1996 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proceedings combined the formal and ceremonial opening of this international sporting event, including welcoming speeches, hoisting of the flags and the parade of athletes, with an artistic spectacle to showcase the host nation's culture and history.
The segment began by airing a flashback from the Barcelona 1992 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in August 1992 which showed International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch inviting the athletes to compete in Atlanta before the announcers welcomed the world to the ceremony in French and English.
Representing the Olympic colors of Red (Americas), Green (Oceania), Black (Africa), Yellow (Asia), and Blue (Europe), they each rose to the beat of their own percussion.
Meanwhile, US Army Paratroopers rappelled down from the stadium roof trailing long colorful papers representing the colors while the tribes formed the Rings of the Olympic flag and the Children of Atlanta, dressed in white, formed the number 100 representing the Centennial of the Olympic Games.
Then the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of famed film composer John Williams, played "Summon the Heroes", which was the official anthem of the 1996 Olympics.
After the presentation of colors, the American flag was raised while the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (now conducted by Robert Shaw) and the Centennial Olympic Choir performed the U.S. national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner.
The Artistic portion of the ceremony began and first up was a rousing number called "Welcome to the World," composed by songwriting team Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.
During the segment James Earl Jones quoted famous American writers Zora Neale Hurston, William Faulkner, and Mark Twain.
The American Southern Spirit was portrayed by a female operatic singer dressed all in white with large butterfly wingspans.
This was a large temple dedicated to Zeus, featuring eight pillars, each weighing 2,500 pounds, arranged in an octagonal shape at the center of the stadium.
Once hoisted, eight to sixteen actors and dancers located between the interior of the screen and a central 20,000-watt arc light cast body-shadows or silhouettes portraying athletes or goddesses, at times reaching nearly 50 feet in height.
A tribute to Baron Pierre de Coubertin began, with his voice echoing through the stadium, proclaiming the rebirth of the modern Olympics.
Runners representing previous Olympic Games, starting with Athens and ending with Barcelona, appeared one by one, circling the track.
It was carried by 8 American Olympians from the past while the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra performed the tune "Simple Gifts."
Following the flag raising, 100 kids ran papier-mâché doves around the stadium symbolising the peaceful gathering of athletes from across the world.
He passed the torch to Evander Holyfield who ran with it through a network of tunnels and then made his appearance inside the stadium to a thunderous ovation on the stage in the middle of the field.
The pair then passed the torch to American swimmer Janet Evans, the penultimate torchbearer, who carried it around a lap of the track and up a long ramp leading towards the northern end of the stadium.
First up was the song "The Power of the Dream", composed by David Foster and performed by Celine Dion, accompanied by David Foster on piano, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the Centennial Choir (Morehouse College Glee Club, Spelman College Glee Club and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus).
To close the opening ceremony, Jessye Norman performed the song "Faster, Higher, Stronger," composed by Mark Watters with lyrics by Lorraine Feather.
