1980 Summer Olympics opening ceremony

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1980 Summer Olympics
opening ceremony

The Opening Ceremony at the Central Lenin Stadium
Date	19 July 1980; 43 years ago (1980-07-19)
Time	15:46 – 17:00 MSK (UTC+3)
Venue	Central Lenin Stadium
Location	Moscow, Russian SFSR, USSR
Coordinates	55°42′56″N 37°33′5″E / 55.71556°N 37.55139°E / 55.71556; 37.55139
Filmed by	Central Television of the USSR

The Opening Ceremony of the 1980 Summer Olympics was the official opening ceremony held in the afternoon at 16:00 Moscow Time (UTC+3) on 19 July 1980 in 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, and IOC President Lord Killanin.

Due to changes made to the Olympic charter in 1969, it became mandatory for the organizing country to demonstrate various elements of its culture during the opening and closing ceremonies. While the Montréal ceremonies were simpler and more austere, Moscow's opening ceremony started a trend which changed the format of the ceremonies. Prior to 1976, Olympic opening ceremonies were truly "ceremonial", consisting of just the parade of nations and rituals associated with the official opening of the Games. With the Cold War and the US-led boycott, the USSR authorities wanted to put on a spectacle to impress the rest of the world, so highly produced artistic performances were included after the protocolar elements finished. Since then, subsequent opening ceremonies had a high level artistic programs, and it is now seen as the main event of the Games.