1984 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
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 The Opening Ceremony at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | |
| Date | 28 July 1984 |
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| Time | 17:00 – 21:00 PTZ (UTC-8) |
| Location | Los Angeles, United States |
| Coordinates | 34°0′51″N 118°17′16″W / 34.01417°N 118.28778°W |
| Also known as | Music of America |
| Filmed by | |
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| 1984 Summer Olympics |
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The opening ceremony of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games took place on the afternoon of Saturday 28 July in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles. 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. The 1984 Games were formally opened by President Ronald Reagan. The spectacle was in front of 92,516[1] attendants. The ceremony was a $5 million production and titled Music of America.
Preparations
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Officials and guests
Seated in the Press Box was the President of the United States Ronald Reagan and First Lady of the United States Nancy Reagan. International guests included IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch and Prince Charles. Various celebrities in attendance including, Bob Hope, Gene Kelly and Brooke Shields.
Proceedings
Countdown and Prologue
A countdown clock was used in the stadium to announce the commencement of the ceremony. Church bells and cannons rang thru-out the city to announce the start of the games.
Welcome
The official ceremony started with the first segment titled "Welcome". A song written by Marvin Hamlisch. Over 1000 volunteered held large five foot balloons with a large ribbon banner attached with the word Welcome written in over 100 languages spoken in Los Angeles. Also, Bill Suitor by means of the Bell Aerosystems rocket pack (also known as a Jet Pack) flew from the peristyle to the track on the south end. The volunteers formed the word welcome on the field, sky writers typed the word welcome in the sky and various (flower girls) volunteers passed out flowers to the crowd in the aisles.[2]
Dignitaries arrived and were introduced. IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch and President of the United States. Among others. The United States National Anthem was then played.
Artistic Program
Los Angeles produced an artistic interpretation of the American lifestyle and music. The sequence was opened with American Suite performed by an 800-member marching band consisting of local colleges. They performed American style marching sequences and marching precision.[1]
The next segment depicted the American west at the turn of the 20th century. The segment called Pioneer Spirit consisted of 410 member ballet group performing a dance sequence with props depicting wagons, old west towns and varies props.
The third segment called Dixieland Jamboree depicted a traditional southern U.S., 300 member gospel choir led by Etta James singing "When the Saints Go Marching In".
The fourth song played and depicted in the program was Urban Rhapsody'. Music played was George Gershwin's American classic "Rhapsody in Blue". From the Coliseum's peristyles, 85 grand pianos appeared. Followed by the orchestra and over 200 dancers. Followed immediately by The World Stage, a 1940s big band orchestra medley featuring songs mostly from Broadway, the movies and pop charts. Among the songs heard in this segment were "Sing, Sing, Sing", "Steppin' Out with My Baby" from Easter Parade, "One" from A Chorus Line, the theme from Fame, and the Michael Jackson hit "Beat It". Joining the orchestra were 1500 dancers. The segment ends with the entire cast forming the outlined map of the United States to the strains of "America the Beautiful".[1][3]
Flags of the World
The coliseum seats each had a card placed under the seats of the crowd. At the count of three, each attendant flipped the card to the sky and the crowd produced a card stunt, showing all the participants flags.
Los Angeles Anthem and Theme
The parade of 140 National Olympic Committees began with Greece, as tradition.[1]
John Williams performed his dedicated theme to the games. Olympic Fanfare and Theme.
The Antwerp flag was then present to Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley as Bradley was not present at the closing ceremonies of the 1980 Moscow games four years earlier.
Speeches are made by LAOOC President Peter Ueberroth and IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch.
The first time a sitting US president officially opened the games in person. President Ronald Reagan declared the competition officially open.
The Olympic Flag entered the stadium. The Olympic Hymn is played with the instrumental version. Homing Pigeons were released.[1][4]
The Cauldron
The same cauldron was used as in the 1932 Summer Games. The orchestra played The Olympian composed and conducted by Philip Glass.[5] The torch entered the stadium carried by Rafer Johnson, he completed a lap as mechanical steps rise from the center of the peristyles. He climbed the stairs and stood and faced the crowd as The Olympian wass still being played. After a minute, he lit the gas powered Olympic rings that connect with the Olympic cauldron. The flame was lit to the cheers from the crowd. The athlete and judges oaths were taken and a children's chorus appeared. They performed Ode to Joy.[1]
Finale
All athletes were requested to sing along as the words were displayed on the screens surrounding the stadium. A local teacher Vicki McClure led the crowd in Diana Ross song Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand). All the volunteers, athletes, the audience in attendance, and cast members dressed in traditional native dress from all over the world joined in. On the big screens, various children are seen also joining in hand to hand gestures singing along to the song in Japan, Australia, Africa, and Latin America. A large fireworks finale followed.[1]
TV coverage
The ABC Network was the official broadcast of the games in the US and feeder to other networks outside the US. Peter Jennings and Jim McKay were the announcers in the US. It was Jim McKay 10th broadcast.
Awards and accolades
- The broadcast and ceremony was awarded the Outstanding Live Sports Special Emmy Award.
Legacy
LA84s ceremony was the first to present the Artistic Portion Before the Ceremonial Portion of the events, the current format of all Olympic opening ceremonies held since then.[6] LAs 84 ceremony was also the first time a person of African descent lit the Olympic cauldron.[6]
See also
- 1984 Summer Olympics closing ceremony
- 1984 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony
- 1984 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony
Further reading
| This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (February 2017) |
References
- ^ a b c d e f g https://bryanpinkall.blogspot.com/2012/07/1984-summer-olympic-opening-ceremony.html
- ^ https://www.paleycenter.org/collection/item/?q=peter+...9&p=38&item=T86:0420
- ^ https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/05/01/Spectacular-ceremonies-will-open-close-Summer-Olympics/5282452232000/
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 1 August 2017. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ https://philipglass.com/compositions/olympian/
- ^ a b https://bryanpinkall.blogspot.com/2016/08/list-of-olympic-ceremony-records_1.html
External links
| Opening ceremonies |
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| Closing ceremonies |
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