2004 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony
Encyclopedia
The Opening Ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympic Games was held on August 13, 2004 at the Olympic Stadium
in Maroussi, Greece
, a suburb
of Athens
. 72,000 spectators attended the event, with approximately 15,000 athletes from 202 countries participating in the ceremony as well. It marked the first-ever international broadcast of high definition television, undertaken by NBC
and the Japanese television station NHK
.
played by two drummers, one inside the stadium, and one projected on the stadium screen from the ancient stadium of Olympia
, the locale of the Olympic games of antiquity. A blazing projectile, seemingly coming from the ancient stadium of Olympia on the screen, lands on the flooded stadium. According to Dimitris Papaioannou
, the event "was a pageant of traditional Greek culture
and history
harkening back to its mythological
beginnings, and viewed through the progression of Greek art." The dramatic music that accompanied the performances often combined drumming with the traditionally Greek sound of bouzouki
.
, symbolizing Greece's maritime tradition and its close connection to the sea.
The segments that followed were divided in two main parts. The first part of the main artistic segment of the opening ceremony was called "Allegory". "Allegory" introduced the main conceptual themes and ideals that are going to be omnipresent throughout the entire opening ceremony, such as the confluence of the past and present, love and passion as the progenitors of history, and humanity's attempt to understand itself. The second part, called the "Clepsydra", or "Hourglass", celebrates the themes introduced in the "Allegory" section through a portrayal of Greek history from the ancient to the modern times.
The "Allegory" segment began with a recitation of a verse from Nobel Prize-winning Greek poet George Seferis' poem "Mythistorema 3". As the verse is being recited on the speakers, the spotlights are focused upon a woman clad in a black gown looking out to the water. Holding a marble sculpture head, the woman seems to be entering into a dream. As she looks into the dark water, a centaur
appears whose human and animal parts supposedly symbolize the duality of spirit and body. The centaur then walks about and then throws a spear of light into the center of the stadium, from which a giant statue that exemplified Cycladic
art (and thus one of the first depictions of the human form in Greek art) emerged. This Cycladic head also represents one of the very first attempts of humanity to understand itself. With the use of laser
s, geometrical shapes and other scientific images (such as a stylistic representation of the solar system
) were displayed on the figure's face. The statue then broke into pieces that floated away, and from within it emerged a smaller kouros
statue from the Archaic Period
of Greek sculpture, which in turn broke apart to reveal the depiction of man in a sculpture of the classical period
, symbolizing the dawn of individuality and extolling human scale, one of the principal themes of the 2004 Olympics. At the end of this sequence, a cube arises from the water, and a man starts slowly balancing himself on the rotating cube while representations of human kind's greatest achievements, contrasted to humanistic representations and images of men, women, and children of various ethnicities and ages, are projected onto the pieces of broken sculpture, which seem to be floating above the water. This last sequence is meant to symbolize the birth of logical thought, higher learning, and humanity finally making sense of the world in which it lives. After this sequence, the pieces of sculpture descend to the water, meant to symbolize the Greek isles.
In the next sequence, Eros, the Greek god of love, was introduced flying over a pair of lovers frolicking in the pool of water located in the center of the stadium. The young couple along with Eros symbolize the fact that the humanity which create and shape history is born out of love and passion. This segment introduces the next part of the ceremony, the "Clepsydra", which highlights the themes of the opening ceremony through a celebration of Greek history. The lovers then lie down in the water, and both fall into a dream state. Throughout the rest of the scenes from history and mythology, Eros flew over the parade, occasionally touching or stepping on the floats moving beneath him, thus reinforcing the theme of love and passion as the source for all history.
The pageantry following the statues and the introduction of Eros continued to portray scenes that showed the sequence of Greek civilisation through its art. The scenes started with the Minoan civilisation. The first floar featured the iconic image of Minoan civilization: that of the fertility goddess clad in a bodice exposing her breasts and clutching serpents in both hands. The subsequent floats then featured scenes of bull-jumping, dolphins, and other elements that harkened back to the images in the fresco
es of Phaestos. The scenes then proceeded to the more stark art of the Mycenean civilisation, followed by representations of the Classical
period. A chariot carrying an actor portraying Alexander the Great introduced images from the Hellenistic period
, which in turn were followed by representations of Byzantine art
, the Greek War of Independence
, and lastly of 20th century elements of Greek culture, such as the popular shadow-theatre figure Karagiozis
, who is said to be a humorous and self-deprecating depiction (and parody) of Greek mentality.
At the end of the parade, "Eros" lowered enough to help a pregnant woman remove her outer garment. This last part represents the ceremony coming into full circle: the "Clepsydra" segment began with the image of the Minoan fertility goddess and is now ending with a pregnant woman representing the future of all humanity and history. With belly glowing, the woman moved into the lake of water as the stadium's lights dimmed and lights underneath the pool of water were turned on, thus creating an image of stars in a galaxy
. According to Greek myth, the stars of the galaxy was born out of the milk of Hera
's fertile breasts. In fact, the name for the Milky Way Galaxy, the home to planet Earth
, was born out of this myth. Slowly the stars rose around the woman, and moved to form a rapidly rotating DNA
double helix, which is the basis for all life on the planet. Humanity's attempt to understand itself, a theme that has been omnipresent throughout the entire ceremony beginning with the Cycladic head, is further reinforced by the representation of the DNA double helix, which symbolizes humanity's latest and most recent attempt to understand itself: the late 20th and early 21st centuries witnessed great advances in the field of genetics
with the mapping of the human genome
.
Finally, all the characters of the parade began to walk inside the pool, around its center, mixing the past and the present in a single marching beat of the drums. The confluence of the past and the present is another main theme of the opening ceremony. The music began a crescendo with choruses, when all of a sudden an olive tree was lifted from the center of the pool - symbolizing goddess Athena's preferred gift by the Greeks - land and food - over Poseidon's gift, the horse - a tool of warfare. At the music's climax, all the characters stopped and raised their arms as if worshipping the Tree, which was high above, surrounded also by the fragments of the deconstructed statues who resembled a mount.
Typically, Greece leads the Parade of Nations in any Olympics, with the host nation entering the stadium last. However, since Greece was the host nation, they went last, sending only their flag with the weightlifter Pyrros Dimas as the flag bearer into the stadium at the beginning of the parade, and the athletes themselves at the end of it.
The debut position was given to Saint Lucia
(Αγία Λουκία in Greek
), who led the Parade of Nations into the stadium. As the nations entered in Greek alphabet
ical order, Zimbabwe
— which has usually been the penultimate nation, followed only by the host country — appeared in the middle of the parade.
The entrances of Afghanistan
and Iraq
were emotional highpoints of the parade. The nation of Kiribati
made its debut Olympic appearance at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and East Timor
marched under its own flag for the first time. Serbia and Montenegro
appeared at the Olympics under the nation's new name for the first and only time since the country was officially renamed in 2003, and prior to the union's dissolution in 2006; it had previously been known as Yugoslavia
.
Due to the unpopularity of the American-led invasion of Iraq
among Greeks, it had been expected by the media that audience members would protest the war during the entrance of the American delegation into the stadium by booing; however, the Americans did receive a warm welcome, much to the pleasant surprise of US news anchors covering the event.
Apart from Greece, the Greek crowd reserved some of their loudest cheers for their fellow Greeks from Cyprus
, Australia
, home to many Greeks and site of the previous Summer Olympics
and Mediterranean countries such as France
and Italy
, and a big cheer come too to Brazil
and Canada
. A loud cheer was also Djibouti
, because it had only one person enter the stadium. The teams from Palestine
and Serbia and Montenegro
were also very warmly welcomed. Cheers greeted Portugal
, the nation that hosted the Euro 2004 football tournament, which Greece won. Notable silences marked the entry of "The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
", Israel
and Turkey
, reflecting the political sympathies of the Greek public.
High-ranking politicians and royalty from all around the world applauded as the teams from their respective countries paraded by. Along with their spouses, U.K. Prime Minister
Tony Blair
, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway
(who lit the Cauldron for the 1994 Winter Olympics
), and Crown Prince Frederik
of Denmark
, (among others) each stood and applauded the teams from their countries. Past world leaders, including U.S. President
George H. W. Bush
, also attended and applauded their national teams during the parade, in which DJ Tiësto
played electronic music.
, in Salt Lake City, where banners of the previous 18 Winter Olympics entered Rice-Eccles Stadium
at the beginning of the ceremony. This would also be seen in Vancouver during the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics
.
The first speech came from Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki
, the chief organizer of the Athens 2004 Olympics and the first female chief organizer of an Olympic games. She told the athletes: "Welcome home!" and "Greece is standing before you. We are ready." She also stated the people of Greece "have waited long for this moment," alluding to the long time period between the first modern Olympic Games in Greece and the 2004 Games, as well as the fact that Athens was passed over in 1990 in favor of Atlanta, Georgia
for host of the 1996 Summer Olympics
.
Angelopoulos-Daskalaki was followed by International Olympic Committee
President Jacques Rogge
, who delivered a speech encouraging participating athletes to resist the urge to use banned performance-enhancing substances and "show us that sport unites by overriding national, political, religious, and language barriers". Rogge then introduced Greek president Konstantinos Stephanopoulos, who declared the games officially open.
's Symphony No. 3 in D Minor: 6. Langsam
.
The music played during the "Clepsydra" segment highlighting Greek history and mythology was composed by Konstantinos Bita. The songs played were instrumental in nature and many used traditional Greek instruments. Famous Greek artists such as Stavros Xarhakos
(whose song "Zeimbekiko" was played), Manos Hadjidakis
, Mikis Theodorakis
and Konstantinos Bita, were included in the Olympic soundtrack. The whole music project was arranged by composer George Koumendakis, who had worked in the past several times with Papaioannou and was assisted in this project by Maria Metaxaki. The music production team included Marcus Dillistone
, Paul Stefanidis, Dick Lewsey and Julian Scott (composer)
.
New Zealand composer John Psathas
(son of Greek immigrant parents) was chosen to compose and arrange music to accompany parts of the opening ceremonies. The most prestigious engagement of his career to date, he joins the ranks of well-known composers, such as John Williams, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Leonard Bernstein and Mikis Theodorakis who have also written music for the Olympics.
Mr Psathas was engaged in 2003 to compose and arrange music for the Games’ opening and closing ceremonies. He has since commuted several times between Wellington and Athens to work on the music and supervise the rehearsal process.
His music includes a number of specially composed fanfares and processionals to accompany the arrival of the IOC President, the lighting of the Olympic cauldron and to precede the Olympic oaths, and he is responsible for the soundtrack to the entire ‘flame sequence’ of the ceremony. John Psathas has also arranged the National Anthem of Greece, the Olympic Hymn, and music by Shostakovich, Debussy and the foremost living Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis to accompany other parts of the ceremony. The fireworks at the Games’ closing ceremony on 29 August will also feature music by the composer.
During the Parade of Nations, Dutchman
DJ Tiësto
provided the music, becoming the first DJ
ever to spin live at the Olympics. During the course of his performance the Dutch athletes started dancing in front of the DJ booth and had to be moved on by officials. Tiësto later released a condensed version of the performance on CD titled Parade of the Athletes
. In the liner notes, he noted the IOC requested to him that the music not contain any lyrics as they could be inadvertently misinterpreted.
Björk
performed "Oceania
" from her album, Medúlla, immediately after the Parade of Nations ended. While the song was being played, a large piece of fabric (which belonged to Björk's dress) was pulled over the heads of the athletes, who had gathered on the ground in the center of the stadium following their march around the stadium. At the conclusion of Björk's performance, a map of the world was projected on the fabric.
The Opening Ceremony culminated in the end of the torch relay, a tradition begun when Berlin
hosted the games in 1936
. Before the torch came into the stadium, a three rings arose from the center of the stadium that simulated a globe. This segment preceding the torch's arrival honored the first global torch relay that was begun by Athens 2004. Actors, suspended on cables, started rising out of the crowd and ran towards the globe, carrying glowing sticks meant to simulate the Olympic torch. On the globe, the names of the cities which the torch visited were projected, and this segment ended with all the torchbearers floating mid-air coming together at the globe. After this segment ended, the lights were dimmed, and the sound of the heartbeat accompanied by thunderous cheers and applause met the torch's final arrival to the Olympic Stadium.
Torch bearer Nikos Galis, considered to be the greatest Greek basketball
player of all time, entered the stadium first. The torch was passed on, in sequential order, to Greek football
legend Mimis Domazos
, 1992 Hurdles
champion Voula Patoulidou
, 1996 Olympic weightlifting
champion Kakhi Kakhiashvili
, and 1996 Olympic gymnastics
champion Ioannis Melissanidis
.
The torch was finally passed to the 1996 Olympic sailing
champion Nikolaos Kaklamanakis
, who lit a giant cigar-shaped tapered column resembling a torch — not, as usual, a cauldron — to burn during the duration of the 2004 Summer Olympics. As Kaklamanakis ascended the steps to light the cauldron, the cauldron seemed to bow down to him, symbolizing that despite advance of technology, technology is still a creation and tool of humanity and that it was meant to serve humanity's needs. The ceremony concluded with a breathtaking fireworks display.
flooring that drained its water in 2 minutes, beautiful and innovative lighting, and an ingenious staging system utilizing a complex network of automated cables that lifted, maneuvered, and choreographed the floating pieces of sculpture to follow the music and narrative of the opening ceremony. The costumes, which also drew great international praise, were designed by well-known London
-based Greek fashion designer Sophia Kokosalaki
. Eleftheria Deco was awarded for her lighting design of the opening ceremony with an Emmy award. NBC
, the international television broadcaster of the 2004 Athens Olympics, has also been awarded with 6 Emmy awards for its coverage of the games and technical production.
Athens Olympic Sports Complex
The Olympic Athletic Center of Athens "Spiros Louis" or OACA , is a sport facilities complex located at Marousi, northeast Athens, Greece...
in Maroussi, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, a suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. 72,000 spectators attended the event, with approximately 15,000 athletes from 202 countries participating in the ceremony as well. It marked the first-ever international broadcast of high definition television, undertaken by NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
and the Japanese television station NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
.
Opening Sequence
The Opening Ceremony began with a twenty-eight second countdown — one second per Olympics held since Athens last hosted the first modern games — paced by the sounds of an amplified heartbeatCardiac cycle
The cardiac cycle is a term referring to all or any of the events related to the flow or blood pressure that occurs from the beginning of one heartbeat to the beginning of the next. The frequency of the cardiac cycle is described by the heart rate. Each beat of the heart involves five major stages...
played by two drummers, one inside the stadium, and one projected on the stadium screen from the ancient stadium of Olympia
Olympia, Greece
Olympia , a sanctuary of ancient Greece in Elis, is known for having been the site of the Olympic Games in classical times, comparable in importance to the Pythian Games held in Delphi. Both games were held every Olympiad , the Olympic Games dating back possibly further than 776 BC...
, the locale of the Olympic games of antiquity. A blazing projectile, seemingly coming from the ancient stadium of Olympia on the screen, lands on the flooded stadium. According to Dimitris Papaioannou
Dimitris Papaioannou
Dimitris Papaioannou is a Greek avant-garde stage director, choreographer and visual artist who drew international media attention and acclaim with his creative direction of the Opening Ceremony of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games...
, the event "was a pageant of traditional Greek culture
Culture of Greece
The culture of Greece has evolved over thousands of years, beginning in Mycenaean Greece, continuing most notably into Classical Greece, through the influence of the Roman Empire and its Greek Eastern successor the Byzantine Empire...
and history
History of Greece
The history of Greece encompasses the history of the territory of the modern state of Greece, as well as that of the Greek people and the areas they ruled historically. The scope of Greek habitation and rule has varied much through the ages, and, as a result, the history of Greece is similarly...
harkening back to its mythological
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
beginnings, and viewed through the progression of Greek art." The dramatic music that accompanied the performances often combined drumming with the traditionally Greek sound of bouzouki
Bouzouki
The bouzouki , is a musical instrument with Greek origin in the lute family. A mainstay of modern Greek music, the front of the body is flat and is usually heavily inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The instrument is played with a plectrum and has a sharp metallic sound, reminiscent of a mandolin but...
.
Artistic Programme
The programme began with a drummer ensemble marching in the Athens Olympic Stadium playing their Typical Greek drummers : one of them in the Ancient Olympia Stadium playing his drum was shown in the screen of the stadium and one in the Athens Olympic Stadium to show a connection between the ancient past and the present. From the screen where from the images of the Olympia drummer are being shown, a lighter rocket simulating a comet crashes into the giant pool of the stadium drawing with its fire the Olympic Rings. This first act of the Opening Ceremony was called "Calling to the Ancient Olympic Spirits" by the organizers: the comet symbolizes the fire of the ancients giving life to the modern Olympic movement, thus bridging the past and the present together. Next, a young Greek boy sailed into the stadium on a giant paper boat waving the host nation's flagFlag of Greece
The flag of Greece , officially recognized by Greece as one of its national symbols, is based on nine equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating with white...
, symbolizing Greece's maritime tradition and its close connection to the sea.
The segments that followed were divided in two main parts. The first part of the main artistic segment of the opening ceremony was called "Allegory". "Allegory" introduced the main conceptual themes and ideals that are going to be omnipresent throughout the entire opening ceremony, such as the confluence of the past and present, love and passion as the progenitors of history, and humanity's attempt to understand itself. The second part, called the "Clepsydra", or "Hourglass", celebrates the themes introduced in the "Allegory" section through a portrayal of Greek history from the ancient to the modern times.
The "Allegory" segment began with a recitation of a verse from Nobel Prize-winning Greek poet George Seferis' poem "Mythistorema 3". As the verse is being recited on the speakers, the spotlights are focused upon a woman clad in a black gown looking out to the water. Holding a marble sculpture head, the woman seems to be entering into a dream. As she looks into the dark water, a centaur
Centaur
In Greek mythology, a centaur or hippocentaur is a member of a composite race of creatures, part human and part horse...
appears whose human and animal parts supposedly symbolize the duality of spirit and body. The centaur then walks about and then throws a spear of light into the center of the stadium, from which a giant statue that exemplified Cycladic
Cyclades
The Cyclades is a Greek island group in the Aegean Sea, south-east of the mainland of Greece; and a former administrative prefecture of Greece. They are one of the island groups which constitute the Aegean archipelago. The name refers to the islands around the sacred island of Delos...
art (and thus one of the first depictions of the human form in Greek art) emerged. This Cycladic head also represents one of the very first attempts of humanity to understand itself. With the use of laser
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
s, geometrical shapes and other scientific images (such as a stylistic representation of the solar system
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
) were displayed on the figure's face. The statue then broke into pieces that floated away, and from within it emerged a smaller kouros
Kouros
A kouros is the modern term given to those representations of male youths which first appear in the Archaic period in Greece. The term kouros, meaning youth, was first proposed for what were previously thought to be depictions of Apollo by V. I...
statue from the Archaic Period
Archaic period in Greece
The Archaic period in Greece was a period of ancient Greek history that followed the Greek Dark Ages. This period saw the rise of the polis and the founding of colonies, as well as the first inklings of classical philosophy, theatre in the form of tragedies performed during Dionysia, and written...
of Greek sculpture, which in turn broke apart to reveal the depiction of man in a sculpture of the classical period
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
, symbolizing the dawn of individuality and extolling human scale, one of the principal themes of the 2004 Olympics. At the end of this sequence, a cube arises from the water, and a man starts slowly balancing himself on the rotating cube while representations of human kind's greatest achievements, contrasted to humanistic representations and images of men, women, and children of various ethnicities and ages, are projected onto the pieces of broken sculpture, which seem to be floating above the water. This last sequence is meant to symbolize the birth of logical thought, higher learning, and humanity finally making sense of the world in which it lives. After this sequence, the pieces of sculpture descend to the water, meant to symbolize the Greek isles.
In the next sequence, Eros, the Greek god of love, was introduced flying over a pair of lovers frolicking in the pool of water located in the center of the stadium. The young couple along with Eros symbolize the fact that the humanity which create and shape history is born out of love and passion. This segment introduces the next part of the ceremony, the "Clepsydra", which highlights the themes of the opening ceremony through a celebration of Greek history. The lovers then lie down in the water, and both fall into a dream state. Throughout the rest of the scenes from history and mythology, Eros flew over the parade, occasionally touching or stepping on the floats moving beneath him, thus reinforcing the theme of love and passion as the source for all history.
The pageantry following the statues and the introduction of Eros continued to portray scenes that showed the sequence of Greek civilisation through its art. The scenes started with the Minoan civilisation. The first floar featured the iconic image of Minoan civilization: that of the fertility goddess clad in a bodice exposing her breasts and clutching serpents in both hands. The subsequent floats then featured scenes of bull-jumping, dolphins, and other elements that harkened back to the images in the fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
es of Phaestos. The scenes then proceeded to the more stark art of the Mycenean civilisation, followed by representations of the Classical
Classical Greece
Classical Greece was a 200 year period in Greek culture lasting from the 5th through 4th centuries BC. This classical period had a powerful influence on the Roman Empire and greatly influenced the foundation of Western civilizations. Much of modern Western politics, artistic thought, such as...
period. A chariot carrying an actor portraying Alexander the Great introduced images from the Hellenistic period
Hellenistic period
The Hellenistic period or Hellenistic era describes the time which followed the conquests of Alexander the Great. It was so named by the historian J. G. Droysen. During this time, Greek cultural influence and power was at its zenith in Europe and Asia...
, which in turn were followed by representations of Byzantine art
Byzantine art
Byzantine art is the term commonly used to describe the artistic products of the Byzantine Empire from about the 5th century until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453....
, the Greek War of Independence
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between...
, and lastly of 20th century elements of Greek culture, such as the popular shadow-theatre figure Karagiozis
Karagiozis
Karagiozis or Karaghiozis is a shadow puppet and fictional character of Greek and Turkish folklore...
, who is said to be a humorous and self-deprecating depiction (and parody) of Greek mentality.
At the end of the parade, "Eros" lowered enough to help a pregnant woman remove her outer garment. This last part represents the ceremony coming into full circle: the "Clepsydra" segment began with the image of the Minoan fertility goddess and is now ending with a pregnant woman representing the future of all humanity and history. With belly glowing, the woman moved into the lake of water as the stadium's lights dimmed and lights underneath the pool of water were turned on, thus creating an image of stars in a galaxy
Galaxy
A galaxy is a massive, gravitationally bound system that consists of stars and stellar remnants, an interstellar medium of gas and dust, and an important but poorly understood component tentatively dubbed dark matter. The word galaxy is derived from the Greek galaxias , literally "milky", a...
. According to Greek myth, the stars of the galaxy was born out of the milk of Hera
Hera
Hera was the wife and one of three sisters of Zeus in the Olympian pantheon of Greek mythology and religion. Her chief function was as the goddess of women and marriage. Her counterpart in the religion of ancient Rome was Juno. The cow and the peacock were sacred to her...
's fertile breasts. In fact, the name for the Milky Way Galaxy, the home to planet Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
, was born out of this myth. Slowly the stars rose around the woman, and moved to form a rapidly rotating DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
double helix, which is the basis for all life on the planet. Humanity's attempt to understand itself, a theme that has been omnipresent throughout the entire ceremony beginning with the Cycladic head, is further reinforced by the representation of the DNA double helix, which symbolizes humanity's latest and most recent attempt to understand itself: the late 20th and early 21st centuries witnessed great advances in the field of genetics
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
with the mapping of the human genome
Human genome
The human genome is the genome of Homo sapiens, which is stored on 23 chromosome pairs plus the small mitochondrial DNA. 22 of the 23 chromosomes are autosomal chromosome pairs, while the remaining pair is sex-determining...
.
Finally, all the characters of the parade began to walk inside the pool, around its center, mixing the past and the present in a single marching beat of the drums. The confluence of the past and the present is another main theme of the opening ceremony. The music began a crescendo with choruses, when all of a sudden an olive tree was lifted from the center of the pool - symbolizing goddess Athena's preferred gift by the Greeks - land and food - over Poseidon's gift, the horse - a tool of warfare. At the music's climax, all the characters stopped and raised their arms as if worshipping the Tree, which was high above, surrounded also by the fragments of the deconstructed statues who resembled a mount.
Parade of nations
In order to prepare for the entry of the athletes to the stadium, the giant pool of water that had been constructed on the floor of the stadium had to first be drained. 2,162,000 liters of water were drained from the stadium in a time period of 3 minutes, providing a dry, hard surface for the athletes to march and gather on.Typically, Greece leads the Parade of Nations in any Olympics, with the host nation entering the stadium last. However, since Greece was the host nation, they went last, sending only their flag with the weightlifter Pyrros Dimas as the flag bearer into the stadium at the beginning of the parade, and the athletes themselves at the end of it.
The debut position was given to Saint Lucia
Saint Lucia
Saint Lucia is an island country in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. It covers a land area of 620 km2 and has an...
(Αγία Λουκία in Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
), who led the Parade of Nations into the stadium. As the nations entered in Greek alphabet
Greek alphabet
The Greek alphabet is the script that has been used to write the Greek language since at least 730 BC . The alphabet in its classical and modern form consists of 24 letters ordered in sequence from alpha to omega...
ical order, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
— which has usually been the penultimate nation, followed only by the host country — appeared in the middle of the parade.
The entrances of Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
and Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
were emotional highpoints of the parade. The nation of Kiribati
Kiribati
Kiribati , officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. The permanent population exceeds just over 100,000 , and is composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island, dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometres, straddling the...
made its debut Olympic appearance at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
marched under its own flag for the first time. Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro was a country in southeastern Europe, formed from two former republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia : Serbia and Montenegro. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, it was established in 1992 as a federation called the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
appeared at the Olympics under the nation's new name for the first and only time since the country was officially renamed in 2003, and prior to the union's dissolution in 2006; it had previously been known as Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
.
Due to the unpopularity of the American-led invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
among Greeks, it had been expected by the media that audience members would protest the war during the entrance of the American delegation into the stadium by booing; however, the Americans did receive a warm welcome, much to the pleasant surprise of US news anchors covering the event.
Apart from Greece, the Greek crowd reserved some of their loudest cheers for their fellow Greeks from Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, home to many Greeks and site of the previous Summer Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
and Mediterranean countries such as France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and a big cheer come too to Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. A loud cheer was also Djibouti
Djibouti
Djibouti , officially the Republic of Djibouti , is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east...
, because it had only one person enter the stadium. The teams from Palestine
Palestinian territories
The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...
and Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro was a country in southeastern Europe, formed from two former republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia : Serbia and Montenegro. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, it was established in 1992 as a federation called the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
were also very warmly welcomed. Cheers greeted Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, the nation that hosted the Euro 2004 football tournament, which Greece won. Notable silences marked the entry of "The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
", Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, reflecting the political sympathies of the Greek public.
High-ranking politicians and royalty from all around the world applauded as the teams from their respective countries paraded by. Along with their spouses, U.K. Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
(who lit the Cauldron for the 1994 Winter Olympics
1994 Winter Olympics
The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Norway. Lillehammer failed to win the bid for the 1992 event. Lillehammer was awarded the games in 1988, after having beat...
), and Crown Prince Frederik
Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark
Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, Count of Monpezat, is the heir apparent to the throne of Denmark. Frederik is the elder son of Queen Margrethe II and Henrik, the Prince Consort.-Name and christening:...
of Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, (among others) each stood and applauded the teams from their countries. Past world leaders, including U.S. President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
, also attended and applauded their national teams during the parade, in which DJ Tiësto
Tiësto
Tijs Michiel Verwest, , known as Tiësto , is a Dutch musician, DJ and record producer of electronic dance music. Although he has used many aliases in the past, he is best known for his work as DJ Tiësto...
played electronic music.
Speeches to Athletes & Spectators
After the Parade of Nations had concluded and the athletes were gathered in the center of the stadium, two short speeches were delivered in front of a model of an olive tree, a traditional Greek and Olympic symbol. Before the speeches were given, there was a segment honoring all previous Olympiads. A runner George Sabanis (who later started a career as a pop star in Greece), carrying a flag with an image of an olive branch symbolizing not only peace, but Athens itself, lapped around the stadium, symbolically crossing tape dedicated to the previous 27 Olympiads. The runner even symbolically stumbled and stopped for the 1916, 1940, and 1944 Games which were canceled due to world wars. The runner ended his run at the very center of the stadium, where Angelopoulos-Daskalaki and Rogge were under the olive tree, symbolizing the Olympic's current journey, from Athens to Athens. Similar tributes have happened during the Opening Ceremonies, for example in the last Olympics before that2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 77 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout...
, in Salt Lake City, where banners of the previous 18 Winter Olympics entered Rice-Eccles Stadium
Rice-Eccles Stadium
Rice-Eccles Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah, on the campus of the University of Utah. It is the home field of the Utah Utes of the Pacific-12 Conference...
at the beginning of the ceremony. This would also be seen in Vancouver during the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics
2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony
The Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics was held on February 12, 2010 beginning at 6:00 pm PST at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This was the first Olympic opening ceremony to be held indoors...
.
The first speech came from Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki
Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki
Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki is a Greek business woman. She is best known for being the president of the bidding and organizing committee for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece...
, the chief organizer of the Athens 2004 Olympics and the first female chief organizer of an Olympic games. She told the athletes: "Welcome home!" and "Greece is standing before you. We are ready." She also stated the people of Greece "have waited long for this moment," alluding to the long time period between the first modern Olympic Games in Greece and the 2004 Games, as well as the fact that Athens was passed over in 1990 in favor of Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
for host of the 1996 Summer Olympics
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
.
Angelopoulos-Daskalaki was followed by International Olympic Committee
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
President Jacques Rogge
Jacques Rogge
Jacques Rogge, Count Rogge , is a Belgian sports bureaucrat. He is the eighth and current President of the International Olympic Committee .-Life and career:...
, who delivered a speech encouraging participating athletes to resist the urge to use banned performance-enhancing substances and "show us that sport unites by overriding national, political, religious, and language barriers". Rogge then introduced Greek president Konstantinos Stephanopoulos, who declared the games officially open.
Music during the Opening Ceremony
During the "Allegory" segment highlighting the conceptual and themes and ideals of the opening ceremony, the chosen music was Gustav MahlerGustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
's Symphony No. 3 in D Minor: 6. Langsam
Symphony No. 3 (Mahler)
The Symphony No. 3 by Gustav Mahler was written between 1893 and 1896. It is his longest piece and is the longest symphony in the standard repertoire, with a typical performance lasting around ninety to one hundred minutes.- Structure :...
.
The music played during the "Clepsydra" segment highlighting Greek history and mythology was composed by Konstantinos Bita. The songs played were instrumental in nature and many used traditional Greek instruments. Famous Greek artists such as Stavros Xarhakos
Stavros Xarhakos
Stavros Litras is a Greek composer and conductor.Stavros Xarchakos was born in Athens, where he studied at the Athens Conservatoire. He emerged in the Greek music scene around 1963, composing music for the theatre and cinema...
(whose song "Zeimbekiko" was played), Manos Hadjidakis
Manos Hadjidakis
Manos Hatzidakis was a Greek composer and theorist of the Greek music. He was also one of the main prime movers of the "Éntekhno" song ....
, Mikis Theodorakis
Mikis Theodorakis
Mikis Theodorakis is one of the most renowned Greek songwriters and composers. Internationally, he is probably best known for his songs and for his scores for the films Zorba the Greek , Z , and Serpico .Politically, he identified with the left until the late 1980s; in 1989, he ran as an...
and Konstantinos Bita, were included in the Olympic soundtrack. The whole music project was arranged by composer George Koumendakis, who had worked in the past several times with Papaioannou and was assisted in this project by Maria Metaxaki. The music production team included Marcus Dillistone
Marcus Dillistone
Marcus Dillistone is an award-winning and Royal Premiered British film director. A close friend of Sir John Mills, he directed the film of Sir John's life Sir John Mills' Moving Memories. Dillistone and Sir John first collaborated on Dillistone's film "The Troop", which was first screened at BAFTA...
, Paul Stefanidis, Dick Lewsey and Julian Scott (composer)
Julian Scott (composer)
Julian Scott is an English composer, known chiefly for his work on international events, ceremonies and expositions. He has composed music for the 2004 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, the 2002 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony, the Millennium Dome, events for The Channel Tunnel, Thames Barrier,...
.
New Zealand composer John Psathas
John Psathas
John Psathas is a New Zealand composer, son of Greek immigrant parents.He has works in the repertoire of such high profile musicians as Evelyn Glennie, Michael Houstoun, Michael Brecker and the New Juilliard Ensemble, and is one of New Zealand's most frequently performed composers...
(son of Greek immigrant parents) was chosen to compose and arrange music to accompany parts of the opening ceremonies. The most prestigious engagement of his career to date, he joins the ranks of well-known composers, such as John Williams, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Leonard Bernstein and Mikis Theodorakis who have also written music for the Olympics.
Mr Psathas was engaged in 2003 to compose and arrange music for the Games’ opening and closing ceremonies. He has since commuted several times between Wellington and Athens to work on the music and supervise the rehearsal process.
His music includes a number of specially composed fanfares and processionals to accompany the arrival of the IOC President, the lighting of the Olympic cauldron and to precede the Olympic oaths, and he is responsible for the soundtrack to the entire ‘flame sequence’ of the ceremony. John Psathas has also arranged the National Anthem of Greece, the Olympic Hymn, and music by Shostakovich, Debussy and the foremost living Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis to accompany other parts of the ceremony. The fireworks at the Games’ closing ceremony on 29 August will also feature music by the composer.
During the Parade of Nations, Dutchman
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
DJ Tiësto
Tiësto
Tijs Michiel Verwest, , known as Tiësto , is a Dutch musician, DJ and record producer of electronic dance music. Although he has used many aliases in the past, he is best known for his work as DJ Tiësto...
provided the music, becoming the first DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
ever to spin live at the Olympics. During the course of his performance the Dutch athletes started dancing in front of the DJ booth and had to be moved on by officials. Tiësto later released a condensed version of the performance on CD titled Parade of the Athletes
Parade of the Athletes
-Credits:* Mastered By: Barney Broomer for Sonic One* Written By, Composed By, Producer, Mixed By: Tiësto* Additional Producer: D.J. Waakop Reyers** "Breda 8pm" DJ Montana's edit of "Dallas 4PM" from Tiësto's debut album "In My Memory"....
. In the liner notes, he noted the IOC requested to him that the music not contain any lyrics as they could be inadvertently misinterpreted.
Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
performed "Oceania
Oceania (song)
"Oceania" is a song by Icelandic singer Björk. It was formerly planned to be the first single release from Björk's Medúlla album. Later it was just released as a promo. It was written for the 2004 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony, where she performed immediately following the Parade of Nations...
" from her album, Medúlla, immediately after the Parade of Nations ended. While the song was being played, a large piece of fabric (which belonged to Björk's dress) was pulled over the heads of the athletes, who had gathered on the ground in the center of the stadium following their march around the stadium. At the conclusion of Björk's performance, a map of the world was projected on the fabric.
Torch Relay & the Lighting of the Cauldron
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
hosted the games in 1936
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona...
. Before the torch came into the stadium, a three rings arose from the center of the stadium that simulated a globe. This segment preceding the torch's arrival honored the first global torch relay that was begun by Athens 2004. Actors, suspended on cables, started rising out of the crowd and ran towards the globe, carrying glowing sticks meant to simulate the Olympic torch. On the globe, the names of the cities which the torch visited were projected, and this segment ended with all the torchbearers floating mid-air coming together at the globe. After this segment ended, the lights were dimmed, and the sound of the heartbeat accompanied by thunderous cheers and applause met the torch's final arrival to the Olympic Stadium.
Torch bearer Nikos Galis, considered to be the greatest Greek basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player of all time, entered the stadium first. The torch was passed on, in sequential order, to Greek football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
legend Mimis Domazos
Mimis Domazos
Dimitris "Mimis" Domazos , is a retired Greek footballer born in Ambelokipi, Athens. His nickname is "The General".Mimis Domazos is considered by many to be the best footballer that Greece has ever produced...
, 1992 Hurdles
Athletics at the 1992 Summer Olympics
At the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, 43 events in athletics were contested, 24 events by men and 19 by women. The competition ran from July 31, 1992 to August 9, 1992. Fourteen world record-holders were among the contenders...
champion Voula Patoulidou
Voula Patoulidou
Paraskevi Patoulidou was born in Tripotamo . A prolific athlete, Patoulidou throughout her athletics career competed in the 100 metres, 100 metres hurdles and in the long jump events. Patoulidou became a Greek sporting legend in 1992, when she was the surprise winner of the Women's 100 m hurdles...
, 1996 Olympic weightlifting
Weightlifting at the 1996 Summer Olympics
The weightlifting competition at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta consisted of ten weight classes, for men only. The range of each weight class was adjusted by 1–4 kg for these Games, marking the first redefinition of Olympic weightlifting weight classes since they were introduced in...
champion Kakhi Kakhiashvili
Kakhi Kakhiashvili
Kakhi Kakhiashvili ,, a Georgian-Greek weightlifter, is one of only four weightlifters to have won three consecutive gold medals at Olympic Games....
, and 1996 Olympic gymnastics
Gymnastics at the 1996 Summer Olympics
At the 1996 Summer Olympics, two different gymnastics disciplines were contested: artistic gymnastics and rhythmic gymnastics. The artistic gymnastics events were held at the Georgia Dome from July 20–25 and July 28–29. The rhythmic gymnastics events were held at Stegeman Coliseum in nearby...
champion Ioannis Melissanidis
Ioannis Melissanidis
Ioannis Melissanidis is a retired Greek artistic gymnast and the 1996 Olympic champion on the floor exercise...
.
The torch was finally passed to the 1996 Olympic sailing
Sailing at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Sailing/Yachting is a Olympic sport starting from the Games of the 1st Olympiad . With the exception of 1904 and possible 1916 sailing was always a part of the Olympic program....
champion Nikolaos Kaklamanakis
Nikolaos Kaklamanakis
Nikolaos "Nikos" Kaklamanakis is the Greek Gold-medal winner who lit the Olympic torch in the opening ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens....
, who lit a giant cigar-shaped tapered column resembling a torch — not, as usual, a cauldron — to burn during the duration of the 2004 Summer Olympics. As Kaklamanakis ascended the steps to light the cauldron, the cauldron seemed to bow down to him, symbolizing that despite advance of technology, technology is still a creation and tool of humanity and that it was meant to serve humanity's needs. The ceremony concluded with a breathtaking fireworks display.
International Reaction to the Ceremony
The ceremomy was a source of major acclaim in the international press and featured never before seen technologies used in a stadium, including a giant pool with slip-proof iridescent fiberglassFiberglass
Glass fiber is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass.Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the invention of finer machine tooling...
flooring that drained its water in 2 minutes, beautiful and innovative lighting, and an ingenious staging system utilizing a complex network of automated cables that lifted, maneuvered, and choreographed the floating pieces of sculpture to follow the music and narrative of the opening ceremony. The costumes, which also drew great international praise, were designed by well-known London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
-based Greek fashion designer Sophia Kokosalaki
Sophia Kokosalaki
Sophia Kokosalaki is a Greek fashion designer with her own label based in London. A graduate of London's Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, she was chosen to design the opening and closing ceremonial outfits for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, which were staged in her home town of...
. Eleftheria Deco was awarded for her lighting design of the opening ceremony with an Emmy award. NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, the international television broadcaster of the 2004 Athens Olympics, has also been awarded with 6 Emmy awards for its coverage of the games and technical production.
See also
- 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremonyThe 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony was held at the Beijing National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest. It began at 8:00 pm China Standard Time on August 8, 2008, as 8 is considered to be a lucky number. The number 8 is associated with prosperity and confidence in Chinese culture...
- 2008 Summer Olympics national flag bearers2008 Summer Olympics national flag bearersDuring the Parade of Nations portion of the 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, athletes from each country participating in the Olympics paraded in the arena, preceded by their flag...
External links
- Stagelink.com Photo Gallery - Backstage photos of construction, rehearsals and Opening Ceremony.