1916 Berlin Summer Olympic Opening Ceremony

www.olympicceremony.org
Stockholm 1912 - 1920 Antwerp

The Games of the VI Olympiad

Berlin, Germany
1916

Deutsches Stadion - planed to host the Opening Ceremonies in Berlin

Olympic Ceremony Records
italics indicate records at the time

• First Olympics to be Canceled (World War I)

Opening Ceremony

Deutsches Stadion (50,000)
No Opening Ceremony

Video
No Opening Ceremony

Opening Ceremony Highlights

The Games of 1916 were canceled because of the outbreak of the Great War.  Some of the preparation materials remain including some short articles from the New York Times below.  More pictures of the German Stadium in Berlin are posted below as well.  Over 60,000 attended the opening of the stadium and it had a unique layout with the Olympic's first 400 meter track, surrounded by a 666 meter cycling track, with a swimming pool connected to the opposite side of the cycling track.. Oddly enough, even though these games never took place, they planned to have an entirely separate period for winter events.  This idea eventually led to separate the winter events entirely and in 1924, the Olympic Winter Games began.

Official Report
No Official Report but here are several short articles from the New York Times

Photos

Opening Ceremony of the Berlin Stadium on June 8, 1913

Opening Ceremony of the Berlin Stadium on June 8, 1913

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1908 London Summer Olympic Opening Ceremony

www.olympicceremony.org
1906 Athens - Stockholm 1912

The Games of the IV Olympiad

London, England
1908

White City Stadium - host of the Opening Ceremony

Olympic Ceremony Records
italics indicate records at the time

• First Parade of Nations by Country in an Official Olympics (originated 1906 Intercalated Games)
• First Playing of the National Anthem at an Official Opening Ceremony (The Star-Spangled Banner was performed in 1904 but it was neither the official National Anthem of the U.S. nor was it an official Opening Ceremony)
• First Parade of Nations to Use a Standard Displaying the Country Name
• First Competitions in Winter Sports (Figure Skating) - These games were split into Summer Games and Autumn Games, figure skating obviously being competed in the later.
• Largest Stadium to Host the Opening Ceremony (68,000) - previous Athens 1896 (45,000)
• Most Athletes Participating (2,008) - previous Paris 1900 (997)
• Most Olympic Events (110) - previous Paris 1900 (95)

Opening Ceremony

White City Stadium (68,000)
July 13, 1908

Video

Official Report
(photos of the ceremony at the end of the report)

Opening Ceremony Highlights

The London Olympics of 1908 were anticipated to be the greatest Olympics yet.  Only the two previous games in Athens were successful; Paris and St. Louis were poorly run and part of the World's Fair.  Rome was the city elected to host, but with an eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 1906, the games were moved to London.  The Opening Ceremony of the 1908 games began the modern tradition and grandiosity of the modern Olympic ceremonies.  Even though the stadium seated 68,000 there had been rain all day and only 40,000 spectators attended the ceremony.

• King Edward VII of England arrives with many dignitaries to the Stadium
• The first Parade of Nations by country in an official Olympics began (1906 games are not considered an official Olympic Games).  This was the highlight of many of the following Opening Ceremonies as this was in the height of the Nationalist age - which led to WWI.
• The King of England declares the games open
• Trumpeters sounded a fanfare
• Band played the National Anthem
• The athletes and crowd sound three "God Save the King" chants
• The athletes left the field and the first track events began

Photos

Gold Medal from the 1908 Summer Olympics in London

Olympic Program Cover from the 1908 Summer Olympics in London

Opening Ceremony of the 1908 Olympics

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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

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