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
2020 Summer Olympics opening ceremony 2020 Summer Olympics opening ceremony The opening ceremony of the 2020 Summer Olympics is scheduled to take place on the evening of Friday 24 July 2020 in the Olympic Stadium, Tokyo. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proceedings combined the formal 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. Ticket prices for the Opening Ceremony will range between ¥12,000 and ¥300,000. The Organising Committee prepared a so-called “Basic Policy”, that includes aspects to highlight the appeal