and contain very rare photos and video - every Summer Olympic Opening Ceremony from 1972 to the present, with the exception of 1984, can be seen in their entirety and every Winter Olympic Opening Ceremony from 1988 to the present can be seen in their entirety!