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Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
Sport

Tokyo Olympics: what are the greatest Olympic opening ceremonies of all time?

  • Top of the list is China’s coming-out party, Beijing 2008, a monstrous spectacle that will probably never be duplicated
  • Modern era has given us some memorable opening ceremonies and also the ever-important ‘Austerity Games’, which brought the world out of the second world war

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Former Chinese gymnastics champion Li Ning ‘runs’ around the inside of the National Stadium, known as the Bird’s Nest, at the spectacular opening to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Photo: Xinhua
Patrick Blennerhassett
Tokyo 2020’s opening ceremony was understandably muted on Friday night. With no fans because of the pandemic, Japan struck a proper cord in holding back the flash and focusing on the resiliency of the international community, and the coming together amid unprecedented times.

While Japanese organisers decided to go low key, a number of other opening ceremonies were anything but. Massive spectacles, they featured elaborate costumes, dance routines, fireworks, bells and whistles galore. Intricate choreography, celebrity appearances, colourful storylines interwoven with culture, art and stylistic flair, there are a few that have gone down in history and stood the test of time as legendary for various social and political reasons.

Beijing 2008

This list has to start (and end) with the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The price tag alone speaks for itself, a reported US$100 million (HK$778 million). The event kicked off with 2,008 drummers beating away in unison, and it never let up for a staggering four-plus hours. Staged inside the architectural marvel that is the Bird’s Nest, Beijing’s opening ceremony was also a coming-out party for China to the modern world, and it spared no expense.

The storyline took us through ancient China right up until the modern day, a showpiece full of artistic detail that played well to the 91,000 spectators, and the millions of viewers around the world. Li Ning, suspended by wires, running along the walls of the stadium, was the cherry on top of an elaborate cake loaded with everything. And then of course, more fireworks. Beijing was a spectacle like no other and came at a key moment for the country – one that will most likely never be duplicated.

London 1948

When it comes to political significance, no Games were arguably more important than the 1948 Summer Olympics, held in London. The planet had finally come out of the second world war and the Games were the first since the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics, which were hosted by the Nazi regime. Japan was supposed to host the 1940 Summer Olympics, but the war snuffed out that idea, along with the notion that London may stage the 1944 Games, which were cancelled.
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