these host cities pulled out all the
stops
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top ten
Olympic opening ceremonies before we
begin we publish new videos every day so
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content for this list we’re looking at
the most notable opening extravaganzas
staged for the Olympic Games
number 10 London 1948 after a 12-year
hiatus of the Olympics due to World War
two the 1948 games nicknamed the
austerity games were an opportunity to
honor the past and an attempt to unite a
broken world even if the Soviet Union
did decline to participate instead of
focusing on grand theatrics this Olympic
kickoff was relatively understated army
bands marched in front of a crowd at
Wembley Stadium thousands of pigeons
were released and a 21-gun salute went
off as the last runner in the torch
relay ran around the track simple and
effective it honored the dire economic
circumstances some countries were in
after the war while also showing that
the human spirit could not be defeated
number 9 Seoul 1988 by the late 80s
South Korea was becoming an influential
country on the world stage and this
impressive opening ceremony really
reflected the country’s confidence
despite a problematic release of doves
in the stadium the grand production
really impressed with a demonstration of
Taekwondo the Korean martial art that
was a demonstration sport in 1988 before
becoming an official Olympic sport in
2000 and in a dazzling feat of skill and
artistry a team of skydivers while
plummeting to earth at top speed came
together in the form of the iconic
Olympic rings this was the first time
skydiving was broadcast live to a world
TV audience including the audience at
the stadium number 8 Los Angeles 1984
1984 marked the first time the Summer
Olympics were held in the US since 1932
which were also in LA before a crowd of
almost a hundred thousand the ceremony
celebrated music of
America and a big band an orchestra
played hits ranging from Gershwin to
Michael Jackson’s beat it visually the
event featured 1,000 volunteers marching
in with balloons and a banner that said
welcome in over 100 languages a big WOW
moment came when a young Rocketeer bill
suitor
flew across the stadium on a jet pack
the African American champion decathlete
Rafer Johnson the 1960 Olympic flag
bearer lit the cauldron number 7 Tokyo
1964 one for the history books the 1964
Summer Olympics were the first held on
the Asian continent this was also the
first time the event was televised live
worldwide the Japanese put on a show
that demonstrated Japan’s desire to move
on from the atrocities of World War two
and usher in a more peaceful era in
world politics this was demonstrated by
the lighting of the Olympic flame by
Yoshino T Sakai a man born in Hiroshima
on August 6th 1945 the same day an
atomic bomb was dropped on the city it
was a powerful gesture by the Japanese
people and one that captures the true
essence of the games number 6 Atlanta
1996 as American as apple pie the
Atlanta opening ceremony felt like a
football game on a much grander scale
featuring marching bands steppers and
cheerleaders this ceremony was deeply
inspired by the culture of the south
performers and props evoked the South’s
history from the Civil War to the
eventual southern Renaissance
incorporating music like jazz and gospel
standards Gladys Knight also busted out
a monumental version of Georgia on my
mind the state’s official song but what
if the most touching moments came when
boxing legend Muhammad Ali who was
suffering from Parkinson’s disease lit
the Olympic Cauldron number five
Barcelona 1992 Barcelona made sure that
their opening ceremony was a celebration
of life with giant colorful puppets
manned by puppeteers dancing throughout
the stadium it was hard not to get
caught up in the spirit of the event
Andrew Lloyd Webber contributed the
game’s theme song amigos para siempre
friends for life which was sung live by
Sarah Brightman and Jose Carreras but
what made this opener stand out the most
was the lighting
of the cauldron to light the flame
Paralympic Archer Antonio Rubio shot a
flaming arrow across the stadium the
moment was unforgettable
and instantly iconic number four Athens
2004 as the birthplace of the first
Olympics Athens has a hill lasts a lot
of history to celebrate the past and
present were tied together on screen
with drummers playing in both the
Ancient Olympia Stadium and the new
Athens Olympic Stadium a rocket
simulated to have been launched from the
older Stadium landed in the pool of the
newer Stadium and lit flaming Olympic
rings symbolizing the past giving life
to the modern era the show was split
into two segments allegory and hourglass
the first more conceptual the second
about Greek history
the Athens opening ceremony was a feat
in technology with praise given to the
lighting floating sculptures and the
innovation used to drain the pool in a
mere two minutes number three London
2012 the Brits made the right decision
when they picked filmmaker Danny Boyle
to direct the show Boyle and his
creative team created a presentation
that infused the theme Isles of wonder
into every minute the show strength was
its ability to mix pop culture with a
telling of the nation’s history from its
humble beginnings to becoming a world
leader with appearances from pop culture
faves including Mary Poppins mr. bean
James Bond Harry Potter and many more
there was something for everyone and the
music featured songs including London
Calling my generation and Bohemian
Rhapsody gave the show a palpable energy
that encapsulated the spirit of Great
Britain number 2 Sydney 2000 full of
energy from the get-go they started with
a horse show paying tribute to the
Australian stock horse 120 riders
performed a beautifully choreographed
step routine that included forming the
five Olympic rings they told the world
good eye and proceeded to WoW with
sections of the show that included a
tribute to the Great Barrier Reef
Aboriginal culture and even in nature
segments depicting the stages of
bushfire destroying and replenishing
life there was one small snafu as the
Ascension of a giant ring of fire to the
top of the stage
installed for four long minutes but even
a little mistake couldn’t take away from
the spectacular show
number one Beijing 2008 featuring a
whopping 15,000 performers the Beijing
opening ceremony was a triumphant feat
of planning and execution directed by
John Nemo a Chinese filmmaker known for
movies like raised the red lantern the
artistic section of the ceremony was
divided into two parts
brilliant civilization and glorious era
they told the story of China’s rich
history as well as depicting a vision
for peace and harmony worldwide
beginning with the beating of bronze
foul drums the show depicted aspects of
Chinese history and culture including
scroll painting terracotta soldiers the
Silk Road and Chinese opera the for our
ceremony cost approximately a massive
100 million dollars u.s. but every penny
was worth it for an opening ceremony
you [Music]