TOP 3 Olympics Opening Ceremonies From The Past

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To say that the France Olympics opening ceremony was a disappointment is an understatement. It can’t hold the candle to some of the greatest Olympic opening ceremonies of all time. But which were absolutely the best? You’ll find our own subjective ranking in this article!

The 3 Best Olympic Games Opening Ceremonies of All Time, Ranked by Safestay

What was the best Olympic opening ceremony? Every person might give you a different answer. Thus, we decided to post our own ranking of the best events beginning the Olympics. Take a look below.

#1 London Olympics 2012

When discussing the greatest Olympic opening ceremony, most people quarrel between two options: Beijing 2008 or London 2012. At Safestay, we’re absolutely #TeamLondon!

The opening ceremony in London was a great display of British culture, from the Industrial Revolution to the iconic Mr. Bean appearance. But what truly made it unforgettable was when the Queen took part in it (though She was later replaced by a stunt double) along…Daniel Craig posing as James Bond. The whole ceremony was a great combination of humour, wit and exciting performances; hence, we fully believe that it deserves the title of the greatest Olympic opening ceremony of all time!

#2 Beijing Olympics 2008

As we mentioned earlier, the Beijing Olympics 2008 opening ceremony is a close competitor for London in terms of being the best, and for similar reasons—the Chinese culture was perfectly woven into the performances.

Thousands of people dressed in traditional outfits, drumming the same beat in perfect unison, dancers painting an enormous scroll with brushes, captivating acrobatic displays, the whole scale of this ceremony was just out of this world. It’s one of the most memorable events in the history of the Olympics, so it rightfully deserves its place as number two on our ranking of the best Olympic Games opening ceremonies.

#3 Atlanta Olympics 1996

The bronze medal goes to Atlanta, though it was one of the toughest decisions to make when preparing our ranking. No other Olympic Games opening ceremonies have even been close to Beijing and London, but from the third place, the competition gets much harder. Why did we decide to pick the Atlanta Olympics 1996, then?

This is one of the most famous Olympics opening ceremonies due to one of its guests—Muhammad Ali. Despite struggling with Parkinson’s, Ali was determined to carry the torch with the Olympic fire along the track and light the cauldron, commencing the games. Apart from that, the whole ceremony was a great celebration of American history and culture, with both southern and northern accents included.

Perhaps we liked this particular Olympic Games opening ceremony so much because American culture is so widespread. We all have some memories or associations with it which could have affected our choice. Nevertheless, the Atlanta Olympics opening ceremony was definitely of top quality, so we don’t have any doubts about putting it as our number three!

The Takeaway

The above are what we believe to be the three best Olympic Games opening ceremonies of all time. Naturally, you might disagree with some of our choices (or all of them) as the choice might be subjective. But in the end, we can all agree that London 2012, Beijing 2008, and Atlanta 1996 all had wonderfully entertaining, well-thought-out, and perfectly executed opening ceremonies that are worth rewatching even nowadays!

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