1996 Summer Olympics closing ceremony

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".

1996 Summer Olympics
closing ceremony
Date4 August 1996 (1996-08-04)
Time20:00-22:50 EDT (UTC-4)
(2 hours and 50 minutes)
VenueCentennial Olympic Stadium
LocationAtlanta, Georgia, United States
Coordinates33°44′08″N 84°23′22″W
Filmed byNBC
Part of a series on
1996 Summer Olympics

Dignitaries

Countdown

The ceremony began with a countdown at the screen coming from 22 to 1. Starting at 22, footage from previous games appeared with Atlanta at the end complete with an image of fireworks with numbers between 22 and 1 being from previous games until 0 from currents games

Summon the Heroes

The closing ceremony began after a 22-second countdown in tribute to all the past Summer Olympic Games with the Atlanta Olympic Band, led by John Williams, performing his piece "Summon the Heroes". The Greek and Australian (with Sydney being the next host) anthems were performed. After that, the R&B group Boyz II Men performed the U.S. anthem.[1]

The presentation of the medals in the Men's Marathon followed. Unlike in previous closing ceremonies, the final lap of the race occurred earlier in the morning rather than part of, or immediately before, the gala due to the hot and humid weather conditions of the afternoon. Josia Thugwane of South Africa, Lee Bong-Ju of South Korea, and Erick Wainaina of Kenya won the gold, silver, and bronze medals, respectively.

Reach

The spectators and athletes then performed a card trick stunt which revealed a laurel wreath similar to the Quilt of Leaves pattern. Members of the Morehouse College Glee Club performed "Faster, High, Stronger". Cuban singer Gloria Estefan then joined the Glee Club and they performed the song "Reach", one of the official songs of the Atlanta Olympic Games.

Next a plethora of BMX bikers, skaters, and skateboarders performed a daring stunt show; such aforementioned sports were invented in the United States. As the show concluded, the 197 flags of the participating nations were carried into the stadium by athletes of each of their respective countries. The song "The Sacred Truce", written exclusively for the occasion, was performed by the Atlanta Olympic Band and the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra. In keeping with tradition with the 1920 Summer Olympics, the flag of a hosting nation (in this case the American flag) was raised beside the Olympic flag that had been flying inside the stadium the past 16 days.

Sydney 2000

In accordance with the Olympic Charter which governs the Closing Ceremony, IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch called on the youth of the world to assemble in Sydney, in four years, for the next Summer Olympics. In his speech, he denounced the Centennial Olympic Park bombing stating that terrorism cannot stop the Olympic spirit. Samaranch asked for a moment of silence to remember the victims of the bombing, as well as the 11 Israeli athletes of the Munich massacre during the 1972 Summer Olympics.[2] He said that those tragedies will never be forgotten and said:

No act of terrorism has ever destroyed the Olympic movement and none ever will. More than ever we are fully committed to building a better, more peaceful world in which forms of terrorism are eradicated.[3]

Although this was first official IOC recognition of the Munich tragedy since 1972,[2] commentators mentioned 1972 quite often, mainly because the next Olympics were taking place in Nagano, Japan and Japan last hosted an Olympics that year, hosting the Winter Games in Sapporo.

Furthermore, Samaranch thanked Atlanta with the phrase "Well done, Atlanta", and calling them "most exceptional." He broke with precedent and did not say they had been the best Olympics ever, as he did at every previous Olympic closing ceremony while he was IOC president. 4 years later he called the Sydney Olympics the best ever, suggesting that this was an intentional omission 4 years earlier. After that, IOC presidents ceased referring to the Olympics as "the best ever", meaning that Sydney was the lost host to be honored that way.[4]

Before Samaranch declared the games officially closed, R&B singer Stevie Wonder sang a cover of John Lennon's "Imagine" in memory of the victims of the Cenntennial Olympic Park bombing.[2]

This part of the program culminated in the "Antwerp Ceremony" (so called because the original Olympic flag, which was used for transfer of the Games, was first used at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp), which is the transfer of the Olympic Flag, from the mayor of Atlanta, Bill Campbell, to Samaranch, and then to the mayor of Sydney, Frank Sartor. Immediately succeeding the transition, an elaborate presentation of the host city Sydney commenced. It featured music of Australian composer Carl Vine as well as dance members from The indigenous Bangarra Dance Theatre and the voice of indigenous musician Christine Anu.The eight minute Sydney handover segment featured representations of the flora such as the state floral emblem of New South Wales Waratah and animals native to Australia such as the Sulfur Crested Cockatoo. Four inflated balloons arose to form an imaginary Sydney Opera House while members of the Australian Olympic team held up blue Olympic Banners around the prop to form the sea.[5]

Afterwards, Atlanta native mezzo-soprano Jennifer Larmore, along with the Morehouse College Glee Club and the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra sang the Olympic Hymn while the Olympic flag was lowered. This flag would be raised again in Nagano during the opening ceremony of the 1998 Winter Olympics; opening ceremony there took place on February 7, 1998.

Power of the Dream

After the lowering of the Olympic flag and the singing of the Olympic Hymn, some 600 children from Atlanta ranging from ages six though twelve sang a rendition of "The Power of the Dream", which was performed by Celine Dion in the opening ceremony. The segment started with ten-year-old Rachel McMullin singing the first stanza. As the song progresses more children join in creating a full choir. The children line up and hold hands to form the Atlantic Olympic emblem while holding up flashlights. The spectators and athletes then sing and hold hands in unison. At the end of the song, the children shout in unison, "Y'all come back now!" a friendly gesture inviting the athletes and citizens of the world to come together at Sydney four years from that time period, though the next Olympics would happen 18 months afterward in Nagano, Japan, Olympic customs and regulations maintain that the Olympic Winter Games and the Games of the Olympiad (Summer) are separate events.

Extinguishing of the Flame

Highlights of the past events were once more replayed on two jumbotrons in the stadium as the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra performs "The Flame". The crowd was silenced, as Georgia native and country singer Trisha Yearwood sang an a cappella version of the same song. Upon conclusion of the song, the flame extinguished slowly.

Musical finale

The ceremony concluded with an all-star tribute to American popular music. A New Orleans-style funeral commenced the segment which eventually turns into a celebration with elaborate swing music.

An array of performers culminated in the finale which was led by Late Show's Paul Shaffer,[6] and conductor Harold Wheeler. As with most closing ceremonies, the athletes were invited onto the field below the stadium to sing and dance along with the music. Among the performers were:

A fireworks display officially closed the segment, though the performers continued to play music.

Anthems

See also

References
  1. "1996 Atlanta Closing Ceremony Music List". Olympic Ceremonyography. 2008-08-30. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
  2. Frey, Jennifer (August 5, 1996). "A Curtain Call in Atlanta". The Washington Post. Retrieved 6 January 2008.
  3. Longman, Jere (August 5, 1996). "Atlanta Games, a Celebration for 197 Nations, Close". The New York Times. p. A1.
  4. Associated Press (October 1, 2000). "Samaranch calls these Olympics 'best ever'". ESPN.com. Retrieved 13 March 2009.
  5. https://www.spectak.com/atlanta.html
  6. "Paul Shaffer". Hollywood.com. Archived from the original on 30 January 2008. Retrieved 6 January 2008.
  • Official Report Vol. 2 Digital Archive from the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles including detailed synopsis of the closing ceremony.
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