2004 Summer Olympics opening ceremony 2004 Summer Olympics opening ceremony The opening ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympic Games was held on August 13, 2004 at the Olympic Stadium in Maroussi, Greece, a suburb of Athens. 72,000 spectators attended the event, with approximately 15,000 athletes from 202 countries participating in the ceremony as well. It marked the first-ever international broadcast of high definition television, undertaken by the U.S. broadcaster NBC and the Japanese broadcaster NHK. The opening ceremony began with a twenty-eight second countdown—one second per Olympics held since Athens last hosted the first modern games—paced by the sounds of an amplified heartbeat played by
Ireland at the 2006 Winter Olympics entered a team in every Summer Olympic Games since. However, Ireland did not join Winter Olympics competition until the 1992 Winter Olympics, and Turin was marking their fourth appearance at a Winter Games, having skipped the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics. The Irish delegation to Turin consisted of four athletes, two alpine skiers, one cross-country skier, and one skeleton racer. All four of Ireland's athletes at Turin were first-time Olympians. Alpine skier Kirsten McGarry was the flag bearer for the opening ceremony and cross-country skier Rory Morrish was selected as the flag bearer for the closing ceremony. Thomas Foley was 26 years