1992 Summer Olympics opening ceremony

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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.

The ceremony began at 20:00 CEST and lasted just over three hours. It was the first Summer Games opening to be carried out at dusk, taking advantage of the darkness as a dramatic effect and playing with artificial lighting to give it more spectacularity, something that has become a standard since then. It was watched by an estimated worldwide television audience of 3.5 billion and had a total cost of 2.8 billion pesetas (€16.8 million). It was the largest gathering of international dignitaries for an Olympic –and sporting– event until then.

The ceremony was conceived by publicists Luis Bassat [es] and Pepo Sol. La Fura dels Baus performed an allegory of the creation of the Mediterranean Sea and the founding of the city of Barcelona. Greek mezzo-soprano Agnes Baltsa sang "Hellenism" as the Olympic flag was taken around the stadium. Alfredo Kraus sang the Olympic Hymn as the flag was hoisted. The Olympic flame cauldron was lit by a flaming arrow, shot by Paralympic archer Antonio Rebollo. The arrow had been lit by the flame of the Olympic Torch. Rebollo overshot the cauldron^[1] which was the original design of the lighting scheme.^[2][3]