List of people who have opened the Olympic Games

The Olympic Games are an international multi-sport event featuring both summer and winter sports, held every two years with Summer and Winter Olympic Games alternating. During Olympic Games opening ceremonies, the sitting president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will make a speech before inviting a representative from the host country to officially declare that particular Games open. The current Olympic Charter requires this person to be the head of state of the host country,^[1] although this has not always been the case. This article lists the people who have had the ceremonial duty to declare each Olympic Games open.

President Emmanuel Macron is the most recent person to have opened a Summer Olympic Games (in Paris, 2024).

President Xi Jinping is the most recent person to have opened a Winter Olympic Games (in Beijing, 2022).

President Yoon Suk Yeol is the most recent person to have opened a Youth Olympic Games (in Gangwon Province, 2024).

Opening ceremony

The IOC factsheet on the opening ceremony states: "According to the Olympic Charter protocol, the duty of declaring the Games officially open falls to the head of state of the host country. Those who have performed this task are royalty and presidents, or their representatives, whether it was a vice-president, a member of the royal family, or a governor-general".^[2][3] Rule 56 of Chapter 5 of the Olympic Charter sets out the exact words that are to be declared by the person opening the Games. If at a Summer Olympic Games, the words to be said are:

I declare open the Games of [name of the host city], celebrating the [ordinal number of the Olympiad] Olympiad of the modern era.^[1]

When at a Winter Olympic Games, the dignitary opening the Games is to proclaim:

I declare open the [number of the Olympic Winter Games] Olympic Winter Games of [name of the host city].^[1]

However, this has not always been followed strictly;

On 30 July 1932, U.S. vice president Charles Curtis opened the Los Angeles Summer Olympics with:

"In the name, of the President of the United States, I proclaim open the Olympic Games of Los Angeles, celebrating the X Olympiad of the modern era."

On 1 August 1936, Adolf Hitler, Chancellor of Germany, opened the Games in Berlin in exact format in German:

"I proclaim open the Olympic Games of Berlin, celebrating the XI Olympiad of the modern era."

On 29 July 1948, King George VI of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, opened the Olympic Games of London in exact format:

"I proclaim open the Olympic Games of London, celebrating the XIV Olympiad of the modern era."

On 19 July 1952, Juho Kusti Paasikivi, President of Finland, opened the Olympic Games on Helsinki in exact format in English and Finnish:

"I declare open the Olympic Games of Helsinki, celebrating the XV Olympiad of the modern era."

On 22 November 1956, the Duke of Edinburgh opened the Games of Melbourne in exact format:

"I declare open the Olympic Games of Melbourne, celebrating the XVI Olympiad of the modern era."

On 27 August 1960, Giovanni Gronchi, President of the Italian Republic, declares the Summer Olympics in Rome open by speaking in Italian:

"I proclaim the opening of the Olympic Games of Rome, celebrating the XVII Olympiad of the modern era."

On 10 October 1964, Emperor Hirohito of Japan, opened the Summer Olympics in Tokyo by speaking in Japanese:

"Celebrating the XVIII modern Olympiad, we hereby declare the opening of the Tokyo Olympic Games."

On 12 October 1968, Mexican president Gustavo Diaz Ordaz opened the Games of Mexico City in Spanish:

"Today, 12 October 1968, I declare inaugurated the Olympic Games in Mexico, that commemorate the XIX Olympiad of the modern era."

On 26 August 1972, German president Gustav Heinemann opened the Games of Munich speaking in German:

"I declare the Olympic Games Munich 1972, celebrating the XX Olympiad of the modern era, open."

On 17 July 1976, Elizabeth II, as Queen of Canada, opened the Montreal Olympics (first in French followed by the English) with:

"I declare open the Olympic Games of 1976, celebrating the XXI Olympiad of the modern era."

On 11 February 1980, U.S. Vice President Walter Mondale opened the Lake Placid Winter Games with:

"On behalf of the President of the United States, I declare open the 13th Winter Olympic Games of Lake Placid."

On 19 July 1980, Leonid Brezhnev, as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, opened the Moscow Summer Olympics speaking in Russian:

"Mr. President of International Olympic Committee! Sportsmen of the world! Dear guests! Comrades! I declare the Olympic Games of 1980, celebrating the XXII Olympiad of the modern era, now open."

On 28 July 1984, U.S. president Ronald Reagan opened the Los Angeles Summer Olympics with:

"Celebrating the XXIII Olympiad of the modern era, I declare open the Olympic Games of Los Angeles."

On 17 September 1988, President of the Republic of Korea, Roh Tae-woo opened the Summer Olympics in Seoul by speaking in Korean:

"In celebration of the 24th modern Olympic Games, I declare the Seoul Olympic Games open."

On 25 July 1992, King Juan Carlos I of Spain opened the Barcelona Summer Olympics by saying:

"(In Catalan) Welcome all to Barcelona. (In Spanish) Today, 25 July of the Year 1992, I declare open the Barcelona Olympic Games that celebrate the XXV Olympiad of the modern era."

On 12 February 1994, King Harald V of Norway opened the Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer by speaking in Norwegian:

"I hereby declare opened the XVII Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer."^[4]

On 19 July 1996, U.S. president Bill Clinton opened the Atlanta Summer Olympics with the exact format:

"I declare open the Games of Atlanta, celebrating the XXVI Olympiad of the modern era."

On 7 February 1998, Emperor Akihito of Japan opened the Olympic Winter Games in Nagano by speaking in Japanese:

"Here, I will declare the opening of the XVIII Olympic Winter Games in Nagano."

On 15 September 2000, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia Sir William Deane opened the Sydney Summer Olympics with the exact format:

"I declare open the Games of Sydney, celebrating the XXVII Olympiad of the modern era."

On 8 February 2002, U.S. president George W. Bush opened the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, which took place five months after the September 11 attacks using the format of the Summer Games declaration with:

"On behalf of a proud, determined and grateful nation, I declare open the Games of Salt Lake City, celebrating the Olympic Winter Games."

On 13 August 2004, Konstantinos Stephanopoulos, President of the Hellenic Republic, opened the Athens Summer Olympics, by speaking in Greek:

"I declare the opening of the Olympic Games of Athens...and the celebration of the XXVIII Olympiad of the modern era."

On 10 February 2006, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, President of the Italian Republic, opened the Turin Olympic Winter Games using the format of the Summer Games declaration by speaking in Italian:

"I declare open, in Turin, the celebration of the XX Winter Olympic Games."

On 8 August 2008, Hu Jintao, the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and President of China, opened the Beijing Summer Olympics by speaking in Mandarin:

Chinese: "我宣布，北京第29届奥林匹克运动会…开幕！"; pinyin: Wǒ xuānbù, běijīng dì èrshíjiǔ jiè àolínpǐkè yùndònghuì…kāimù; lit. 'I declare the XXIX Olympic Games of Beijing... open!'

— Hu Jintao, President of the People's Republic of China

On 12 February 2010, the Governor General of Canada, Michaëlle Jean, opened the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver using the format of the Summer Games declaration by saying in French and English:

"I declare open the Games of Vancouver, celebrating the 21st Olympic Winter Games."^[5]

On 27 July 2012, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, declared the opening of the 2012 London Summer Olympics with the exact format:

"I declare open the Games of London, celebrating the XXX Olympiad of the modern era."

On 7 February 2014, Vladimir Putin, the President of the Russian Federation, declares the opening of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics by saying:

Russian: XXII зимние Олимпийские игры в Сочи объявляю открытыми., romanized: XXII zimniye Olimpiyskiye igry v Sochi obyavlyayu otkrytymi., lit. 'The XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, I declare open.'

— Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, President of the Russian Federation

On 5 August 2016, Brazilian vice president Michel Temer, as acting president during the suspension of President Dilma Rousseff's powers and duties, opened the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro by speaking in Brazilian Portuguese:

"After this wonderful spectacle, I declare open the Rio Olympic Games, celebrating the XXXI Olympiad of the modern era."

On 9 February 2018, Moon Jae-in, President of the Republic of Korea, declares the opening of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics by speaking in Korean:

Korean: "제 23회 동계올림픽대회인 평창 동계올림픽대회의 개회를 선언합니다."; Hanja: "제 23回 冬季올림픽大會인 平昌 冬季올림픽大會의 開會를 宣言합니다."; RR: "Je 23-hoe Donggyeollimpikdaehoe-in Pyeongchang Donggyeollimpikdaehoe-ui gaehoereul seoneonhamnida."; MR: "Che 23-hoe Tonggyeollimp'iktaehoe-in P'yŏngch'ang Tonggyeollimp'iktaehoe-ŭi kaehoe-rŭl sŏnŏnhamnida." - "I declare the opening of the XXIII Winter Olympic Games, the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games."

— Moon Jae-in, President of the Republic of Korea

On 23 July 2021, Emperor Naruhito opened the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo (which was postponed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic), by speaking in Japanese:

"I hereby declare the opening of the Tokyo Games to commemorate the XXXII Modern Olympiad."

On 4 February 2022, Xi Jinping, the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and President of China, opened the Beijing Winter Olympics by speaking in Mandarin:

"I declare the 24th Winter Olympic Games of Beijing open."^[6]

On 26 July 2024, Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, declares the opening of the Paris Summer Olympics by speaking in French:

"I proclaim open the Games of Paris, celebrating the XXXIII Olympiad of the modern times."

Records

Adolf Hitler

Giovanni Gronchi

Hirohito

Elizabeth II

As of 2024, there have been 50 different individuals who opened either the Summer or Winter Olympic Games. Four of them have done so more than once. German führer Adolf Hitler was the first person to open more than one Olympic Games; he opened the 1936 Winter and Summer Olympics, both of which were hosted in Germany. He remains the only one to open more than one Games in the same year.

Italian president Giovanni Gronchi opened the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo and the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. He was the first democratically elected head of state to open more than one Olympic Games.

Japanese emperor Hirohito opened the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo. He was the first non-European to open more than one Olympic Games.

Queen Elizabeth II opened the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada, and the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Great Britain. The first and only head of state to open the Summer Games more than once, she was also the only woman to open any Summer Olympics as of 2024, and the only one to do so in different host countries. Aside from declaring open the Games by herself, she was represented during the declaration four times: in the 1956 and 2000 Summer Olympics – both were held in Australia – as well as the 1988 and 2010 Winter Olympics – both were held in Canada. The first woman to open any Olympic Games was Princess Ragnhild of Norway in 1952. Aged 21, she was also the youngest person to have opened the Olympic Games.

Norwegian King Harald V became the first person to open both the regular Olympics and Youth Olympics, having opened the 1994 Winter and 2016 Winter Youth Games. He was followed by Chinese president and Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping, who opened the 2014 Summer Youth and 2022 Winter Games.

Canadian Governor General Michaëlle Jean became the first Black person to open any Olympic Games.

Dignitaries who have opened the Summer Olympics

Year	Games	Host city	Host country	Officially opened by[a]	Office of opener[a]	Notes
1896	I Olympiad	Athens	Kingdom of Greece	George I	King of the Hellenes	[7]
1900	II Olympiad	Paris	France	No official opening	No official opening	[8]
1904	III Olympiad	St. Louis	United States	David R. Francis	President of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition[b]	[9]
1908	IV Olympiad	London	United Kingdom	Edward VII	King of the United Kingdom	[10]
1912	V Olympiad	Stockholm	Sweden	Gustaf V	King of Sweden	[11]
1920	VII Olympiad	Antwerp	Belgium	Albert I	King of the Belgians	[12]
1924	VIII Olympiad	Paris	France	Gaston Doumergue	President of the French Republic	[13]
1928	IX Olympiad	Amsterdam	Netherlands	HendrikPrince Hendrik	Prince Consort of the Netherlands[c]	[14]
1932	X Olympiad	Los Angeles	United States	Charles Curtis	Vice President of the United States[d]	[15]
1936	XI Olympiad	Berlin	Nazi Germany	Adolf Hitler	Chancellor of the German Reich[e]	[16]
1948	XIV Olympiad	London	United Kingdom	George VI	King of the United Kingdom	[17]
1952	XV Olympiad	Helsinki	Finland	Juho Kusti Paasikivi	President of the Republic of Finland	[18]
1956	XVI Olympiad	Melbourne	Australia	PhilipPhilip, Duke of Edinburgh	Consort of the Queen of Australia[f]	[19]
1956	XVI Olympiad (equestrian)	Stockholm	Sweden	Gustaf VI Adolf	King of Sweden	[20]
1960	XVII Olympiad	Rome	Italy	Giovanni Gronchi	President of the Italian Republic	[21]
1964	XVIII Olympiad	Tokyo	Japan	Hirohito	Emperor of Japan	[22]
1968	XIX Olympiad	Mexico City	Mexico	Gustavo Díaz Ordaz	President of the United Mexican States	[23]
1972	XX Olympiad	Munich	West Germany	Gustav Heinemann	Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany	[24]
1976	XXI Olympiad	Montreal	Canada	Elizabeth II	Queen of Canada	[25]
1980	XXII Olympiad	Moscow	Soviet Union	Leonid Brezhnev	Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics[g]	[26]
1984	XXIII Olympiad	Los Angeles	United States	Ronald Reagan	President of the United States	[27]
1988	XXIV Olympiad	Seoul	South Korea	Roh Tae-woo	President of the Republic of Korea	[28]
1992	XXV Olympiad	Barcelona	Spain	Juan Carlos I	King of Spain	[29]
1996	XXVI Olympiad	Atlanta	United States	Bill Clinton	President of the United States	[30]
2000	XXVII Olympiad	Sydney	Australia	William Deane	Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia[h]	[31][32][33][34][35]
2004	XXVIII Olympiad	Athens	Greece	Konstantinos Stephanopoulos	President of the Hellenic Republic	[36]
2008	XXIX Olympiad	Beijing	China	Hu Jintao	President of the People's Republic of China[i]	[37]
2012	XXX Olympiad	London	United Kingdom	Elizabeth II	Queen of the United Kingdom	[38]
2016	XXXI Olympiad	Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	Michel Temer	Vice President of the Federative Republic of Brazil[j]
2020[k]	XXXII Olympiad	Tokyo	Japan	Naruhito	Emperor of Japan	[39]
2024	XXXIII Olympiad	Paris	France	Emmanuel Macron	President of the French Republic
2028	XXXIV Olympiad	Los Angeles	United States	Donald Trump (expected)	President of the United States
2032	XXXV Olympiad	Brisbane	Australia	Charles III or TBD (expected)	King of Australia or Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia[l]

Notes:

1. Names & offices in italics reflect an opener who was not head of state when opening the Games. If the office is partially italicized, the non-italicized portion is the office & name of the head of state being represented.
2. Representing President Theodore Roosevelt.
3. Representing his wife, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands.
4. Representing President Herbert Hoover.
5. IOC records state Hitler opened these Games as "Chancellor" (head of government), but in 1934 that office was consolidated with "President" (head of state) into "Führer und Reichskanzler", or "Führer".^[2]
6. Representing his wife, Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia.
7. IOC records state Brezhnev opened the Moscow Games as "President", a title used at that time by the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, or de jure head of state. (The office of President of the Soviet Union was not created until 1990, a year before the nation broke up.) Though Brezhnev was also de facto ruler as General Secretary of the Communist Party, that title is not reflected in IOC records.^[2]
8. Representing Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia.
9. IOC records state Hu Jintao opened the Beijing Games as "President", de jure head of state. Though Hu was also de facto ruler as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, that title is not reflected in IOC records.^[2]
10. As acting president, discharging the powers and duties of the office of President of the Federative Republic of Brazil in place of incumbent President Dilma Rousseff, who was suspended from her duties as President during her impeachment trial.
11. Held in 2021, the 2020 Summer Olympics were delayed by a year due to the then-ongoing worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.
12. Representing the King of Australia.

Dignitaries who have opened the Winter Olympics

Year	Games	Host city	Host country	Officially opened by[a]	Office of opener[a]	Notes
1924	I Winter	Chamonix	France	Gaston Vidal	Undersecretary for Physical Education of the French Republic[b]	[40]
1928	II Winter	St. Moritz	Switzerland	Edmund Schulthess	President of the Swiss Confederation[c]	[41]
1932	III Winter	Lake Placid	United States	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Governor of the State of New York[d]	[42]
1936	IV Winter	Garmisch-Partenkirchen	Nazi Germany	Adolf Hitler	Chancellor of the German Reich[e]	[43]
1948	V Winter	St. Moritz	Switzerland	Enrico Celio	President of the Swiss Confederation[c]	[44]
1952	VI Winter	Oslo	Norway	RagnhildPrincess Ragnhild	Princess of Norway[f]	[45]
1956	VII Winter	Cortina d'Ampezzo	Italy	Giovanni Gronchi	President of the Italian Republic	[46]
1960	VIII Winter	Squaw Valley	United States	Richard Nixon	Vice President of the United States[g]	[47]
1964	IX Winter	Innsbruck	Austria	Adolf Schärf	Federal President of the Republic of Austria	[48]
1968	X Winter	Grenoble	France	Charles de Gaulle	President of the French Republic	[49]
1972	XI Winter	Sapporo	Japan	Hirohito	Emperor of Japan	[50]
1976	XII Winter	Innsbruck	Austria	Rudolf Kirchschläger	Federal President of the Republic of Austria	[51]
1980	XIII Winter	Lake Placid	United States	Walter Mondale	Vice President of the United States[h]	[52]
1984	XIV Winter	Sarajevo	Yugoslavia	Mika Špiljak	President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia	[53]
1988	XV Winter	Calgary	Canada	Jeanne Sauvé	Governor General of Canada[i]	[54]
1992	XVI Winter	Albertville	France	François Mitterrand	President of the French Republic	[55]
1994	XVII Winter	Lillehammer	Norway	Harald V	King of Norway	[56]
1998	XVIII Winter	Nagano	Japan	Akihito	Emperor of Japan	[57]
2002	XIX Winter	Salt Lake City	United States	George W. Bush	President of the United States	[58]
2006	XX Winter	Turin	Italy	Carlo Azeglio Ciampi	President of the Italian Republic	[59]
2010	XXI Winter	Vancouver	Canada	Michaëlle Jean	Governor General of Canada[i]	[60]
2014	XXII Winter	Sochi	Russia	Vladimir Putin	President of the Russian Federation	[61]
2018	XXIII Winter	Pyeongchang	South Korea	Moon Jae-in	President of the Republic of Korea
2022	XXIV Winter	Beijing	China	Xi Jinping	President of the People's Republic of China[j]
2026	XXV Winter	Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo	Italy	Sergio Mattarella (expected)	President of the Italian Republic
2030	XXVI Winter	French Alps	France	TBD (expected)	President of the French Republic
2034	XXVII Winter	Salt Lake City	United States	TBD	President of the United States (expected)

1. Names & offices in italics reflect an opener who was not head of state when he or she opened the Games. If the office is partially italicized, the non-italicized portion is the office & name of the head of state being represented.
2. Representing President Alexandre Millerand.
3. This office is technically not head of state in and of itself, but is the presiding officer of the Federal Council which collectively acts as head of state.
4. Representing President Herbert Hoover.
5. IOC records state Hitler opened these Games as "Chancellor" (head of government), but in 1934 that office was consolidated with "President" (head of state) into "Führer und Reichskanzler", or "Führer".^[3]
6. Representing her grandfather, King Haakon VII of Norway.
7. Representing President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
8. Representing President Jimmy Carter.
9. Representing Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada.
10. IOC records state Xi Jinping opened the Beijing Games as "President", de jure head of state. Though Xi was also de facto ruler as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, that title is not reflected in IOC records.^[62]

Dignitaries who have opened the Youth Olympic Games

Year	Games	Host city	Host country	Officially opened by	Office of opener	Notes
2010	I Summer	Singapore	Singapore	S. R. Nathan	President of the Republic of Singapore
2012	I Winter	Innsbruck	Austria	Heinz Fischer	Federal President of the Republic of Austria
2014	II Summer	Nanjing	China	Xi Jinping	President of the People's Republic of China[a]
2016	II Winter	Lillehammer	Norway	Harald V	King of Norway
2018	III Summer	Buenos Aires	Argentina	Mauricio Macri	President of the Argentine Republic
2020	III Winter	Lausanne	Switzerland	Simonetta Sommaruga	President of the Swiss Confederation[b]
2024	IV Winter	Gangwon Province	South Korea	Yoon Suk Yeol	President of the Republic of Korea
2026	IV Summer	Dakar	Senegal	Bassirou Diomaye Faye (expected)	President of the Republic of Senegal
2028	V Winter	Dolomites and Valtellina	Italy	Sergio Mattarella (expected)	President of the Italian Republic

Notes:

1. IOC records state Xi Jinping opened the Nanjing Games as "President", de jure head of state. Though Xi was also de facto ruler as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, that title is not reflected in IOC records.^[62]
2. This office is technically not head of state in and of itself, but is the presiding officer of the Federal Council which collectively acts as head of state.

See also

• List of Olympic Games host cities
• List of people who have kept the Olympic flag
• President of the Organising Committee for the Olympic Games
• President of the International Olympic Committee