1998 Winter Olympics opening ceremony

Last updated

1998 Winter Olympics
opening ceremony
Part of 1998 Winter Olympics
1998 Nagano Winter Olympics opening ceremony.jpg
Date7 February 1998 (1998-02-07)
Time11:00 – 14:00 JST (UTC+9)
Venue Nagano Olympic Stadium
Location Nagano, Japan
Coordinates 36°34′47″N138°09′56″E / 36.579722°N 138.165556°E / 36.579722; 138.165556
Filmed by1998 Olympic Radio and Television Organization (ORTO '98)
Footage Nagano 1998 Opening Ceremony - Full Length on YouTube

The opening ceremony of the 1998 Winter Olympics took place at Nagano Olympic Stadium, Nagano, Japan, on 7 February 1998. It began at 11:00 JST and finished at approximately 14:00 JST. 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. The Games were officially opened by Emperor of Japan Akihito. [1]

Contents

Alan Tomlinson, Professor in Leisure Studies at the University of Brighton, argued that the main theme of this opening ceremony is Peace and Harmony. While elements of Nagano's religious and sporting culture are shown throughout the ceremony, it is shown alongside examples of a hopeful wish in a world peace at the end of the 20th century. [2] [3]

Officials and Guests

Dignitaries from International organizations

Host country dignitaries

Dignitaries from abroad

Proceedings

Bell to Symbolize Purification

At exactly 11am JST, a bell at Zenkō-ji temple was rung, by a man who was a teenager during World War II, and was in training to be a kamikaze pilot when the war ended. The bell that was rung was cast in 1667, and reverberates as a symbol of Nagano. It was rung to confer blessing on the opening ceremony. [2]

Raising of Onbashira to Consecrate Sacred Ground

Onbashira — or "sacred pillars" in the Japanese — are large wooden fir posts which stand at the corners of local shrines in Nagano Prefecture. They are brought down from the surrounding mountains to purify the earth. At this ceremony, hundreds of people performed the Satobiki ceremony, where four 12 meter high onbashira are erected at the two entrances of the stadium. The logs are raised with ropes by hand, and while they are being raised, a ceremonial group of log bearers ride the logs and sing and perform other feats, while numerous men and women sustain a consistent chant. Barry Davies — the commentator for the BBC broadcast showing stated that the chants were "plaintive" being a "prelude to much hard work." [2] Finally, each post unfurled a yellow steamer which were to call the gods that lived in the trees.

Dohyo-iri Ceremony

33 Sumo Wrestlers chosen from all over Japan entered the stadium to perform the Dohyō-iri ring purification ceremony, which while practiced in the Edo Period, it is one that can be traceable back to an 8th century text. [4] Then Yokozuna Akebono Tarō, eight-time Sumo Grand Champion, and 38 other wrestlers also enter the stadium, totaling the 72 wrestlers. [5]

During this act, it was announced on the Stadium loudspeakers that the Emperor of Japan Akihito, and his wife, Empress Michiko arrive with IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch and other dignitaries.

Then Akebono performed the Yokozuna dohyo-iri ring purification ceremony, the symbolic calling of the attention of the gods and expelling the evil spirits from the competition venue. It is more intricate than the normal dohyo-iri ceremony. [5] [4]

Children of Nagano Welcome the Athletes

Giant straw Dōsojin, which appear in Shinto folklore in Ōoka village arrive in the stadium. 150 primary school aged children, local participants of the "One School, One Country" initiative, arrive dressed as Yukinko, traditional straw winter coats and hats. After some dancing, the children take off their straw coats, showing knitted sweaters of country flags representing the 72 nations competing in these Winter Games. [6] Each child will march with their country during the Parade of Nations, and will appear also during the lighting of the Olympic Flame.

Japanese artist Ryoko Moriyama joined the school children to perform a medley of two songs from the 1996 Andrew Lloyd Webber/Jim Steinman musical Whistle Down the Wind : the titular song and “When Children Rule the World”, sung in both Japanese and English. [7]

Parade of Nations

2,302 athletes from 72 countries and regions participated in the competition, [8] including 814 female athletes and 1488 male athletes. Both the number of participating delegations and the number of athletes participating in the competition were the most ever at the time.Three National Olympic Committees were sending delegations to compete in the Winter Olympics for the first time in history: Azerbaijan, North Macedonia and Uruguay. [9]

Opening Addresses

NAOC President Eishiro Saito delivered a speech in Japanese, welcoming everyone. IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch delivered a speech in English, calling for athletes to "observe the Olympic truce." [10] His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Japan Akihito declared the games open in Japanese. [2]

"ここに,長野における第18回オリンピック冬季競技大会の開会を宣言します。" – "I hereby declare the opening of the XVIII Olympic Winter Games in Nagano."

His Majesty the Emperor Akihito

Olympic Flag and Anthems

After a fanfare, the Olympic Flag was carried around the stadium by eight former Japanese Olympians: Chiharu Igaya, Yukio Kasaya, Akitsugu Konno, Yoshihiro Kitazawa, Hatsue Nagakubo-Takamizawa, Yuko Otaka, Seiko Hashimoto, and Hiromi Yamamoto. During the raising of the Olympic flag, the Olympic Hymn was sung in Japanese by the Nagano Children's Choir.

The Japanese National Anthem, Kimigayo, was played by Gagaku musicians.

Torch relay and the lighting of the Olympic cauldron

The cauldron used during the games is now used as a monument to the games. 1998 Winter Olympics cauldron and stadium.jpg
The cauldron used during the games is now used as a monument to the games.

At the end of a 49-day torch relay across Japan, the Olympic flame is carried into the stadium by Chris Moon, an Landmine Survivors Network member and an activist and advocate for banning anti-personnel landmines. He is accompanied by the local Nagano children featured earlier wearing their flag sweaters. "When Children Rule the World" is reprised upon his entry into the staging area. Moon hands over the Olympic torch to Masako Chiba, bronze medalist for the Women's 10,000 metres at the 1997 World Championships in Athletics in Athens. Before doing so, Moon and the children presented the Olympic Flame to the Imperial Couple in the royal box, with the Emperor and Empress applauding Moon. Chiba passed the torch to the Japanese Team that was the current Olympic Champions on Team Event in Nordic Combined: Takanori Kono, Masashi Abe, and Reiichi Mikata, then they passed to the runner Hiromi Suzuki, winner of the Women's marathon at the 1997 World Championships in Athletics who runs upstairs while surrounded by the local Nagano children. The last torchbearer was Midori Ito, Olympic silver medalist of the Ladies' singles at the Figure skating at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, and the first Asian figure skating to win the World Championiships in 1989, who lighted the cauldron. Ito was wearing a special kimono personifying the Japanese goddess Amaterasu. [5] The music played during this sequence is Un bel dì, vedremo aria from the opera Giacomo Puccini's "Madame Butterfly". [12]

Olympic Oaths and Dove Balloons

Japanese men's Nordic combined skier Kenji Ogiwara took the oath on behalf of all 1998 Olympic athletes in Japanese, while the officials' oath was taken by figure skating referee Junko Hiramatsu in Japanese.

1,998 balloons in the shape of doves were released from the stage of the stadium.

The Grand Chorus

The finale of the opening ceremony featured a choral performance of the 4th movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 ("Ode to Joy"), conducted by Ozawa Seiji, joined by choruses from the five satellite locations in Beijing, Berlin, Cape Town, New York City, and Sydney; The New York Times described the sequence as having been "the first time that images and sounds from around the globe were united in a simultaneous live performance." [13] [2] [14]

Performers

Nagano Prefectural Culture Hall: Ozawa Seiji, Tokyo Opera Singers, Nagano Winter Orchestra. Sopranos: Izabela Labuda, Claudia Waite, Altos: Zheng Cao, Ruth Peel, Tenors: Anthony Dean Griffey, Gwyn Hughes Jones, Baritones: Denis Sedov, Kevin Short. [15]

Following the performance of Ode to Joy, a flyover was done by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force performance squadron Blue Impulse, leaving smoke trails in the colors of the Olympic Rings behind them as they flew over the Olympic Stadium.

Legacy

Alan Tomlinson, [16] argues that Peace and Harmony is this opening ceremony's theme. While elements of Nagano's culture are shown throughout the ceremony, the main theme shown is how the world is more unified and harmonious at the last Winter Olympics of the 20th century. This is best seen in the massed choir that marked the beginning and the end of this ceremony, with satellite choirs at key symbolic locations of peace. It is also seen through at the flame's entrance by emphasizing the work of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.

Since the 2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, the theme of universalism bringing peace in Olympics opening ceremonies have been dropped for more nationalistic displays, as seen in the 2002 Winter Olympics opening ceremony. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1998 Winter Olympics</span> Multi-sport event in Nagano, Japan

The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVIII Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Nagano 1998, were a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, with some events taking place in the nearby mountain communities of Hakuba, Karuizawa, Nozawa Onsen, and Yamanouchi. The city of Nagano had previously been a candidate to host the 1940 Winter Olympics, as well as the 1972 Winter Olympics, but had been eliminated at the national level by Sapporo on both occasions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyprus at the 1998 Winter Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Cyprus sent a delegation to compete at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan from 7–22 February 1998. This was Cyprus' sixth appearance at a Winter Olympics. Their delegation to Nagano consisted of a single alpine skier, Andreas Vasili. In the men's slalom competition on the penultimate day of the games, he failed to finish his first run and was eliminated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portugal at the 1998 Winter Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Portugal competed at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

The Closing Ceremony of the 1996 Summer Olympics took place on August 4, 1996, at the Centennial Olympic Stadium in Atlanta, United States at approximately 8:00 PM EDT (UTC−4). It was produced by Don Mischer. The official motto of the closing ceremony is "An American Day of Inspiration".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olympic Games ceremony</span> Ceremonial events of the ancient and modern Olympic Games

The Olympic Games ceremonies of the ancient Olympic Games were an integral part of the games; modern Olympic Games have opening, closing, and medal ceremonies. Some of the elements of the modern ceremonies date back to the ancient games from which the modern Olympics draw their ancestry. An example of this is the prominence of Greece in both the opening and closing ceremonies. During the 2004 Summer Olympics, the medal winners received a crown of olive branches, which was a direct reference to the ancient games, in which the victor's prize was an olive wreath. The various elements of ceremonies are mandated by the Olympic Charter, and cannot be changed by the host nation. Host nations are required to seek the approval of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for ceremony elements, including the artistic portions of the opening and closing ceremonies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1980 Summer Olympics closing ceremony</span>

The Closing Ceremony of the 1980 Summer Olympics was held at 19:00 Moscow Time (UTC+3) on 3 August 1980 at the Grand Arena of the Central Lenin Stadium. It was attended by the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Leonid Brezhnev. IOC President Lord Killanin closed the Games for the final time and passed the position on to Juan Antonio Samaranch.

The closing ceremony of the 1994 Winter Olympics was held in Lysgårdsbakken in Lillehammer, Norway on 27 February 1994. All spectators were handed a flashlight with the inscription "Remember Sarajevo" – the host of the 1984 Winter Olympics which was at the heart of the Bosnian War. The first entrants on the stage were Liv Ullmann and Thor Heyerdal, followed by the athletes' precession. After the flag had been transferred to Nagano mayor Tasuku Tsukada, speeches were held by Lillehammer mayor Audun Tron, LOOC head Gerhard Heiberg and IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch. The latter used his speech to commemorate Sarajevo's situation, before giving Heiberg the Olympic Order in gold, and declaring the games "the best Olympic Winter Games ever". Artistic presentations followed, revisiting many of the themes from the opening ceremony. The mascots of the 1998 Winter Olympics, the "Snowlets", were also presented. Of the 2,200 people performing in the opening and closing ceremonies, only 50 were professionals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony</span>

The 2000 Summer Olympics Closing Ceremony was held on 1 October 2000 in Stadium Australia. As with the opening ceremony, the closing ceremony was directed by Ric Birch as Director of Ceremonies while David Atkins was the Artistic Director and Producer. The Closing Ceremony was attended by 114,714 people, the largest attendance in modern Olympic Games history. The ceremony celebrated Australiana; Australian cultural celebrities, icons, media, and music, with floats designed in the style of Reg Mombassa. Around 2.4 billion watched the telecast of the closing ceremony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Winter Olympics closing ceremony</span>

The closing ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics was held on 23 February 2014 from 20:14 to 22:25 MSK (UTC+4) at the Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi, Russia. It was designed to show Russian culture, through a European perspective, and featured performances by Yuri Bashmet, Valery Gergiev, Denis Matsuev, Hibla Gerzmava, and Tatiana Samouil, among others.

During the Parade of Nations section of the 1998 Winter Olympics opening ceremony, athletes from each country participating in the Olympics paraded in the arena. The flag from each team was borne by a sportsperson from that country chosen either by the National Olympic Committee or by the athletes themselves to represent their country. Due the rules stipulated by the Olympic Charter at the time the Organizing Committee opted for the option of the protocol order in English, instead of host nation's language, Japanese. Greece led the parade, followed by Andorra. Had the parade followed the Japanese characters, Greece would have been followed by Iceland, and Russian Federation would have been the penultimate country before Japan. One sumo wrestler and one yukiko which bears a country name sign marched before each delegation. Some of famous sumo wrestlers such as Takanonami and Wakanohana accompanied the teams. The yukikos also took part in several other segments in the ceremony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2002 Winter Olympics opening ceremony</span>

The opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics took place at the Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, on 8 February 2002.

The opening ceremony of the 1992 Summer Olympics took place on the evening of Saturday 25 July 1992 at Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc, Barcelona, Spain, during which the Games were formally opened by King Juan Carlos I. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Summer Olympics opening ceremony</span>

The opening ceremony of the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 23 July 2021 at Olympic Stadium, Tokyo, and was formally opened by Emperor Naruhito. 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. The majority of the artistic spectacle was pre-recorded, with live segments performed adhering to social distancing to athletes, officials and a small VIP audience. The ceremony marked the 125th anniversary of the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens—the inaugural edition of the modern Olympic Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1998 Winter Olympics torch relay</span>

The 1998 Winter Olympics torch relay was run from December 19, 1997 until February 7, 1998 prior to the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. The route covered around 1,612 kilometres (1,002 mi) and involved over 6,916 torchbearers. Midori Ito lit the cauldron at the opening ceremony.

Tasuku Tsukada was a Japanese politician, and past mayor of the city of Nagano, the capital of Nagano Prefecture, in central Japan. Tsukada won his first mayoral contest in 1985. He served four full 4-year terms, until November 10, 2001. In 1997, Tsukada served as the Vice President of the Japan Association of City Mayors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nagano Sports Park</span> Park in Nagano, Japan

Nagano Sports Park is a park located in the Yoshida area of the city of Nagano, Nagano, Japan, approximately 5 km northeast of Nagano Station. The facilities are owned by Nagano Prefecture and by the Nagano municipal government.

Eishiro Saito was a Japanese businessman, the former President of Nippon Steel, the 6th Chairman of the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) from 1986 to 1991, President of the Japan Science Foundation from 1988, President of the Japan Sports Fund, and President of the Nagano Olympic Organizing Committee.

The closing ceremony of the 1984 Summer Olympics took place at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California on Sunday, August 12, 1984, at 20:00 PDT.

The closing ceremony of the 1998 Winter Olympics took place at Nagano Olympic Stadium, Nagano, Japan, on 22 February 1998. It began at 18:00 JST and finished at approximately 19:41 JST. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proceedings combines the formal and ceremonial closing of this international sporting event, including farewell speeches and closing of the Games by IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch. The Olympic flame has been extinguished.

The opening ceremony of the 1988 Winter Olympics was held on February 13, 1988, beginning at 1:30 p.m. MST at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

References

  1. "Nagano 1998 Winter Olympics - results & video highlights". International Olympic Committee. 2017-11-08. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Tomlinson, Alan (1 January 2005). "Picturing the winter Olympics: The Opening ceremonies of Nagano (Japan) 1998 and Salt Lake City (USA) 2002". Tourism, Culture & Communication. 5 (2): 83–92. doi:10.3727/109830405774791465. S2CID   59142832.
  3. Paquette, Jessica. "The Top 10 Opening Ceremonies in Winter Olympics History". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2019-04-14.
  4. 1 2 NAOC 1998, p. 28.
  5. 1 2 3 "Nagano Olympics opening as largest Winter Games ever". No. 7 February 1998. The Shinano Mainichi Shimbun. Archived from the original on 14 April 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  6. NAOC 1999, p. 121.
  7. NAOC 1998, p. 32.
  8. "Japan and the Olympics: Asia's First Olympic Host" (PDF). Web Japan. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  9. Tajima, Atsushi (2004). ""Amoral universalism": mediating and staging global and local in the 1998 Nagano Olympic Winter Games". Critical Studies in Media Communication. 21 (3): 241–260. doi:10.1080/0739318042000212710. S2CID   144344757.
  10. "Winter Olympic Games Are Underway". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
  11. Masumoto, Naofumi (1998). "Cultural aspects of the opening ceremony of 1998 Nagano Winter Olympic Games". Journal of the Philosophy of Sport and Physical Education. 20 (2): 45–53. doi: 10.9772/jpspe1979.20.2_45 . ISSN   0915-5104.
  12. NAOC 1999, p. 125.
  13. Strom, Stephanie (7 February 1998). "THE XVIII WINTER GAMES: OPENING CEREMONIES; The Latest Sport? After a Worldwide Effort, Synchronized Singing Gets In". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  14. Frey, Jennifer; Sullivan, Kevin (1998-02-07). "A Warm Welcome at the Winter Olympics". The Washington Post . Archived from the original on 2002-02-18. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  15. NAOC 1998, pp. 50–52.
  16. "Alan Tomlinson". University of Brighton. Archived from the original on 2021-11-16. Retrieved 2019-04-12.

Bibliography