2004 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony
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2004 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony
The opening ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympics was held on August 13, 2004 starting at 20:45 EEST (UTC+3) at the Olympic Stadium in Marousi, Greece, a suburb of Athens. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proceedings combined the formal and 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 and history. 72,000 spectators (with nearly 50 world leaders) attended the event, with approximately 15,000 athletes from 202 countries participating in the ceremony as well. It marked the first-ever international broadcast of high-definition television, undertaken by the U.S. broadcaster NBC and the Japanese broadcaster NHK. The Games were officially opened by President of the Hellenic Republic Konstantinos Stephanopoulos at 23:46 EEST (UTC+3). Proceedings Countdown and Welcome The opening ceremony began with a 28-second countdown—o ...
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Eastern European Summer Time
Eastern European Summer Time (EEST) is one of the names of the UTC+03:00 time zone, which is 3 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used as a summer daylight saving time in some European and Middle Eastern countries, which makes it the same as Arabia Standard Time, East Africa Time, and Moscow Time. During the winter periods, Eastern European Time ( UTC+02:00) is used. Since 1996, European Summer Time has been applied from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October. Previously, the rules were not uniform across the European Union. Usage The following countries and territories use Eastern European Summer Time during the summer: * Belarus, Moscow Summer Time in years 1981–89, regular EEST from 1991-2011 * Bulgaria, regular EEST since 1979 * Cyprus, regular EEST since 1979 ( Northern Cyprus stopped using EEST in September 2016, but returned to EEST in March 2018) * Estonia, Moscow Summer Time in years 1981–88, regular EEST since 1989 * Finland, regu ...
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Zeibekiko
Zeibekiko ( el, Ζεϊμπέκικο, ) is a Greek folk dance. Origin and history It takes its name from the Zeybeks, an irregular militia living in the Aegean Region of the Ottoman Empire from late 17th to early 20th centuries. It was first seen at the end of the 17th century in cities such as Constantinople and Smyrni. Evliya Çelebi mentions in his writings that it was danced in Magnesia and in Aydın at local feasts. Originally a dance for two armed people facing one another, it developed into an improvised dance for a single male. After the population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1922, the dance became popular also in mainland Greece, in many songs of '' Laiko'' music. Characteristics The Zeibekiko usually has a rhythmic pattern of or else . It is most commonly broken down as: \new DrumStaff \with \drummode or as: \new DrumStaff \with \drummode The Zeibeikiko, as an old dance, is strictly for males. Due to the movements of the dancer, it ...
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Athens Organizing Committee For The Olympic Games
The Athens Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, or ATHOC, also known as the Athens Organizing Committee, was an informal name for the Athens Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad. It was also the organizing committee for the Games of the XII Paralympiad. The President of ATHOC was Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki. Board members The members were: * Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki - President * Lampis Nikolaou - Vice President * Ioanna Karyofylli - General Manager * Ioannis Spanudakis - Managing Director * Yannis N. Pyrgiotis - Executive Director * Marton Simitsek - Executive Director * Theodore Papapetropoulos - Executive Director * Dora Bakoyannis - Member * Nikos Filaretos - Member * Spyros Zannias - Member * Dimitris Diathesopoulos - Member * Nikolaos Exarchos - Member * Panayiotis Tzanikos - Member * Ioannis Manos - Member * Kostas Georgiadis - Member * Demetrios Glavas - Member * Christos Polyzogopoulos - Member * Pyrros Dim ...
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Hellenic Naval Band
The Hellenic Naval Band ( el, Μπάντα του Ελληνικού Ναυτικού) is a Greek military band which was established in 1880. It is located at the military base in Votanikos, Athens. For more than a century, the band has performed at major state events in Greece on behalf of the Hellenic Navy, as well as on radio and television, and toured extensively abroad. The band participated in the opening ceremony of the 1896 Summer Olympics and in the 2004 Summer Olympics, as well as in several military music festivals in the Europe. The current bandmaster of the band is Lieutenant Commander Georgios Tsilibaris. History The first musical unit of the Hellenic Navy was formed in January 1890 and consisted of 22 musicians who enlisted as volunteers. The unit became a permanent member of the Flagship of the Fleet. After the Balkan Wars, the number of musicians increased through the expansion of the navy and the enlistment of new volunteers as a result. In August 1925, th ...
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Flag Of Greece
The national flag of Greece, popularly referred to as the "blue and white one" ( el, Γαλανόλευκη, ) or the "sky blue and white" (, ), is officially recognised by Greece as one of its national symbols and has nine equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating with white. There is a blue canton in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white cross; the cross symbolises Eastern Orthodox Christianity. The blazon of the flag is Azure, four bars Argent; on a canton of the field a Greek cross throughout of the second. The official flag ratio is 2:3. The shade of blue used in the flag has varied throughout its history, from light blue to dark blue, the latter being increasingly used since the late 1960s. It was officially adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus on 13 January 1822. The nine stripes do not have any official meaning; the most popular theory says that they represent the syllables of the phrase ("Freedom or Death"), the five blue stripes for the syllabl ...
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Greek Mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical cosmology, nature of the world, the lives and activities of List of Greek mythological figures, deities, Greek hero cult, heroes, and List of Greek mythological creatures, mythological creatures, and the origins and significance of the ancient Greeks' own cult (religious practice), cult and ritual practices. Modern scholars study the myths to shed light on the religious and political institutions of ancient Greece, and to better understand the nature of myth-making itself. The Greek myths were initially propagated in an oral tradition, oral-poetic tradition most likely by Minoan civilization, Minoan and Mycenaean Greece, Mycenaean singers starting in the 18th century BC; eventually the myths of the heroes of the Trojan War and its after ...
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History Of Greece
The history of Greece encompasses the history of the territory of the modern nation-state of Greece as well as that of the Greek people and the areas they inhabited and ruled historically. The scope of Greek habitation and rule has varied throughout the ages and as a result, the history of Greece is similarly elastic in what it includes. Generally, the history of Greece is divided into the following periods: * Paleolithic Greece starting 3.3 million years ago and ending in 13,000 BC. Significant geomorphological and climatic changes were noted in the modern Greek area which were definitive for the fauna and flora as well as the survival of the ''Homo sapiens'' in the region. * Mesolithic Greece starting in 13,000 BC and ending in 7000 BC, it was a period of long and slow development of the primitive human "proto-communities". *Neolithic Greece; covering a period beginning with the establishment of agricultural societies in 7000 BC and ending in BC. It was a vital part of ...
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Culture Of Greece
The culture of Greece has evolved over thousands of years, beginning in Minoan and later in Mycenaean Greece, continuing most notably into Classical Greece, while influencing the Roman Empire and its successor the Byzantine Empire. Other cultures and states such as the Frankish states, the Ottoman Empire, the Venetian Republic and Bavarian and Danish monarchies have also left their influence on modern Greek culture, but historians credit the Greek War of Independence with revitalising Greece and giving birth to a single entity of its multi-faceted culture. Greece is widely considered to be the cradle of Western culture and democracy. Modern democracies owe a debt to Greek beliefs in government by the people, trial by jury, and equality under the law. The ancient Greeks pioneered in many fields that rely on systematic thought, including biology, geometry, history, philosophy, and physics. They introduced such important literary forms as epic and lyric poetry, history, tragedy, ...
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Dimitris Papaioannou
Dimitris Papaioannou ( el, Δημήτρης Παπαϊωάννου; born 21 June 1964) is a Greek experimental theater stage director, choreographer and visual artist who drew media attention and acclaim with his creative direction of the Opening Ceremony of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. His varied career spans three decades and has seen him conceive and direct stage works for the Athens Concert Hall, Edafos Dance Theatre and Elliniki Theamaton, work as a costume, set and make-up designer, and published over 40 comics. Fine arts training Born in Athens, Papaioannou, an Athens College graduate, showed a flair for fine art from an early age, and studied under the renowned Greek painter Yannis Tsarouchis for three years in his mid-teens. At 19, he earned himself a place at the Athens School of Fine Arts, entering the institution with the highest marks attained by any student, and there studying under Dimitris Mytaras and Rena Papaspyrou. Early recognition Papaioannou fir ...
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Nikos Hatzidavitidis
Nikos ( el, Νίκος, ''Níkos'') is a Greek given name. It originates from Greek ''Nikolaos'', which means "victory of the people".Liddell & Scott, Abridged Greek Lexicon Although used as a proper first name, Nikos is also a popular nickname of the original Nikolaos (Greek) or Nicholas (English). People * Nikos Alefantos, Greek football coach *Nikos Aliagas, Greek TV host *Nikos Anastopoulos, Greek footballer * Nikos Arabatzis, Greek footballer * Nikos Argiropoulos, Greek basketball player * Nikos Babaniotis, Greek footballer * Nikos Barboudis, Greek footballer * Nikos Barlos, Greek basketball player *Nikos Beloyannis, Greek communist and resistance leader * Nikos Boudouris, Greek basketball player * Nikos Boutzikos, Greek footballer *Nikos Christodoulou, Greek conductor and composer *Nikos Christodoulides, Greek Cypriot politician *Nikos Dabizas, Greek footballer * Nikos Dimitrakos, American ice-hockey player *Nikos Dimou, Greek writer *Nikos Ekonomou, Greek basketball player * ...
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Petros Kourtis
Petros, the original Greek and Coptic version of the name Peter, meaning "stone" or "rock", may refer to: People * Petros (given name) * Petros (surname) * Petros (footballer), Brazilian footballer Petros Matheus dos Santos Araújo (born 1989) Places * Petros (Chornohora), a mountain in Ukraine * Petros, Oklahoma, United States, an unincorporated community * Petros, Tennessee, United States, an unincorporated community and census-designated place Other uses * Petros (pelican), mascot of the Greek island of Mykonos * Petros Guitars, guitar ensemble * Petroleum Sarawak Berhad Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (PETROS) is a state-owned oil and gas exploration firm established and owned by the State Government of Sarawak. Background Sarawak's and Sabah's oil and gas rights were lost to the Federal Government after the 13 May I ... or PETROS, state-owned company in Sarawak, Malaysia * Petro's Chili & Chips, a restaurant franchise based in Knoxville, Tennessee {{disambiguation, geo ...
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