List of people who have opened the Olympic Games

The Olympic Games are an international multi-sport event featuring both summer and winter sports, held every two years with Summer and Winter Olympic Games alternating. During Olympic Games opening ceremonies, the sitting president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will make a speech before inviting a representative from the host country to officially declare that particular Games open. The current Olympic Charter requires this person to be the head of state of the host country,^[1] although this has not always been the case. This article lists the people who have had the ceremonial duty to declare each Olympic Games open.

Opening ceremony[]

The IOC factsheet on the opening ceremony states: "According to the Olympic Charter protocol, the duty of declaring the Games officially open falls to the head of state of the host country. Those who have performed this task are royalty and presidents, or their representatives, whether it was a vice-president, a member of the royal family, or a governor-general".^[2][3] Rule 56 of Chapter 5 of the Olympic Charter sets out the exact words that are to be declared by the person opening the Games. If at a Summer Olympic Games, the words to be said are:

I declare open the Games of [name of host city] celebrating the [number of the Olympiad] Olympiad of the modern era.^[1]

When at a Winter Olympic Games, the dignitary opening the Games is to proclaim:

I declare open the [number of the Olympic Winter Games] Olympic Winter Games of [name of host city].^[1]

However, this has not always been followed strictly;

In 1960, Giovanni Gronchi, President of the Italian Republic, declares the Summer Olympics in Rome open by speaking in Italian:

"I proclaim the opening of the Olympic Games of Rome, celebrating the XVII Olympiad of the modern era."

In 1964, Emperor Hirohito of Japan, opened the Summer Olympics in Tokyo by speaking in Japanese:

"Celebrating the XVIII modern Olympiad, we hereby declare the opening of the Tokyo Olympic Games."

In 1968, Mexican president Gustavo Diaz Ordaz opened the Games of Mexico City in Spanish:

"Today, 12 October 1968, I declare inaugurated the Olympic Games in Mexico, that commemorate the XIX Olympiad of the modern era."

In 1972, German president Gustav Heinmann opened the Games of Munich speaking in German:

"I declare the Olympic Games Munich 1972, celebrating the XX Olympiad of the modern era, open."

In 1976, Elizabeth II, as Queen of Canada, opened the Montreal Olympics (first in French followed by the English) with:

"I declare open the Olympic Games of 1976, celebrating the XXI Olympiad of the modern era."

In 1980, Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev opened the Moscow Summer Olympics speaking in Russian:

"Mr. President of International Olympic Committee! Comrades! I declare open the Olympic Games of 1980, celebrating the XXII Olympiad of the modern era."

In 1984, U.S. President Ronald Reagan opened the Los Angeles Summer Olympics with:

"Celebrating the XXIII Olympiad of the modern era, I declare open the Olympic Games of Los Angeles."

In 1988, President of the Republic of Korea, Roh Tae-woo opened the Summer Olympics in Seoul by speaking in Korean:

"In celebration of the 24th modern Olympic Games, I declare the Seoul Olympic Games open."

In 1992, King Juan Carlos I of Spain opened the Barcelona Summer Olympics with:

"(In Catalan) Welcome all to Barcelona. (In Spanish) Today, 25 July of the Year 1992, I declare open the Barcelona Olympic Games that celebrate the XXV Olympiad of the modern era."

In 1994, King Harald V of Norway opened the Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer by speaking in Norwegian:

"I hereby declare opened the XVII Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer."^[4]

In 1996, U.S. President Bill Clinton opened the Atlanta Summer Olympics with the exact format:

"I declare open the Games of Atlanta, celebrating the XXVI Olympiad of the modern era."

In 1998, Emperor Akihito of Japan opened the Olympic Winter Games in Nagano by speaking in Japanese:

"Here, I will declare the opening of the XVIII Olympic Winter Games in Nagano."

In 2000, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia Sir William Deane opened the Sydney Summer Olympics with the exact format:

"I declare open the Games of Sydney, celebrating the XXVII Olympiad of the modern era."

In 2002, U.S. President George W. Bush opened the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City using the format of the Summer Games declaration (which took place five months after the September 11 attacks) with:

"On behalf of a proud, determined and grateful nation, I declare open the Games of Salt Lake City, celebrating the Olympic Winter Games."

In 2004, Konstantinos Stephanopoulos, President of the Hellenic Republic, opened the Athens Summer Olympics by speaking in Greek:

"I declare the opening of the Olympic Games of Athens and the celebration of the XXVIII Olympiad of the modern era."

In 2006, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, President of the Italian Republic, opened the Turin Olympic Winter Games using the format of the Summer Games declaration by speaking in Italian:

"I declare open, in Turin, the celebration of the XX Winter Olympic Games."

In 2008, Hu Jintao, the President of the People's Republic of China, opened the Beijing Summer Olympics by speaking in Mandarin:

"I declare, the XXIX Olympic Games of Beijing, open."

In 2010, the Governor General of Canada, Michaëlle Jean, opened the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver using the format of the Summer Games declaration by saying in French and English:

"I declare open the Games of Vancouver, celebrating the 21st Olympic Winter Games."^[5]

In 2012, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, declares the opening of the 2012 London Summer Olympics, following the 60th anniversary of her accession to the throne, with the exact format:

"I declare open the Games of London, celebrating the XXX Olympiad of the modern era."

In 2014, Vladimir Putin, the President of the Russian Federation, declares the opening of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics by speaking in Russian:

"The XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi I declare open."

In 2016, Brazilian vice president Michel Temer, as acting president during the suspension of President Dilma Rousseff, opened the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro by speaking in Brazilian Portuguese:

"After this wonderful spectacle, I declare open the Rio Olympic Games, celebrating the XXXI Olympiad of the modern era."

In 2018, Moon Jae-in, President of the Republic of Korea declares the opening of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics by speaking in Korean:

"I declare the 23rd Winter Olympic Games, the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, open."

In 2021, Emperor Naruhito opened the postponed 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo by speaking in Japanese:

"I hereby declare the opening of the Tokyo Games to commemorate the 32nd Modern Olympiad."

Records[]

As of 2020, there have been 48 different individuals who opened either the Summer or Winter Olympic Games. Four of them have done so more than once. German führer Adolf Hitler was the first person to open more than one Olympic Games; he opened the 1936 Winter and Summer Olympics, both of which were hosted in Germany. He remains the only one to open more than one Games in the same year.

Italian president Giovanni Gronchi opened the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo and the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. He was the first democratically elected head of state to open more than one Olympic Games.

Japanese emperor Hirohito opened the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo. He was the first non-European to open more than one Olympic Games.

Queen Elizabeth II opened the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada, and the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Great Britain. She is the first woman to open more than one Olympic Games, first person to open more than one Summer Olympics, and the only one to do so in different host countries. Aside from declaring open the Games by herself, she was represented during the declaration four times: in the 1956 and 2000 Summer Olympics – both were held in Australia – as well as the 1988 and 2010 Winter Olympics – both were held in Canada.

In 1952, Princess Ragnhild of Norway became the first woman to open any Olympic Games.

Dignitaries who have opened the Summer Olympics[]

Year	Games	Host city	Officially opened by[a]	Office of opener[a]	Notes
1896	I Olympiad	Athens, Greece	George I	King of the Hellenes	[6]
1900	II Olympiad	Paris, France	No official opening	No official opening	[7]
1904	III Olympiad	St. Louis, United States	David R. Francis	President of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition[b]	[8]
1908	IV Olympiad	London, Great Britain	Edward VII	King of Great Britain	[9]
1912	V Olympiad	Stockholm, Sweden	Gustaf V	King of Sweden	[10]
1920	VII Olympiad	Antwerp, Belgium	Albert I	King of the Belgians	[11]
1924	VIII Olympiad	Paris, France	Gaston Doumergue	President of the French Republic	[12]
1928	IX Olympiad	Amsterdam, Netherlands	HendrikPrince Hendrik	Prince Consort of the Netherlands[c]	[13]
1932	X Olympiad	Los Angeles, United States	Charles Curtis	Vice President of the United States[d]	[14]
1936	XI Olympiad	Berlin, Germany	Adolf Hitler	Führer and Reich Chancellor of the German People[e]	[15]
1948	XIV Olympiad	London, Great Britain	George VI	King of Great Britain	[16]
1952	XV Olympiad	Helsinki, Finland	Juho Kusti Paasikivi	President of the Republic of Finland	[17]
1956	XVI Olympiad	Melbourne, Australia	PhilipPrince Philip	Consort of the Queen of Australia[f]	[18]
1956	XVI Olympiad (equestrian)	Stockholm, Sweden	Gustaf VI Adolf	King of Sweden	[19]
1960	XVII Olympiad	Rome, Italy	Giovanni Gronchi	President of the Italian Republic	[20]
1964	XVIII Olympiad	Tokyo, Japan	Hirohito	Emperor of Japan	[21]
1968	XIX Olympiad	Mexico City, Mexico	Gustavo Díaz Ordaz	President of the United Mexican States	[22]
1972	XX Olympiad	Munich, West Germany	Gustav Heinemann	President of the Federal Republic of Germany	[23]
1976	XXI Olympiad	Montreal, Canada	Elizabeth II	Queen of Canada	[24]
1980	XXII Olympiad	Moscow, Soviet Union	Leonid Brezhnev	Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics[g]	[25]
1984	XXIII Olympiad	Los Angeles, United States	Ronald Reagan	President of the United States	[26]
1988	XXIV Olympiad	Seoul, Republic of Korea	Roh Tae-woo	President of the Republic of Korea	[27]
1992	XXV Olympiad	Barcelona, Spain	Juan Carlos I	King of Spain	[28]
1996	XXVI Olympiad	Atlanta, United States	Bill Clinton	President of the United States	[29]
2000	XXVII Olympiad	Sydney, Australia	William Deane	Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia[h]	[30][31][32][33][34]
2004	XXVIII Olympiad	Athens, Greece	Konstantinos Stephanopoulos	President of the Hellenic Republic	[35]
2008	XXIX Olympiad	Beijing, China PR	Hu Jintao	President of the People's Republic of China[i]	[36]
2012	XXX Olympiad	London, Great Britain	Elizabeth II	Queen of Great Britain	[37]
2016	XXXI Olympiad	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Michel Temer	Vice President of the Federative Republic of Brazil[j]
2020	XXXII Olympiad	Tokyo, Japan	Naruhito	Emperor of Japan	[38]
2024	XXXIII Olympiad	Paris, France	Emmanuel Macron or his successor	President of the French Republic
2028	XXXIV Olympiad	Los Angeles, United States	Joe Biden or his successor	President of the United States
2032	XXXV Olympiad	Brisbane, Australia	David Hurley or his successor (expected)	Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia[k]

Notes:

Dignitaries who have opened the Winter Olympics[]

Year	Games	Host city	Officially opened by[a]	Office of opener[a]	Notes
1924	I Winter	Chamonix, France	Gaston Vidal	Undersecretary for Physical Education of the French Republic[b]	[39]
1928	II Winter	St. Moritz, Switzerland	Edmund Schulthess	President of the Swiss Confederation[c]	[40]
1932	III Winter	Lake Placid, United States	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Governor of the State of New York[d]	[41]
1936	IV Winter	Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany	Adolf Hitler	Führer and Reich Chancellor of the German People[e]	[42]
1948	V Winter	St. Moritz, Switzerland	Enrico Celio	President of the Swiss Confederation[c]	[43]
1952	VI Winter	Oslo, Norway	RagnhildPrincess Ragnhild	Princess of Norway[f]	[44]
1956	VII Winter	Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy	Giovanni Gronchi	President of the Italian Republic	[45]
1960	VIII Winter	Squaw Valley, United States	Richard Nixon	Vice President of the United States[g]	[46]
1964	IX Winter	Innsbruck, Austria	Adolf Schärf	Federal President of the Republic of Austria	[47]
1968	X Winter	Grenoble, France	Charles de Gaulle	President of the French Republic	[48]
1972	XI Winter	Sapporo, Japan	Hirohito	Emperor of Japan	[49]
1976	XII Winter	Innsbruck, Austria	Rudolf Kirchschläger	Federal President of the Republic of Austria	[50]
1980	XIII Winter	Lake Placid, United States	Walter Mondale	Vice President of the United States[h]	[51]
1984	XIV Winter	Sarajevo, Yugoslavia	Mika Špiljak	President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia	[52]
1988	XV Winter	Calgary, Canada	Jeanne Sauvé	Governor General of Canada[i]	[53]
1992	XVI Winter	Albertville, France	François Mitterrand	President of the French Republic	[54]
1994	XVII Winter	Lillehammer, Norway	Harald V	King of Norway	[55]
1998	XVIII Winter	Nagano, Japan	Akihito	Emperor of Japan	[56]
2002	XIX Winter	Salt Lake City, United States	George W. Bush	President of the United States	[57]
2006	XX Winter	Turin, Italy	Carlo Azeglio Ciampi	President of the Italian Republic	[58]
2010	XXI Winter	Vancouver, Canada	Michaëlle Jean	Governor General of Canada[i]	[59]
2014	XXII Winter	Sochi, Russian Federation	Vladimir Putin	President of the Russian Federation	[60]
2018	XXIII Winter	Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea	Moon Jae-in	President of the Republic of Korea
2022	XXIV Winter	Beijing, China PR	Xi Jinping	President of the People's Republic of China[j]
2026	XXV Winter	Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy	TBD	President of the Italian Republic

Dignitaries who have opened the Youth Olympic Games[]

Year	Games	Host city	Officially opened by	Office of opener	Notes
2010	I Summer	Singapore	S.R. Nathan	President of the Republic of Singapore
2012	I Winter	Innsbruck, Austria	Heinz Fischer	Federal President of the Republic of Austria
2014	II Summer	Nanjing, China PR	Xi Jinping	President of the People's Republic of China[a]
2016	II Winter	Lillehammer, Norway	Harald V	King of Norway
2018	III Summer	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Mauricio Macri	President of the Argentine Republic
2020	III Winter	Lausanne, Switzerland	Simonetta Sommaruga	President of the Swiss Confederation[b]
2024	IV Winter	Gangwon Province, Republic of Korea	TBD	President of the Republic of Korea
2026	IV Summer	Dakar, Senegal	TBD	President of the Republic of Senegal

Notes:

See also[]

• List of Olympic Games host cities
• List of people who have kept the Olympic flag
• President of the Organising Committee for the Olympic Games
• President of the International Olympic Committee

References[]