List of people who have opened the Olympic Games

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The Olympic Games are an international multi-sport event featuring both summer and winter sports, held every two years with Summer and Winter Olympic Games alternating. During Olympic Games opening ceremonies, the sitting president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will make a speech before inviting a representative from the host country to officially declare that particular Games open. The current Olympic Charter requires this person to be the head of state of the host country,[1] although this has not always been the case. This article lists the people who have had the ceremonial duty to declare each Olympic Games open.

Opening ceremony

The IOC factsheet on the opening ceremony states: "According to the Olympic Charter protocol, the duty of declaring the Games officially open falls to the head of state of the host country. Those who have performed this task are royalty and presidents, or their representatives, whether it was a vice-president, a member of the royal family, or a governor-general".[2] Rule 56 of Chapter 5 of the Olympic Charter sets out the exact words that are to be declared by the person opening the Games. If at a Summer Olympic Games, the words to be said are:

I declare open the Games of [name of host city] celebrating the [number of the Olympiad] Olympiad of the modern era.[1]

When at a Winter Olympic Games, the dignitary opening the Games is to proclaim:

I declare open the [number of the Olympic Winter Games] Olympic Winter Games of [name of host city].[1]

However, this has not always been followed strictly; at the 2010 Winter Olympics the Governor General of Canada, Michaëlle Jean, used the format of a Summer Games declaration to open the Games by saying "I declare open the Games of Vancouver, celebrating the 21st Winter Olympic Games."[3]

  • In 1976, Elizabeth II, as Queen of Canada, opened the Montreal Olympics (first in French followed by the English) with:

I declare open the Olympic Games of 1976, celebrating the XXI Olympiad of the modern era.

  • In 1984, U.S. President Ronald Reagan opened the Los Angeles Summer Olympics with:

Celebrating the XXIII Olympiad of the modern era, I declare open the Olympic Games of Los Angeles.

  • In 2002, U.S. President George W. Bush opened the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, which took place five months after the September 11 attacks, with:

On behalf of a proud, determined and grateful nation..., then the standard opening formula followed.

  • In 2008, Hu Jintao, the President of the People's Republic of China, formally announced the opening of the 2008 Summer Olympics by speaking in Mandarin:

On behalf of the 29th Olympiad, I officially declare these Olympic Games of Beijing ... open.

  • In 2012, Elizabeth II, as Queen of the United Kingdom, opened the London Summer Olympics with the same fashion in English, making it the second time that she opened the Games.

Dignitaries who have opened the Olympic Games

Year games Host city Officially opened by[lower-alpha 1] Office of opener[lower-alpha 1] Notes
1896 I Olympiad Greece Athens, Greece George I King of the Hellenes [4]
1900 II Olympiad France Paris, France No official opening No official opening [5]
1904 III Olympiad United States St. Louis, United States David R. Francis President of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition[lower-alpha 2] [6]
1908 IV Olympiad United Kingdom London, Great Britain Edward VII King of the United Kingdom [7]
1912 V Olympiad Sweden Stockholm, Sweden Gustav V King of Sweden [8]
1920 VII Olympiad Belgium Antwerp, Belgium Albert I King of the Belgians [9]
1924 I Winter France Chamonix, France Gaston Vidal Undersecretary for Physical Education of France [10]
1924 VIII Olympiad France Paris, France Gaston Doumergue President of the French Republic [11]
1928 II Winter Switzerland St. Moritz, Switzerland Edmund Schulthess President of the Swiss Confederation[lower-alpha 3] [12]
1928 IX Olympiad Netherlands Amsterdam, Netherlands HendrikPrince Hendrik Prince consort of Queen of the Netherlands Wilhelmina [13]
1932 III Winter United States Lake Placid, United States Franklin D. Roosevelt Governor of New York[lower-alpha 4] [14]
1932 X Olympiad United States Los Angeles, United States Charles Curtis Vice President of the United States[lower-alpha 4] [15]
1936 IV Winter Germany Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany Adolf Hitler Führer of Germany[lower-alpha 5] [16]
1936 XI Olympiad Germany Berlin, Germany Adolf Hitler Führer of Germany[lower-alpha 5] [17]
1948 V Winter Switzerland St. Moritz, Switzerland Enrico Celio President of the Swiss Confederation[lower-alpha 3] [18]
1948 XIV Olympiad United Kingdom London, Great Britain George VI King of the United Kingdom [19]
1952 VI Winter Norway Oslo, Norway RagnhildPrincess Ragnhild Princess of Norway, representing her grandfather King Haakon VII [20]
1952 XV Olympiad Finland Helsinki, Finland Juho Kusti Paasikivi President of the Republic of Finland [21]
1956 VII Winter Italy Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy Giovanni Gronchi President of the Italian Republic [22]
1956 XVI Olympiad (equestrian) Sweden Stockholm, Sweden Gustaf VI Adolf King of Sweden [23]
1956 XVI Olympiad Australia Melbourne, Australia PhilipThe Duke of Edinburgh Husband of Queen of Australia Elizabeth II [24]
1960 VIII Winter United States Squaw Valley, United States Richard Nixon Vice President of the United States[lower-alpha 6] [25]
1960 XVII Olympiad Italy Rome, Italy Giovanni Gronchi President of the Italian Republic [26]
1964 IX Winter Austria Innsbruck, Austria Adolf Schärf President of Austria [27]
1964 XVIII Olympiad Japan Tokyo, Japan Hirohito Emperor of Japan [28]
1968 X Winter France Grenoble, France Charles de Gaulle President of the French Republic [29]
1968 XIX Olympiad Mexico Mexico City, Mexico Gustavo Díaz Ordaz President of the United Mexican States [30]
1972 XI Winter Japan Sapporo, Japan Hirohito Emperor of Japan [31]
1972 XX Olympiad West Germany Munich, West Germany Gustav Heinemann President of West Germany [32]
1976 XII Winter Austria Innsbruck, Austria Rudolf Kirchschläger President of Austria [33]
1976 XXI Olympiad Canada Montreal, Canada Elizabeth II Queen of Canada [34]
1980 XIII Winter United States Lake Placid, United States Walter Mondale Vice President of the United States[lower-alpha 7] [35]
1980 XXII Olympiad Soviet Union Moscow, Soviet Union Leonid Brezhnev Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union[lower-alpha 8] [36]
1984 XIV Winter Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Sarajevo, Yugoslavia Mika Špiljak President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia [37]
1984 XXIII Olympiad United States Los Angeles, United States Ronald Reagan President of the United States [38]
1988 XV Winter Canada Calgary, Canada Jeanne Sauvé Governor General of Canada, representing Queen of Canada Elizabeth II [39]
1988 XXIV Olympiad South Korea Seoul, Republic of Korea Roh Tae-woo President of the Republic of Korea [40]
1992 XVI Winter France Albertville, France François Mitterrand President of the French Republic [41]
1992 XXV Olympiad Spain Barcelona, Spain Juan Carlos I King of Spain [42]
1994 XVII Winter Norway Lillehammer, Norway Harald V King of Norway [43]
1996 XXVI Olympiad United States Atlanta, United States Bill Clinton President of the United States [44]
1998 XVIII Winter Japan Nagano, Japan Akihito Emperor of Japan [45]
2000 XXVII Olympiad Australia Sydney, Australia William Deane Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, representing Queen of Australia Elizabeth II [46][47][48][49][50]
2002 XIX Winter United States Salt Lake City, United States George W. Bush President of the United States [51]
2004 XXVIII Olympiad Greece Athens, Greece Konstantinos Stephanopoulos President of the Hellenic Republic [52]
2006 XX Winter Italy Turin, Italy Carlo Azeglio Ciampi President of the Italian Republic [53]
2008 XXIX Olympiad China Beijing, China PR Hu Jintao President of the People's Republic of China [54]
2010 XXI Winter Canada Vancouver, Canada Michaëlle Jean Governor General of Canada, representing Queen of Canada Elizabeth II [55]
2012 XXX Olympiad United Kingdom London, Great Britain Elizabeth II Queen of the United Kingdom [56]
2014 XXII Winter Russia Sochi, Russian Federation Vladimir Putin President of the Russian Federation [57]
2016 XXXI Olympiad Brazil Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Notes:

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Names & offices in italics reflect an opener who was not head of state when he or she opened the Games. If the office is partially italicized, the non-italicized portion is the office & name of the head of state being represented.
  2. ↑ Representing President Theodore Roosevelt.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 This office is technically not head of state in and of itself, but is the presiding officer of the Federal Council which collectively acts as head of state.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Representing President Herbert Hoover.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 IOC records state Hitler opened these Games as "Chancellor" (head of government), but in 1934 that office was consolidated with "President" (head of state) into "Führer und Reichskanzler", or "Führer".
  6. ↑ Representing President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
  7. ↑ Representing President Jimmy Carter.
  8. ↑ IOC records state Brezhnev opened the Moscow Games as "President", a title used at that time by the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, or de jure head of state. (The office of President of the Soviet Union was not created until 1990, a year before the nation broke up.) Though Brezhnev was also de facto ruler as General Secretary of the Communist Party, that title is not reflected in IOC records.

Dignitaries who have opened the Youth Olympic Games

Year Games Host city Officially opened by Office of opener Notes
2010 I Summer Singapore Singapore S.R. Nathan President of the Republic of Singapore
2012 I Winter Austria Innsbruck, Austria Heinz Fischer Federal President of the Republic of Austria
2014 II Summer China Nanjing, China PR Xi Jinping President of the People's Republic of China
2016 II Winter Norway Lillehammer, Norway Harald V King of Norway
2018 III Summer Argentina Buenos Aires, Argentina

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ IOC Factsheet.[1]
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  55. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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