2004 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony

The Opening Ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympics 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. An estimated 4.5 billion people watched it worldwide on television, though many of them watched it on a tape delay due to large time differences between Greece and other nations. It marked the first-ever international broadcast of high definition television, undertaken by NBC and the Japanese television station NHK.

Related Topics:
2004 Summer Olympics - August 13 - 2004 - Olympic Stadium - Maroussi - Greece - Suburb - Athens - Television - High definition television - NBC - NHK

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The Opening Ceremony began with a twenty-eight second countdown — one second per Olympics held since Athens last hosted — paced by the sounds of an amplified heartbeat. As the countdown was completed, fireworks rumbled and illuminated the skies overhead as fire erupted from a reflecting pool in the middle of the stadium creating a burning image of the Olympic rings.

Related Topics:
Heartbeat - Fireworks - Olympic rings

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