The Head of State of the host country officially declares the Games open. Within acceptable political protocol within the country and with IOC approval, their representatives - whether it be a vice-president, a duke or a governor-general can also perform this duty. Only the 1900 Paris Olympic Games did not have an official opening. Till the XXVIII Olympiad in Athens 2004, a total of 19 Heads of State have opened the Games of the Olympiad.
| Venue |
Year |
Heads of State |
| Athens |
1896 |
King George I |
| Paris |
1900 |
No official opening |
| St. Louis |
1904 |
David Francis, president of Louisiana Purchase Exposition |
| London |
1908 |
King Edward VII |
| Stockholm |
1912 |
King Gustav V |
| Antwerp |
1920 |
King Albert I |
| Paris |
1924 |
President Gaston Doumergue |
| Amsterdam |
1928 |
HRH Prince Hendrik of Mecklenburg-Schwerin |
| Los Angeles |
1932 |
Vice-President Charles Curtis |
| Berlin |
1936 |
Chancellor Adolf Hitler |
| London |
1948 |
King George VI |
| Helsinki |
1952 |
President Juho Paasikivi |
| Melbourne |
1956 |
HRH the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philips |
| Rome |
1960 |
President Giovanni Gronchi |
| Tokyo |
1964 |
Emperor Hirohito |
| Mexico City |
1968 |
President Gustavo Diaz Ordaz |
| Munich |
1972 |
President Gustave Heinemann |
| Montreal |
1976 |
Queen Elizabeth II |
| Moscow |
1980 |
President Leonid Brezhnev |
| Los Angeles |
1984 |
President Ronald Reagan |
| Seoul |
1988 |
President Roh Tae Woo |
| Barcelona |
1992 |
King Juan Carlos I |
| Atlanta |
1996 |
President Bill Clinton |
| Sydney |
2000 |
Sir William Deane, Governor-General of Australia |
| Athens |
2004 |
President Konstantinos Stefanopoulos |
| Beijing |
2008 |
President Hu Jintao |
| London |
2012 |
Queen Elizabeth II |
