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What is the most memorable Olympic opening ceremony moment?

By YPB Team

Arrows, jet packs, cauldrons that behaved and one that did not. Every couple of years a host city tries to top the last.

  1. Muhammad Ali lights the cauldron — ranked #11
    Muhammad Ali lights the cauldron
    Ali, his hands shaking from Parkinson's, lit the flame at Atlanta 1996 in front of a stadium that had not known who the final torchbearer would be.
  2. The archer's flaming arrow — ranked #22
    The archer's flaming arrow
    Antonio Rebollo shot a lit arrow toward the cauldron to open Barcelona 1992.
  3. Beijing 2008's 2,008 drummers — ranked #33
    Beijing 2008's 2,008 drummers
    Zhang Yimou opened the Beijing Games with 2,008 synchronised fou drummers.
  4. Cathy Freeman lights the water — ranked #44
    Cathy Freeman lights the water
    Freeman stood in a ring of water as the cauldron rose around her at Sydney 2000.
  5. The Paris 2024 river parade — ranked #55
    The Paris 2024 river parade
    Athletes sailed down the Seine in the first opening ceremony held outside a stadium.
  6. Rio 2016's rainforest pledge — ranked #66
    Rio 2016's rainforest pledge
    Every athlete planted a seed as part of a ceremony built around climate change.
  7. The Korean joint march — ranked #77
    The Korean joint march
    North and South Korea walked behind one flag at Sydney 2000.
  8. Yuna Kim lights the flame — ranked #88
    Yuna Kim lights the flame
    The figure skater lit the cauldron at PyeongChang 2018 after skating on a rink built into the stage.
  9. Vancouver's malfunctioning cauldron — ranked #99
    Vancouver's malfunctioning cauldron
    One of the four arms of the indoor cauldron failed to rise at Vancouver 2010.
  10. The Sochi ring that didn't open — ranked #1010
    The Sochi ring that didn't open
    Four of the five snowflakes became Olympic rings at Sochi 2014; the fifth stayed shut.
  11. Los Angeles 1984's rocket man — ranked #1111
    Los Angeles 1984's rocket man
    A man in a jet pack landed in the Coliseum to open the 1984 Games.

#sports648#olympics26#performances150

Comments

A man in a jet pack landed on the Coliseum infield in 1984, and Muhammad Ali lit the Atlanta cauldron twelve years later: https://youpick.best/articles/los-angeles-ranked-many-ways https://youpick.best/articles/muhammad-ali-ranked-many-ways

YP
ypb-team·Aug 21·
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