Anticipating the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony on the River Seine, we count down the most memorable Olympic openings in recent history.
In the dark of night, a lone archer walks into an empty field.
Bearing a single arrow, he sets it aflame, casts his eyes up into the sky, and shoots. Soaring high against a rousing chorus of percussion and strings, the arrow hits its mark and the beacon is lit.
This man could have been many characters across time and literature–an ancient Athenian arming himself for battle, a fictional rider from Gondor calling for aid, or in this case, a bespectacled paralympic medalist named Antonio Rebollo, who in one sure draw, releases the arrow that ignites the Olympic cauldron, ushering in the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics.
If the Olympics is “The Greatest Show on Earth,” then the Opening Ceremony is rightfully the grand first act. And just like the introductions of great plays, they establish the characters and their relationships, or in this particular case, the host city or nation and its contributions to the world, and the new cast of international athletes and audience it has now welcomed into its arms.
The Olympics has evolved from a Greek-only competition dating back to 776 BC to the male only inter-European and American contestants of the first ever modern Olympics in 1896, then to welcoming female athletes in 1900.
La Grande Seine
Despite spanning millennia, what remains the same is man’s pursuit of myth, of humanity conquering its limits to reach the pinnacle of Olympus, home of the gods. As the competition has grown in scale, so too have the opening ceremonies and their cultural significance.
And since the first Parade of Nations was launched in London 1908, now Paris is set to embrace 206 nations (including the refugee nation that was first introduced in Rio 2016) for this year’s edition. But unlike all previous parades that were housed in giant stadiums, the 10,500 athletes will be cruising down the river Seine, a historic outdoor first for an opening ceremony.
And true to the French values of liberté, égalité, fraternité, an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 spectators will get to see this grand showing for free from the quays.
With this ceremony design, the statement is clear–Paris is not just a backdrop but exudes main character energy. Dior-trained fashion designer for the Opening Ceremony, Daphné Bürki, accurately describes it as the longest catwalk ever, as she supervises 3,000 costumes sewn in secret at Saint-Denis.
Apart from the costumes that were reportedly designed under the auspices of the great French fashion houses, it will indeed be a scenic route for the contingents as they weave through the Louvre, Notre-Dame de Paris, and Place de la Concorde. With this bold openness also comes risk, and that is why 45,000 security personnel will be deployed to patrol the proceedings. And to keep the energy around the Olympics at fever pitch, 25 free fan zones with giant screens will be dotted across Paris, with each of the 20 arrondissements having its own.
So whether you’ll be tuning in from home, streaming on your mobile phone, or lucky enough to witness the 94 boats bearing the world’s finest athletes and the show’s performers…on July 26, 2024, the world will again be stirred with Olympic spirit. (Here’s how to watch the Olympics in the Philippines.)
For now, let’s revisit the most memorable opening ceremonies of modern history as we anticipate the upcoming one in Paris.
1. Beijing 2008
Where were you on 8/8/08 at 800pm China Standard Time? Chances are, you were at home, watching the Beijing 2008 Olympic Opening Ceremony as it holds the record for the largest viewership at an estimated 4.7 billion worldwide. Few images are as indubitably seared into collective memory as the sea of 2,008 men beating fou drums, a 4000-year-old percussion instrument.
Director Zhang Yimou understood the memo when he spun a four-hour-spectacle that showcased the four great Chinese inventions (paper, printing, gunpowder, and the compass) then transcended into modern times through Confucianism, tai chi, Chinese opera, and even a duet with Sarah Brightman.
In a stunning display of artistic precision, LED technology and wizardry, the segment on printing featuring 897 character blocks that trilled and raised in unison truly boggled the mind, only to be revealed later as powered by humans.
To this day, the Beijing program with its 15,000 performers and a budget upwards of $100M is still unmatched for its pomp and pageantry.
2. Athens 2004
Back to where it all started. Borrowing heavily from its history and mythology, the Athens 2004 Opening Ceremony was full of symbolism and drama. It charted not just the course of the Olympics through time, but went further back into the star-spun stories of gods and goddesses and humanity’s ancient and still constant search for meaning and purpose in itself.
Director Dimitris Papaioannou linked past and present by symbolically firing a comet from the ancient stadium in Olympia, to arrive at a water-filled pool in the modern Olympic stadium in Marousi, igniting the five rings that represent the modern games.
The birthplace of the first Olympics did not disappoint with “The Book of Life” and its profound artistic tableaux that included a marble head, a centaur, an aerialist representing Eros, Minoan and the civilizations hence, and throughout it all, mankind marching through time, finally ending with the hope for peace symbolized by a pregnant woman and ending with an olive tree.
3. London 2012
With giant shoes to fill, London’s answer to its predecessor was, well, British cheek. Conjuring an incredible skit starring Daniel Craig as James Bond and Queen Elizabeth II in her Diamond Jubilee self, the London proceedings were never short on star power, unleashing the Spice Girls, Harry Potter, Mr. Bean and of course, Bohemian Rhapsody in a stage that famously included actual sheep. Directed by Oscar winner Danny Boyle, the 2012 Opening Ceremony was a clever mix of volunteers, pop culture, Shakespeare, the NHS and the Suffragists, and practical steampunk set pieces that painted the picture of the UK as “Isles of Wonder.”
4. Barcelona 1992
Apart from Rebollo’s master stroke, Barcelona’s Opening Ceremony was also remarkable for its audio visual extravaganza, with a rich Gaudi palette of cyan, red, yellow, green costumes forming the letters HOLA, then later a kaleidoscopic performance of the myth of Barcelona’s founding entitled “El Mar Mediterráneo,” and a moving 1991 recording of Freddie Mercury singing his original “Barcelona” composition in duet with Montserrat Caballé against a travelogue of the Spanish city.
5. Rio de Janeiro 2016
Against the soothing vocals of Daniel Jobim’s rendition of his grandfather’s “The Girl from Ipanema,” a stark spotlight shines on supermodel Gisele Bundchen in her final catwalk. This iconic image marked the Rio festivities and, followed by the electric energy of the favela and the stomps of 20 schools of Samba, Brazil proved that it wholeheartedly owns the carnival. The ceremony also made a clear statement on global warming and its effect on the Amazon, and concluded with Christ the Redeemer lit up in green and yellow, as it overlooked the Maracanã Stadium.
It was the first Olympics to be hosted in South America and Rio gave it the wildly colorful aplomb it deserved.
Honorable mentions
There are many moments in Opening Ceremonies also to remember. Tokyo 1964 was the first Olympics held in Asia, and to embody Japan’s postwar future and peace, 19-year-old Yoshinori Sakai, born on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 or the day the atomic bomb fell from the sky, was chosen to light the cauldron to a first ever in color and first ever worldwide, televised audience.
In another Asian milestone, Seoul 1988 showcased taekwondo and a fleet of 30 skydivers live on television as they descended on the stadium to form the Olympic rings.
America also had its fair share of Olympics moments with the 1984 LA edition featuring Rocketman Bill Suitor arriving in style on a jet pack. And then in Atlanta 1996, despite already ailing from Parkinson’s disease, the GOAT boxer Muhammad Ali bravely held the torch and set the Olympic cauldron aflame.
And now that the Olympics is back in Europe, it also bears recounting how the modern Olympic flame was first set ablaze in Amsterdam 1928 and how London hosted the first post-World War II Olympics in 1948 after three canceled ones due to the fighting.
Paris 2024 will only be the second city to hold the distinction of hosting the Olympics three times (after London) and it promises to have a diversely rich while sustainable opening ceremony in its banks. We await with bated breath what this global capital of artistic expression will have to offer.
Let the games begin!
