The

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

of the

1984 Summer Olympic Games The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

took place on the afternoon of Saturday, July 28, in the

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a mem ...

, Los Angeles. As mandated by the

Olympic Charter The Olympic Charter is a set of rules and guidelines for the organisation of the Olympic Games, and for governing the Olympic movement. Its last revision was on the 17th of July 2020 during the 136th IOC Session, held by video conference. Adop ...

, 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 of the United States

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

. The event was conducted in front of 92,516 attendants. The ceremony was a $5 million production, titled ''Music of America''.

Officials and guests

Seated in the press box were President of the United States

and

First Lady of the United States The first lady of the United States (FLOTUS) is the title held by the hostess of the White House, usually the wife of the president of the United States, concurrent with the president's term in office. Although the first lady's role has never ...

Nancy Reagan Nancy Davis Reagan (; born Anne Frances Robbins; July 6, 1921 – March 6, 2016) was an American film actress and First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989. She was the second wife of president Ronald Reagan. Reagan was born in N ...

. International guests included President of the International Olympic Committee Juan Antonio Samaranch,

Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg Jean (Jean Benoît Guillaume Robert Antoine Louis Marie Adolphe Marc d'Aviano; 5 January 1921 – 23 April 2019) was the Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1964 until his abdication in 2000. He was the first Grand Duke of Luxembourg of French agnatic ...

and the Prince of Wales (now Charles III). Various celebrities were in attendance, including Linda Evans, Bob Hope,

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American actor, dancer, singer, filmmaker, and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...

and

Brooke Shields Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress and model. She was initially a child model and gained critical acclaim at age 12 for her leading role in Louis Malle's film ''Pretty Baby'' (1978). She continued to model into ...

Proceedings

Countdown

A countdown clock at the screen from 60 to 1 was used in

to announce the commencement of the ceremony. Roman Catholic church bells and largest cannons rang all around the city to announce the start of 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympic Games.

Welcome

The official ceremony started with the first segment, "Welcome", a song written by

Marvin Hamlisch Marvin Frederick Hamlisch (June 2, 1944 – August 6, 2012) was an American composer and conductor. Hamlisch was one of only seventeen people to win Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards. This collection of all four is referred to as an " EGOT ...

and Dean Pitchford. Over 1,000 volunteers held large, five-foot balloons, each with a ribbon banner attached with the word "Welcome" written in over 100 languages. Bill Suitor flew from the peristyle to the track on the south end via a

Bell Aerosystems The Bell Aircraft Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer, a builder of several types of fighter aircraft for World War II but most famous for the Bell X-1, the first supersonic aircraft, and for the development and production of many i ...

rocket pack (also known as a jet pack). The performers formed the word "Welcome" on the field, skywriters typed the word "Welcome" in the sky and various volunteers passed out flowers in the aisles to the crowd. After the song, the balloons were released into the air and dignitaries were introduced, namely IOC president Samaranch and President Reagan. " Hail to the Chief" was played to introduce President Reagan, followed by the U.S. national anthem and " Fanfare for the Common Man" by Aaron Copland.

Artistic program

''Music of America''

Los Angeles produced an artistic interpretation of the American lifestyle and music called ''Music of America''. The first sequence opened with ''

American Suite The ''American Suite'' in A major ( cs, Suita A dur), Op. 98b, B. 190, is an orchestral suite written in 1894–1895 by Czech composer Antonín Dvořák. Background Dvořák initially wrote the Suite in A major for piano, Op. 98, ...

'', performed by an 800-member marching band consisting primarily of members from colleges in the Los Angeles area. However, there was also at least one member from every U.S. state. They performed American style marching sequences and marching precision. The second segment, ''Pioneer Spirit'', depicted the American west at the turn of the 20th century. It consisted of a 410-member ballet group performing a

hoedown A hoedown is a type of American folk dance or square dance in duple meter, and also the musical form associated with it. Overview The most popular sense of the term is associated with Americans in rural or southeastern parts of the country, par ...

dance sequence with various props, including wagons and old west towns. The third segment, ''Dixieland Jamboree'', depicted a traditional southern U.S. gospel choir featuring 300 members singing " When the Saints Go Marching In", led by

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer who performed in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, and soul. Starting her career in 1954, sh ...

. The fourth segment, ''Urban Rhapsody'', featured George Gershwin's " Rhapsody in Blue". 84 grand pianos appeared from the Coliseum's peristyles, followed by the orchestra and over 200 dancers. The fifth segment, ''The World Stage'', consisted of a 1940s big band orchestra medley, featuring songs mostly from Broadway, movies and popular music. Among the songs heard in this segment were " Sing, Sing, Sing", "

Steppin' Out with My Baby "Steppin' Out with My Baby" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin and introduced in the 1948 musical film '' Easter Parade''. There it was sung by Fred Astaire as part of a dance number involving Astaire on stairs and three different dance ...

" (from '' Easter Parade''), "One" (from '' A Chorus Line''), the theme from '' Fame'', and the Michael Jackson hit "

Beat It "Beat It" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson from his sixth studio album, '' Thriller'' (1982). It was written by Jackson and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. Jones encouraged Jackson to include a rock song on the album. Jackson l ...

". Joining the orchestra were 1,500 dancers. The sixth and final segment ended with the entire cast dancing and forming the outlined map of the United States to the strains of " America the Beautiful".

Flags of the world

Each seat in the Coliseum had a card placed underneath. At the count of three, each attendant flipped the card skyward and the crowd produced a card stunt, displaying the flags of all participating nations.

Parade of Nations

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

performed his dedicated theme to the games, " Olympic Fanfare and Theme". Volunteer performers entered the stadium, marching with white Olympic flags. They formed the 1984 Olympic logo, as well as the "Stars in Motion" outline on the field. The

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

flag was then presented to Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, as Bradley had not been present at the

closing ceremonies Closing may refer to: Business and law * Closing (law), a closing argument, a summation * Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction * Closing (sales), the process of making a sale * Closing a business, the proc ...

of the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

in Moscow four years earlier. The parade of 140

National Olympic Committee A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games ...

s began with Greece, as per tradition. Speeches were then made by Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee president Peter Ueberroth and IOC president Samaranch. For the first time, a sitting U.S. president opened the games in person, as President Reagan declared the competition officially open. The Olympic flag entered the stadium, and an instrumental version of the Olympic Hymn was played. Afterward, homing pigeons were released.

The cauldron

The same cauldron from the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held duri ...

(also held in Los Angeles) was used. The orchestra played ''The Olympian'', composed and conducted by

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

. The torch entered the stadium carried by Gina Hemphill, granddaughter of U.S. Olympian Jesse Owens, who circled the track then handed the torch to 1960 Olympic decathlon gold medalist Rafer Johnson, who completed the torch relay as mechanical steps rose from the center of the peristyles. Johnson climbed the stairs and faced the crowd as ''The Olympian'' was still being played, then lit the gas powered Olympic rings that connect with the Olympic cauldron, amidst cheers from the crowd. The athletes' and judges' oaths were taken and a children's chorus performed Ludwig van Beethoven's " Ode to Joy".

Finale

Local teacher Vicki McClure led the crowd in a performance of the

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

song " Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)". All attendees were requested to sing along, as the words were displayed on the screens surrounding the stadium. All the volunteers, athletes, and audience members, as well as cast members dressed in traditional native dress from all over the world, joined in. On the big screens, various children in Japan, Australia, Africa and Latin America joined hands, singing along to the song, and a large fireworks finale followed.

Anthems

National Anthem of the United States "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bo ...

* Olympic Hymn

TV coverage

The ABC network was the official broadcaster of the games in the U.S. and feeder to other networks outside the U.S. Peter Jennings and Jim McKay were the announcers in the U.S., marking McKay's 10th broadcast.

Awards and accolades

The broadcast was awarded the

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

for Outstanding Live Sports Special.

Legacy

The 1984 opening ceremony was the first to present the "artistic" segment before the "ceremonial" portion of the events, with this order having been followed ever since. The ceremony was also the first time a person of African descent lit the Olympic cauldron.

References

{{Portal bar, Olympics, United States

Opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

Ceremonies in the United States Olympics opening ceremonies