1996 Atlanta Olympics Opening Ceremonies - Temple of Zeus

[geos331]

That was the best segment of an overall terrible ceremony

[jail2121]

This is the only segment I loved of the entire opening ceremony!

[stevensondavid096]

The Brazilian was bored because his garbarge dump home's tv reception was lousy

O:)))

[doutorfred]

this was the only really good part of a boring and excessive american opening ceremony....Barcelona, Athens & Beijing were far best than this

[fromundercheeze]

@doutorfred Sorry we Americans bore you so much. So then, does that mean you people will return the favor by not disgusting us Americans with your lame ridiculous Samba music when it's your turn to attempt an Olympics in Rio in 2016? Good luck not boring us. Rio Olympics? BAHAHAHA! Nobody cares!

[allthingsOlympic]

@doutorfred um, hello these games were held in american, whats wrong with it being american, all id have to say is fuck u and grow up, u might try visiting different countries and remember the culture differs and ur a stranger whom of which the people ur visiting might find u excessively whatever the hell you are

[Stefanakisgr]

It grieves me greatly to see that the spirit of friendship and union of these games is lost to Greeks and Americans alike . How can u judge what is pure in nature , how can u tarnish its spirit by arguing what nation did it better ? Its a gift to the world and it belongs to the world . The Olympic Games are meant to unite , not to divide .

[gonzo77ffm]

For me one of the best opening ceremonies especially this greek scene!

I do not think that there was a special right to have the games exactly after 100 years, so in 2000 it would have been Paris, than again St. Louis...... this makes no sense!

I love also that many of the great citys compete to recieve the games. And i like the next places and hope so much for München 2018! Germany deserves the Games!

And i'm so happy that South America has Rio 2016 and Brazil the World Cup 2014

[LEFKADAS]

@mylesag2 my dear, a third of what you do or say is Greek so have some respect for us... Drop ur attitude and arrogance and maybe one day the rest of the world will like you!

[Arman88]

I saw this on TV when I was 7-8, not knowing that I would some day be a fan of Basil Poledouris' music. (L)

[MrSTibor]

@Arman88 I feel the same too. This was my first true opening ceremony what I saw, and the music blew my mind. I didn't know who composed it, even I heard Basil Poledouris later. Just 2-3 years ago I realized that he made this wonderous music. I tried to find this score, but I didn't success. Do you have any idea, where I could find the music of the opening ceremony?

[Arman88]

@MrSTibor It's named "The Tradition of the Games" and I uploaded it last year. =) Enjoy: youtube.com/watch?v=wgmoMe8icX­o

[MercuryRis]

Wow im surprised Christians didnt flip out over this, lol.

[mindflights]

Hi, I am Greek. I was one of the performers in Athens 2004 Opening Ceremony. I had the role of a Kouros statue in Clepsydra.

Well I have to say that, that time I was very young, but due to this part of the Atlanta 96 Opening Ceremony, I swear to myself, that some day in the future, I will be able to do the same thing! And I did it, just after 8 years!

[Jeremiahk2012]

Amazing wow i was 2

[DaJazzMan9114]

This was my favorite part of the 1996 Olympics in my hometown of ATLANTA! XD

[StrikeTeam7]

I was 4, also wheres kratos lol

[ArtFreak1193]

I was basically 2 when this happened, X3 and my brother was in the drum line in Southwest Dekalb High's marching band when they played at the ceremonies. SHWEET!!! XD

[blackdasiy]

i was born while this was happening,pretty cool

[TheJohnnyMetal]

I was 1!

[WRX2001]

RIP Basil Poledouris

[animusetfides]

Does someone have the words that the singers talks during this hymn? It's beautiful. This music could be the soundtrack for the film "Gates of Fire" (Steven Pressfield), which still hadn't made until today. (from brazil)

[ttimothymurphy]

i wish the olympics was not coming to london.

this looks a terrible load of occultic pomp.

[duamutefsasaliyang]

honestly, if london can do even half as good as beijing, I will be very pleased!

[gburgan]

Does anyone know if it's possible to buy a copy of the entire opening ceremonies in Atlanta?

[ugafuturestudent2014]

this is kewl..my uncle is dancing on this video..he is one of the disc throwers..im serious..also on another on d the olympic videos he is in one of the green ring costumes..this is amazing..and the reaction from the audience must have made them proud

[jimmmmybrady]

In the Book of Revelation the Temple of Zeus was called the throne of Satan.

[gonzo77ffm]

This were my first real olympics! I was out from school waiting for my student life and i saw all live in germany with 8 hour time gap!!!

This is one of the best moments in opening ceremonies!

My heroes were:

the 4th gold of carl lewis!!!!!!

the surprising silver medal for frank busemann in decathlon! Sportsmen of the year for that!

and

19.32 ::: Michael johnson!!!!

[lilloana]

one of the worst opening ceremonies.

[schs1977]

And the UAE will never host the Olympics!!

[jvdkl]

Every body this is ATLanta, Georgia of course our olympics are going to be wonderful!

[NikiforosZias]

in acient olympics the athletes were competing just for a brunch of olive...and glory....

[bei2333]

After watching so many Olympic ceremonies, I don't know why, this scene remains the most vivd one in my head.

Wonderful it is!

[KeySomniorum]

I'm amazed that there are so many people comparing this ceremony to one that happened over a decade later. For its time this was amazing. I can't say I've been disappointed with any of the ceremonies at the times they came out. I appreciate the effort in all of them.

[allthingsOlympic]

@KeySomniorum i agree, i think all of the ceremonies are awesome, and have their own message to send to the world, as well as show the culture of the host city and give homage to the ancient games, also i think it means alot to see the man power put into the older ceremonies, now its all done by computer and what good is that for a world sporting event

[allthingsOlympic]

@KeySomniorum i agree i think people are being harsh, the costs differ drastically, u have to remember the games happen ever 4 years hello

[frozensun79]

i ll never forget this. i was a kid when i saw it for the first time. it still makes me shiver

[serendipityuk]

It didn't live up to Barcelona.

[xKeyshia18x]

omg! i was only 6 years old but the 1 and only thing i remember about this olympic games was Michael johnson winning those gold medels for sprinting. which was happy memories. time goes by so fast now i'm 18 but that time when i was only 6 seems like yesterday

[pitbullo]

Very Impressive!

[MounDoGG]

Please anyone can told where can i find the whole version of this Ceremony? Thanks

[yokowich]

I request for olympic Games in Thailand

[robintoontownfreak]

I would have went thete but..LOL!!!!i was like 1 month old!!!!!!!!

[ANTONISDI]

where's the temple?!

[gammanormids]

LOL the columns are the temple.

[pteleos]

in ancient Olympia Greece

[roaminggator]

I was there, and that was an incredible moment when they rose the temple and you could see the shadow figures. I am so glad we have both Bob and Dick to interrupt the moment with their chatter...

[darknipple]

the music sounds like Slave Children's Parade from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom lol.

[Bonitaymorena]

How can anyone say Atlanta was the best??? Re you guys blind?? I was visiting ATL from Canada at the time. Yes it was cool watching it on TV because I was a kid but come on it was terrible in comparison to Athens!! Looked so cheap and campy!!

[phantombrickthrower]

I recall a part of the games, opening ceremony i think, where 2 giant dinosaur skeletons popped up and started making bad jokes. Pretty sure it was atlanta - that fact alone would make atlanta the worst games of all time.

[julius923]

Definitley not the Opening Ceremonies. Sounds more like Saturday Night Live.

[phantombrickthrower]

Nah, wasn't saturday night live, was definitely Olympics, almost certain it was Atlanta, maybe salt lake city. Either way, best olypmics would be the first, back in Athens, Greece, before it was ruined by commercialism, drugs, and stupid talking dinosaurs.

[wl03bu]

@phantombrickthrower

definitely the closing ceremonies of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games

[bgdrewsif]

that was the closing ceremony of the 2002 winter games in salt lake city... and yes, the jokes were quite bad

[Schlagermartin]

@phantombrickthrower That would be from the Closing Ceremony in Salt Lake 2002... I remember that too

[Schlagermartin]

@phantombrickthrower I remember that too... It was on the closing Ceremony in Salt Lake 2002

[Schlagermartin]

@phantombrickthrower It was in the closing ceremony 2002 in Salt Lake....

[Schlagermartin]

@phantombrickthrower That was from the closing ceremony in Salt Lake 2002

[Schlagermartin]

That was in the Closing Ceremony 2002 in Salt Lake....

[snufkin5]

@phantombrickthrower It was Salt Lake 2002

[tototak]

magnifique...

[LORSLO]

JAJAJAJA VCR VIDEO !!!

[peachykonan]

This is the only opening sequence that I can recall from any Olympics. First, the music immediately struck me as cinematic (hello, Basil!), and secondly, because it was just shadow and light play on fabric, it struck me as the most genuine of heralding the ancient tradition of the games. I couldn't detect any overt influence from the hosting country (America). This was entirely wordless and primal. It sent shivers down my spine.

[Fourat11]

Peachy is right! One word...BREATHTAKING! I remember the ATL opening ceremonies and this wonderful effect with the giant statues! Cinematic indeed...just what the Olympics calls for in all its drama and splendor. One would have thought these games were in Los Angeles rather than Atlanta. Very much like an epic movie!

[toybandit]

I speak the truth.. Our 1996 Olympic game was a low budget one.. Sydney sucks too.. Athens was by far the best.. I am not sure about Beijing.. I don't understand why people should get all offended when I make a simple comment... I care less if they run people over with their tanks or not.

[toybandit]

1996 Atalanta Olympic was a low budget one.

[YampoGA]

really? how much did they spend?

[HA5TY]

I think they didn't spend any of the Olympic Committees money. They only used money from Advertisements... I may be wrong though

[simple1for1]

I think it was something like that. They used mostly (or only?) advertisements/sponsers for funds. But I think that resulted in the 96 olympics being criticised for too much commercialism.

[unowho5000]

Skip to about 3:30. The opening ceremonies are usually a bunch of artsy-fartsy junk, but the "Greek Vase" was really clever, beautiful, cool and relatively low-tech (just shadows!)

[Borgtex]

Anything with music from maestro Poledouris looks great. How sad he's gone

[TrainsGirl83]

wonderful, I never will forget this part

[mionggg]

this is the coolest part at the opening hahahaha

[willeecoyotee]

This was awesome! If you didn't like it you simply have no art in you. The criticism just goes to prove these were the best opening ceremonies ever.

[elenavou]

The epitome of Kitsch.

[julius923]

You must be from Greece.

[Mattabulous09]

I have remembered this since I was 9! Amazing!

[pologolfpolo]

The only decent part of an absolutely dreadful Opening Ceremony. Laughable.

[rwmiosyn]

the best part of the worst ever opening ceremony...

[gkpetery]

i absolutely loved the opening ceremonies in Atlanta!!! So beautiful, so artistic. This part is so amazing! When the atheletes striked their poses... it sent shiivvers down my spine... so amazing and unexpected. Really made me proud... Beijing has a lot to live up to for their 2008 opening ceremonies!

[aznn3rd]

you can't compare this to beijing. Beijing will trump every single olympic game before it by a wide margin.

[YampoGA]

And if you disagree with this statement the Chinese government will run you over with their tanks! At least that saves bullets for the other who dare disagree.

[aznn3rd]

In 1989, the four tanks never ran over the man, when they could've easily done so. Israel on the other hand, ran over a protester with a bulldozer in 2003. Who is more humane now? Communist China or "democratic" Israel?

[yasmiona]

:D BURN

[sebas8yt]

nice but it really lacked of avant-gardness; gray compared to Barcelona, Albertville and Athens...

Being the richest country doesn't mean artistic success...

[126TCY]

I remember staying up all night when these were going on I was 13 and I still have all of this on tape, even some of the athetic performances.

[hejira33312]

I lived in Atlanta at this time and boy it was a great place to be. Was very proud to be part of this world event.

[theOlLineRebel]

Generally this wasn't a great ceremony, but THIS 1 portion was awesome. It's the 1 thing that still sticks in my mind.

[mikemicomikemico]

@theOlLineRebel I am totally agree. the entire ceremony was quite good but this part was astonishingly beautiful.

[DonGiglino]

VERY WELL DONE!

[willdawg840]

when the Ancient Games were...... what? forgotten? I doubt that..

[weav8060]

something great & timeless coming out of modern art, for once

[Mtanic]

Oh man, thank you so much for posting the music info!!!! I've been searching for this since 1996!!!!!!! :D

[Lwood913]

I must say, you Americans got the imagination!! What a perfect idea!

[LEFKADAS]

PART#2

they just don't like U.S GoverNment on how they things the wrong way. I visit the U.S once a week great people great friends but your Gorverment should be govern by women. Has for saltlakecity2002 your just an IDIOT!!!

[LEFKADAS]

Miznistacrizzo, Canada has a debt like every other country, our cnd dollar is better than the U.S right now. 1976 yes, we held the games cause only Montreal was growing metropolitan and world have been one of the biggest city in North America but we had a problems with the francophones and anglophones. Over 1 million anglos left the city and went to Toronto. We finished paying the Olympic bill like 5 years ago. I've been to Greece and the Greeks there like the American people,

[anabrita]

To karakitsario sto megaleio tou

[panadem]

The Olympic Games of 1996 were quite good Games, despite the fact that they were completely commercialised. Eight years later a small country organised the "dream" Games, the best ever in Olympic History. The Olympic Games of Athens 2004 were full of meanings, a real hymn to the human nature and achievements. Who forgets the spectacular opening ceremony? Once more, Greece taught the world!

[LEFKADAS]

hey miznistacrizzo, when I think of American I think of arrogance and no respect for others. I will let you in on a little secret, the US greased everyone to get the 1996 games. The golden Olympics should have been in Greece and they should stay there were they belong.

[saltlakecity2002]

You are a bastard. America is one of the best countries in the world, if not the best. And we didn't grease everyone to get to the games. You are a fucking bastard. Greece has a lot of arrogant and non-respectful people, so I'd keep your fucking mouth shut.

[julius923]

Sounds like you've been drinking too much Molson. It's not the fault of the US that the Centennial Olympics were held in Atlanta, it's the opinion of the IOC that the US was better prepared to hold the olympics more than any other nation at the time. It is rigourous decision making process that costs the nations who host it Billions of dollars.

[miznistacrizzo]

Stay in Greece so they can go ANOTHER 50 years into debt? But what would the Canadians know about an Olympics driving a country into debt, after the great success of 1976??

[miznistacrizzo]

So you don't misunderstand LEFKADAS, I agree that the Athens opening was more magnificent. I do not understand why so many people feel it necessary to generalize and attack a people as a whole because of their obsessed disappointment with a sporting event.

[aussiejesus]

i digress but... its only natural that the athens opening was more magnificent because the human race just keeps on improving.

im sure athens oc will be outshadowed one day. but thats not the point. the point is that the show goes on n the show gets better n better!

[mylesag2]

@LEFKADAS - BALONEY!! Athens was NOT ready for 1996 AND BARELY ready for 2004. Yes, Greece may have given the Olympics to the world---but it doesn't belong to them, thankfully! Ancient Greece had NO winter Games. The IOC owns BOTH the Summer and Winter Games. Only the Ceremonial trappings honor Greece--nothing else.

[lostalex77]

America does it best!! Bring the Games back where they belong!!! USA!!!!!!!

[ggtop2001]

Paganism!

[SpiderET]

Yes, and I like it. Possible reason is, that Im panteistic pagan.

[julius923]

Thanks ikarus360, I have added the info to the summary.

[ikarus360]

The music performed here is Tradition of the Games, by famous greek composer (recently deceased) Basil Poledouris, maker of awesome movies OST like Conan the Barbarian, Robocop and The Hunt for Red October. I heard that originally the one that would compose the music for this segment was Vangelis, but he refused because of his toughts agains Atlanta victory over Athens in the bid process.

[queenmusicfreak86]

I find it kitchy. .

[ilargitxo2]

what a copy of the olympics games of Barcelona! totally sad..

[saltlakecity2002]

We did not copy Barcelona!!!!!!!!! Do you see any resemblance between Barcelona's ceremonies and Atlanta's ceremonies? I don't!!! The cauldrons are completely DIFFERENT and were lit in a DIFFERENT way!!!!!!! The athletes came in a DIFFERENT way, EVERYTHING WAS DIFFERENT!!!!!! So I'd keep your SOB mouth glued shut.

[laraguevara]

This is by far the greatest moment in any opening ceremony. Nothing has topped it so far, not even Athens.

[ipodamos1]

its a nice moment but only that... the rest of the show is of such a bad taste

[journalistgirl07]

athens was the best summer olympics opening ever:-)

[shoutingjohn83]

WHATEVER!!!!!!!!

[ilargitxo2]

Don't yoy know that the opining of atlanta olympic games was a copy from the openening from Barcelona? and that they had a lot of critics because of this?

[marshallguy301]

Breathtaking visuals!

[regibone04]

Beautiful

[ksol1460]

Thank you for this lovely video. It's just gorgeous and the visuals transcend even the announcers. I wish Bob and Dick would just shuddup at moments like these -- I have been saying this at every Olympics for years. CBC coverage just lets the thing speak for itself.

[halsatia]

the reason athens didn't get the games was they weren't completely ready. If they had got the games for 1996, it would probably have been a disaster. Besides, look what happened, Athens 2004 was one of the most successful games to date...so i think it was better that they got the games much later....

[DavidBIGdArruda]

I agree. The fact that the games went to Atlanta just goes to show that they belong to the entire world.

[ipodamos1]

actually they belong to money but thats another story

[mikek74]

the worst olympic games in history!! ATHENS must organized the "gold" games in 1996!!

[Kevindl1985]

Athens in 96 ahaha whatever. They were barely ready in 2004 could you imagine what they would have been like in '96. Use common sense befor you start speaking.

[ipodamos1]

why? were they ready in Atlanta?

[ipodamos1]

terrorism, delays in stadia, not good tickets sales, commercialisation of the centennial games, bad transport, horrible organisation of the athletic events, social problems created in atlanta during the preparation..

WHAT A failure!!!

if i were an American i would rather not talk about it.

Los angeles games is another story though

[Kevindl1985]

Oh believe me I'm not saying Atlanta was a sucess story in any way shape or form,I'm just saying that it really came down to the lesser of two evils in '96. And please don't play the terrorism card. It was far less severe than what happened in Munich. The park that it happened in,although called Olympic park,was not actually part of the Atlanta Olympic structure and was not not under olympic security.

[ipodamos1]

well what you are saying is highly hypothetical. you cant really predict that athens games 1996 woud have been a failure. In 2004 the greeks managed to deliver the games with style and great success, admittedly of course with delays. why couldnt they deliver at 1996. they would had the same period of preparation. In the preparation for 2004 the building of stadia started after the nomination.

[ipodamos1]

of course the terrorist incident in Atlanta was not as serious as in Munich. It occured though in a square where spectators would gather for cultural events related to the games. they should had better security. the other issue is that of the reaction of the police which was very late and inefficient.

[miznistacrizzo]

Actually the 1996 Olympics are still the most attended. Don't know what you mean about bad ticket sales? Delays in stadia? Definitely not more down to the wire than Athens. Specific social problems during prep = ??

[parutakupiu]

A breathtaking show with a matching score! Fantastic this moment!

[smd8841]

This is one of my favorite moments from this ceremony.

[fredgt28]

Its not just coke btw. Truth is, the city was corrupt and everyone wanted a share of the free funds. this include dormitories for Georgia Tech and sport facility. This is what happens when Hiki and Raro tribes are put together. LOL. To this day, Atl just doesnt meet up to its hype.

[fredgt28]

The 1996 olympic game was considered to be the worst olympic event in history. This is because of the bombing. Also, the atlanta city claimed there was not enough money, so agreed with coke to foot some of the funds in return for ad in the games.

[julius923]

Do you think Atlanta was worst than Munich?

[fredgt28]

I dont know much, I was not even born back then but yes I do know about the terrorist act. But what I'm saying is, it was no just the terrorist bombing in ATL but also the logistics and the case of potential corruption. Not to mention, ATL game used a lot of Coke advertisement which was not favorable.

[julius923]

Are you sure that it was Ray Charles and not Gladdis Knight?

[h3lls4int]

Heheh, the old times, thanks for post this vid

PD: Where did you found it anyway? is because I really want to watch the atlanta olympics opening ceremony again but i can't found it anywhere on the net. If you could give me a hand send me an email to ikarus_360@yahoo.com. Thank you