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
1984 Summer Olympics torch relay Thorpe, and Gina Hemphill, granddaughter of Jesse Owens, being given the honor of becoming the first torchbearers. The relay featured 3,636 torchbearers and spanned a distance of around , at the time the longest distance of any Olympic relay. Rafer Johnson, an Olympic decathlon gold medalist, was the final torchbearer. 1984 Summer Olympics torch relay The 1984 Summer Olympics torch relay was run from May 8 until July 28, prior to the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The route covered around across the United States and involved over 3,600 torchbearers. Rafer Johnson lit the cauldron at the opening ceremony.