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
2010 Asian Games opening ceremony 2010 Asian Games opening ceremony The 2010 Asian Games opening ceremony officially began at 8:00pm China Standard Time (UTC+8) on November 12, 2010. The ceremony took place along the Pearl River on Haixinsha Island, mark it the first time in history that the ceremony was held outside the stadium. In front of 30,000 spectators, it lasted four hours, featured about 6,000 performers, with at least 40,000 of fireworks. The ceremony was choreographed by Chen Weiya (陈维亚), who was assistant director to Zhang Yimou in 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony. Prior to the opening ceremony, athletes and officials from 45 National