Olympic Games ceremony

While the presentation of the games has evolved with improvements in technology and the desire of the host nations to showcase their own artistic expression, the basic events of each ceremony have remained unchanged.

The presentation of the opening and closing ceremonies continues to increase in scope, scale, and expense with each successive celebration of the games, but they are still steeped in tradition.

The victory celebration, elements of which are in evidence in the modern-day medal and closing ceremonies, often involved elaborate feasts, drinking, singing, and the recitation of poetry.

For example, the football competitions for both men and women at the 2008 Summer Olympics began two days prior to the opening ceremony.

Eight years later, to facilitate a live, prime-time broadcast on Friday night in the Americas, the 1988 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in Seoul, South Korea, was held in the morning, a move that faced criticism from athletes due to excessive heat.

However, several times, this rule has not been followed, due to the tight calendar of the games and the preliminaries of some longer events taking place before the opening ceremony.

The most recent example of this situation took place during the 2022 Winter Olympics when the curling mixed doubles event preliminaries first rounds were held on the same day as the opening ceremony.

However, these changes facilitated a grand finale which, for the first time in history, featured a live and synchronized performance by six international choirs, linked to the venue via satellite.

The artistic programme of the opening ceremony allows the host country to showcase its past, present, and future in a comprehensive way.

[6][7] The host nation then presents artistic displays of music, singing, dance, and theater representative of its culture, history, and the current Olympic motto.

For the 2008 Opening Ceremony, Chinese basketball legend Yao Ming was chosen to be China's flagbearer, and entered the stadium hand-in-hand with Lin Hao, a nine-year-old boy who saved some of his classmates following the earthquake.

According to Newsweek, the groups contended that the performance "appeared to reflect the Last Supper, invoking sacred Christian imagery with dancers, drag queens, and a DJ (Barbara Butch) in poses that resembled Jesus Christ's final meal with His Apostles.

"[21] Theater director Thomas Jolly responded that his plan was for a "big pagan party linked to the gods of Olympus" and not to mock anyone.

[21] The organizers of the show apologized to those who were offended by the "tableau that evoked Leonardo da Vinci's 'The Last Supper'" but defended the ideas behind it.

[22] The Olympic World Library later published the media guide (written before the ceremony) which mentioned it being a homage to cultural festivities[23] and according to Georgian fact checking website, Myth Detector, many experts had pointed out the differences between the fresco and the segment.

[24] A traditional part of the opening ceremony starts with a "Parade of Nations", during which most participating athletes march into the stadium, delegation-by-delegation.

[8] The 2004 opening ceremony provided a relaxtion of this practice due to the Games being hosted by Greece; its flagbearer Pyrros Dimas led the parade on his own followed by Saint Lucia, while the rest of the Greek team entered last.

The organizing committee for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris announced plans for its Parade of Nations to be conducted as a boat parade on the Seine (with cultural presentations staged along the route), as part of their goals for the opening ceremony to be a public, non-ticketed event rather than be held in a traditional stadium setting; the plans called for the official protocol to take place at the Trocadéro.

This rule was first made evident for the first time during the 2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Vancouver, which was the first held in a closed venue: the BC Place—then a domed, indoor stadium.

While a scenic cauldron was jointly lit by Nancy Greene Raine, Steve Nash, and Wayne Gretzky during the opening ceremony (due to a malfunction, a fourth arm meant to be lit by Catriona Le May Doan did not rise), Gretzky was escorted outside to light a second, public cauldron at Jack Poole Plaza.

[48] When the Games were held in Athens in 2004, the medal winners also received olive wreaths in honor of the tradition at the Ancient Olympics.

At the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, the flowers were replaced by a special version of the plush toy of the mascot dressed in historical Korean clothing.

[33] The most famous violation of this rule was the Black Power salute of Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.

Usually, the protocolary part of the closing ceremony starts with the "Parade of Nations",[52] where flagbearers from each participating country enter at the main entrance to the stadium field.

Since the 2002 Winter Olympics, it is up to the Organizing Committee to make the decision whether or not the athletes will enter the protocolary order used during the opening ceremonies.

[53] Starting at the 2004 Summer Olympics, after all the flags and athletes enter the stadium, the final medal ceremony of the Games is held.

[52] Traditionally, the men's marathon is held in the last day of competitions, and the race is finished some hours before the start of the closing ceremony.

Another obligatory moment is when the newly elected members of the IOC Athletes' Commission then present a bouquet of flowers to a representative of the volunteers, as a thank-you to them for their work during the Games.

[52] "Hymn to Liberty", the national anthem of Greece, has been performed at every closing ceremony of the Olympic Games since the current rules were adopted.

For instance, the 2020 Summer Olympics were postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so IOC President Thomas Bach instead stated "I call upon the youth of the world to assemble, three years from now, in Paris.