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 2015 European Games Opening Ceremony The Opening Ceremony of the 2015 European Games was the official opening ceremony held in the afternoon at 9:00PM Baku Time (GMT+4) on June 12, 2015 in the Baku Olympic Stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan. It was attended by the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the President of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, the chairman of the and the Vice President of Azerbaijan, Mehriban Aliyeva, and the President of the European Olympic Committee Patrick Hickey.The ceremony was attended by 68,000 spectators gathered at the Olympic Stadium, as well as hundreds of millions of online viewers.