2004 Summer Olympics opening ceremony

[2] 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 opening ceremony began with a 28-second countdown—one second per Olympics held since Athens last hosted the first modern games, paced by the sounds of an amplified heartbeat.

Four hundred percussionists performed the zeimbekiko before marching around the edge of the flooded stadium grounds, accompanied by a 50-person strong bouzouki band.

Next, a young Greek boy Michalis Patsatzis sailed into the stadium on a giant paper boat waving the host nation's flag, symbolizing Greece's maritime tradition and its close connection to the sea.

"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 begins with a recitation of a verse from Nobel Prize-winning Greek poet George Seferis' poem "Mythistorema 3."

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.

[nb 1]In the next sequence, Eros, the Greek god of love, is introduced flying over a pair of lovers (a man and a woman) frolicking in the pool of water located in the center of the stadium.

The pageantry following the statues and the introduction of Eros continues to portray scenes that show the sequence of Greek civilisation through its art.

The first float features the iconic image of Minoan civilization: that of the fertility goddess clad in a bodice exposing her breasts and clutching serpents in both hands.

Slowly the stars rise around the woman, and move to form a rapidly rotating DNA double helix, which is the basis for all life on the planet.

Finally, all the characters of the parade begin to walk inside the pool, around its center, mixing the past and the present in a single marching beat of the drums.

At the music's climax, all the characters stop and raise their arms as if worshipping the Tree, which is high above, surrounded also by the fragments of the deconstructed statues who resemble a mount.

2,162,000 liters of water were drained from the stadium in a time period of three minutes, providing a dry, hard surface for the athletes to march and gather on.

[8] Countries such as the United States and Switzerland, which are usually at the rear of the pack, were granted earlier entries as well due to their position in the Greek alphabet.

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 against the war during the entrance of the American delegation into the stadium by booing;[10] however, the Americans did receive a warm welcome, much to the pleasant surprise of US news anchors covering the event as well as NBC Sports anchor Bob Costas.

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 trance music.

[14] The song was written at the ocean's point of view, from which the singer believes all life emerged, and details the human's evolution, whilst accompanied by a choir.

A video from the International Space Station Expedition 9 crew then played, with Russian Commander Gennady Padalka and United States Flight Engineer Michael Fincke welcoming the athletes and stressing the importance for human collaboration between countries for peace.

The runner ended his run at the very center of the stadium, where the olive tree from the artistic section has appeared, symbolizing the Modern Olympic Games journey around the world, and coming back home to Athens.

Angelopoulos-Daskalaki was followed by the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) 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 speaking in Greek stated, "Έχω τώρα την τιμή να καλέσω τον Πρόεδρο της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας.

Then actors, suspended on cables, started rising out of the crowd and ran towards the globe, carrying glowing sticks meant to simulate the Olympic torch.

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.

They included : Those have been listed according to Greek alphabet: During the "Allegory" segment highlighting the conceptual and themes and ideals of the opening ceremony, the chosen music was Gustav Mahler's Symphony No.

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 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.

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 ceremony was a source of major acclaim amongst international press[26] and featured never before seen technologies used in a stadium, including a giant pool with slip-proof iridescent fiberglass flooring that drained its water in three minutes,[27] 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.