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
Istanbul bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics knockout stage of the 2010 Basketball World Championship as well as the final. Istanbul was chosen as European Capital of Sports for 2012. The 2011 WTA Tour Championships and 2012 Euroleague Final Four will be hosted in Istanbul. The Abdi İpekçi Arena hosted the Final of EuroBasket 2001, and was also the venue for the 1992 Euroleague Final Four. The venue also hosted 2004 Eurovision Song Contest. Istanbul will be bid 2032 Summer Olympics. Venues would have been located in four zones and seven clusters around the city. The Olympic City Zone on the European side and the Olympic City