2004 Summer Olympics opening ceremony Bowl Halftime Show. But the negative reaction was lukewarm at best since the Greeks presented the float as part of an exhibit. 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
2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony team was led into the stadium by model Lea T, the first transgender person to participate in an Olympic opening ceremony. After the speeches by Rio 2016 Organizing Committee President Carlos Arthur Nuzman and by IOC President Thomas Bach, Kenyan runner and two-time Olympic champion Kipchoge Keino ran up to the stage to receive the first Olympic Laurel award, accompanied by children flying 200 white kites shaped like doves. Earlier, children in Kenya inscribed messages of peace on the kites. At 23:27pm BRT, Brazil's Acting President Michel Temer recited the games' opening declaration from the stands. Contrary to usual practice,