Theatre & Opera Magazine

OLYMPIC CEREMONY DATABASE: Every Summer Olympic Opening Ceremony

Posted on the 30 June 2012 by Pinkall @pinkall
The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games are likely the largest single art form in the modern world.  As we near the Summer Olympics of London, I will be posting a countdown of every opening ceremony of the modern Olympics.
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE EVERY SUMMER OLYMPIC OPENING CEREMONY
I have worked to acquire fair use licensed materials and other information that is already in the public domain but has been collected and incorporated here for the first time, including:
  • Video of EVERY Official Opening Ceremony (the complete ceremony if possible)
  • Description (very short version & the official organizing documents with hundreds of pictures)
  • Photos of the official aspects of the games (medals, torch, poster, etc.)
  • Most importantly - lots of info on the development of the art in the opening ceremony
Keep in mind, that this is the first comprehensive online site dedicated to the study of the Olympic opening ceremony and how it has evolved since 1896 - it's completely free for everyone and contains the world's largest online collection of Opening Ceremony video.  I hope that my years of collecting and researching video and other information will be helpful in the future study of this art form, as it appears to become one of the most significant art forms in the modern world.
This collection of information and video are in many cases very rare and the first digitized production available online.  Each film attempts to recreate the ceremony in its entirety with the exception of the Parade of Nations in most years after 1950.  Special posts and information on the ceremonies will also be available for the 1906 Intercalated Games, the Olympic Games cancelled because of the World Wars, and the 1956 Equestrian Games. Again, many of these events are very rare and contain very rare photos - every ceremony from 1972 to the present, with the exception of 1984, can be seen in their entirety!
CLICK ON THE OLYMPICS BELOW TO LEARN ABOUT THE OPENING CEREMONY
All are posted at 5:00pm CT.  To the side of each is the expected posting day.
1896 Athens - July 31900 Paris - July 41904 St. Louis - July 41906 Intercalated Games Athens - July 41908 London - July 41912 Stockholm - July 51916 Berlin-cancelled - July 61920 Antwerp - July 61924 Paris - July 71928 Amsterdam - July 81932 Los Angeles - July 91936 Berlin - July 101940 Tokyo-cancelled - July 111944 London-cancelled - July 111948 London - July 111952 Helsinki - July 121956 Melbourne - July 131956 Equestrian Games Stockholm - July 131960 Rome - July 141964 Tokyo - July 151968 Mexico City - July 161972 Munich (entire ceremony) - July 171976 Montreal (entire ceremony) - July 181980 Moscow (entire ceremony) - July 191984 Los Angeles - July 201988 Seoul (entire ceremony) - July 211992 Barcelona (entire ceremony) - July 221996 Atlanta (entire ceremony) - July 232000 Sydney (entire ceremony) - July 242004 Athens (entire ceremony) - July 252008 Beijing (entire ceremony) - July 26
OLYMPIC CEREMONY DATABASE: Every Summer Olympic Opening Ceremony

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