Declaring the Games Open in the Olympic Opening Ceremony

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.

List of people who have opened the Summer Olympic Games

Year	Games	Host city	Officially opened by	Position
2016	XXXI Olympiad	Brazil Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2014	XXII Winter	Russia Sochi, Russian Federation	Vladimir Putin	President of Russia
2012	XXX Olympiad	United Kingdom London, Great Britain	Elizabeth II	Queen of the United Kingdom
2010	XXI Winter	Canada Vancouver, Canada	Michaëlle Jean	Governor General of Canada
2008	XXIX Olympiad	China Beijing, China PR	Hu Jintao	President of China
2006	XX Winter	Italy Turin, Italy	Carlo Azeglio Ciampi	President of Italy
2004	XXVIII Olympiad	Greece Athens, Greece	Konstantinos Stephanopoulos	President of Greece
2002	XIX Winter	United States Salt Lake City, United States	George W. Bush	President of the United States
2000	XXVII Olympiad	Australia Sydney, Australia	William Deane	Governor-General of Australia
1998	XVIII Winter	Japan Nagano, Japan	Akihito	Emperor of Japan
1996	XXVI Olympiad	United States Atlanta, United States	Bill Clinton	President of the United States
1994	XVII Winter	Norway Lillehammer, Norway	Harald V	King of Norway
1992	XVI Winter	France Albertville, France	François Mitterrand	President of France
1992	XXV Olympiad	Spain Barcelona, Spain	Juan Carlos I	King of Spain
1988	XV Winter	Canada Calgary, Canada	Jeanne Sauvé	Governor General of Canada
1988	XXIV Olympiad	South Korea Seoul, Republic of Korea	Roh Tae-woo	President of South Korea
1984	XIV Winter	Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Sarajevo, Yugoslavia	Mika Špiljak	President of Yugoslavia
1984	XXIII Olympiad	United States Los Angeles, United States	Ronald Reagan	President of the United States
1980	XIII Winter	United States Lake Placid, United States	Walter Mondale	Vice President of the United States
1980	XXII Olympiad	Soviet Union Moscow, Soviet Union	Leonid Brezhnev	Head of state of the Soviet Union
1976	XII Winter	Austria Innsbruck, Austria	Rudolf Kirchschläger	President of Austria
1976	XXI Olympiad	Canada Montreal, Canada	Elizabeth II	Queen of Canada
1972	XI Winter	Japan Sapporo, Japan	Hirohito	Emperor of Japan
1972	XX Olympiad	West Germany Munich, West Germany	Gustav Heinemann	President of West Germany
1968	X Winter	France Grenoble, France	Charles de Gaulle	President of France
1968	XIX Olympiad	Mexico Mexico City, Mexico	Gustavo Díaz Ordaz	President of Mexico
1964	IX Winter	Austria Innsbruck, Austria	Adolf Schärf	President of Austria
1964	XVIII Olympiad	Japan Tokyo, Japan	Hirohito	Emperor of Japan
1960	VIII Winter	United States Squaw Valley, United States	Richard Nixon	Vice President of the United States
1960	XVII Olympiad	Italy Rome, Italy	Giovanni Gronchi	President of Italy
1956	VII Winter	Italy Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy	Giovanni Gronchi	President of Italy
1956	XVI Olympiad (equestrian)	Sweden Stockholm, Sweden	Gustaf VI Adolf	King of Sweden
1956	XVI Olympiad	Australia Melbourne, Australia	The Duke of Edinburgh	Consort of Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia
1952	VI Winter	Norway Oslo, Norway	Princess Ragnhild	Granddaughter of Haakon VII, King of Norway
1952	XV Olympiad	Finland Helsinki, Finland	Juho Kusti Paasikivi	President of Finland
1948	V Winter	Switzerland St. Moritz, Switzerland	Enrico Celio	President of the Swiss Confederation
1948	XIV Olympiad	United Kingdom London, Great Britain	George VI	King of the United Kingdom
1936	IV Winter	Germany Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany	Adolf Hitler	Führer of Germany
1936	XI Olympiad	Germany Berlin, Germany	Adolf Hitler	Führer of Germany
1932	III Winter	United States Lake Placid, United States	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Governor of New York
1932	X Olympiad	United States Los Angeles, United States	Charles Curtis	Vice President of the United States
1928	II Winter	Switzerland St. Moritz, Switzerland	Edmund Schulthess	President of the Swiss Confederation
1928	IX Olympiad	Netherlands Amsterdam, Netherlands	Prince Hendrik	Consort of Wilhelmina, Queen of the Netherlands
1924	I Winter	France Chamonix, France	Gaston Vidal	Undersecretary for Physical Education of France
1924	VIII Olympiad	France Paris, France	Gaston Doumergue	President of the French Republic
1920	VII Olympiad	Belgium Antwerp, Belgium	Albert I	King of the Belgians
1912	V Olympiad	Sweden Stockholm, Sweden	Gustav V	King of Sweden
1908	IV Olympiad	United Kingdom London, Great Britain	Edward VII	King of the United Kingdom
1904	III Olympiad	United States St. Louis, United States	David R. Francis	President of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition
1900	II Olympiad	France Paris, France	No official opening	No official opening
1896	I Olympiad	Greece Athens, Greece	George I	King of the Hellenes

Last Updated : August 03, 2016