The Games of the XXVI Olympiad
Atlanta, Georgia
1996
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| Opening Ceremony from the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta |
Olympic Ceremony Records
italics indicate records at the time
- First Olympic Cauldron Lit by Wire and Pully
- First Opera Written and Performed for the Opening Ceremony
- First Artistic Use of Cars
- First Use of Silhouette Imagery
- First Flame Brought into the Stadium from Underground
- First Use of Puppets in Dove Release
- First Tribute to an Individual Not Associated with the Olympics (Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.)
- First Entrance of the Athletes from a Ramp Above the Stadium
- Most Nations Participating (197) - previous Barcelona 1992 (170)
- Most Athletes Participating (10,320) - previous Barcelona 1992 (9,356)
Olympic Torch Relay Records
italics indicate records at the time
- First Olympic Cauldron Lit by Wire and Pully
- First Flame Transported by Train
- Most Torchbearers - 13,267 (previous Barcelona 1992 - 9,484)
- Longest Torch Relay - 34,011km (previous Tokyo 1964 - 27,065km)
Opening Ceremony
Centennial Olympic Stadium (85,600)
July 19, 1996
Following the Opening Ceremony of Barcelona in 1992, Atlanta was faced with a monstrous task of creating a ceremony that could compete. Atlanta didn't have the flare that Barcelona used in lighting the cauldron, but Atlanta did produce one of the largest artistic displays in world history. Spending $15 million on the ceremony alone, Atlanta gave performances by the worlds greatest pop and classical musicians including a spectacular opera written especially for the Opening Ceremony, an obvious first in Olympic history. Atlanta choreographed the artistic segments to flow continuously, containing an overriding dramatic plot - a tactic used in every ceremony since.
- Spirits and Tribes of the Olympic Rings emerge; drum sequence; form Olympic Rings
- "Summon the Heroes" by John Williams performed
- Welcoming of President Clinton and other dignitaries
- National Anthem w/ jet flyover
- "Atlanta" artistic segment of hip hop dance, marching bands, cheer leaders, chrome pickups
- Gladys Knight performs "Georgia On My Mind"
- "American South" pageant opera
- "Southern Summer Night" - butterflies and fireflies; moon greets the morning sun
- "The River" - Old Man River flows through the south led by four catfish; floating down the river are giant puppet jazz dancers, jazz bands, belles, gents
- "The Storm" - giant Native American Thunderbird covers the land, symbolically representing the destruction of the American Civil War
- "Rebirth and Celebration" - Southern Spirits rise again
- Tribute to the Centennial of the Olympics - Temple of Zeus artistic segment using silhouette imagery; following is the rebirth of the modern games with a quote by de Coubertin, flags with the names of all the Olympic Hosts emerge and run around the track, Atlanta's runs up a large ramp signalling the beginning of the Parade of Nations
- Parade of Nations
- President of the United States declares the games open
- Olympic Flag enters the stadium to "Simple Gifts"; raised during the Olympic Hymn
- 300 puppet doves carried among the athletes and around the track
- "I have a Dream" artistic segment dedicated to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
- Commemoration of the greatest living Olympians of the past century
- Olympic Flame enters the stadium through underground tunnel; cauldron is lit by Muhammad Ali (1960 Gold Medalist in Boxing)
- Athlete's and Judge's Oaths
- Celine Dion perform "The Power of the Dream"
- Opera great Jessye Norman perform "Faster, Higher, Stronger" with Fireworks display
