1996 Summer Olympics opening ceremony 1996 Summer Olympics opening ceremony The opening ceremony of the 1996 Summer Olympics took place in the evening on Friday 19 July in the Centennial Olympic Stadium, Atlanta, United States. 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 Olympic cauldron was lit by former gold medalist and boxing champion Muhammad Ali. The ceremony features Award-winning and Grammy Award-time nominated film composer, John Williams, French
2015 European Games Opening Ceremony More than 300 creative teams from 28 countries were involved in organizing the ceremony. The cost of organizing of the ceremony was about 100 million U.S. dollars. The opening ceremony was directed by artistic choreographer Dimitris Papaioannou who was praised for his work during 2004 Summer Olympics. A fanfare drew attention to the Presidential Box and welcomed President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, First Lady, Chair of Baku 2015 European Games Organising Committee Mehriban Aliyeva and President of the European Olympic Committees Patrick Hickey. The flag of Azerbaijan was carried by eight and raised by three servicemen of