1988 Summer Olympics opening ceremony

"Seoul 1988 opening ceremony" redirects here. For the Paralympics opening ceremony, see 1988 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony.

The opening ceremony of the 1988 Summer Olympics took place at Seoul Olympic Stadium in Seoul, South Korea, on 17 September 1988 at 10:30 KDT (UTC+10). The official song of this game was "Hand in Hand", which was performed by Koreana. The Games were officially opened by President of the Republic of Korea Roh Tae-woo.

1988 Summer Olympics
opening ceremony

Part of 1988 Summer Olympics
Date	17 September 1988 (1988-09-17)
Time	10:30 – 13:47 KDT (UTC+10)
Venue	Seoul Olympic Stadium
Location	Seoul, South Korea
Coordinates	37°30′57.1″N 127°04′22.1″E
Filmed by	Seoul Olympic Radio and Television Organization (SORTO)
Footage	Seoul 1988 Opening Ceremony - Full Length on YouTube

Ceremony

Opening

The ceremony was the last one at which doves were released. Since 1920, doves had been released at Olympic opening ceremonies. For the 1988 Olympics, birds were trained for a year in preparation for the event. The birds were supposed to fly around the stadium in circles until they reached the rim of the stadium and flew off in five directions. However, the birds flew erratically and landed all over the stadium, including on the cauldron where the Olympic Flame was to be lit. When Olympic Torch bearer Sohn Kee-chung approached and lit the flame, some of the doves did not leave and were burnt alive.^[1][2] The outcry in response led to the replacement of the live birds with inanimate objects or human actors.^[2]

This is also the first Summer Olympic ceremony since 1976, and the third consecutive after the 1988 Winter Olympics opening and closing ceremonies in which, in addition to Korean, announcements were made in French as well as English. This became standard for future Olympic Ceremonies.

Parade of Nations

See also: 1988 Summer Olympics national flag bearers

The flag bearers of 160 National Olympic Committees entered the stadium, ordered by the Korean alphabet, and behind them marched the athletes.

It was also the last parade that involves East Germany, Soviet Union, West Germany and Yugoslavia, and the only parade of South Yemen, which ceased to exist a few years later.

Opening

SLOOC President Park Seh-jik delivered a speech in Korean, welcoming everyone. IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch delivered a speech in English and French. President of the Republic of Korea Roh Tae-woo declared the Games of the XXIV Olympiad in Seoul opened in Korean.

나는 제24회 근대올림픽대회를 경축하면서 서울올림픽 대회를 개최하는 것을 선언합니다. – In celebration of the XXIV Modern Olympic Games, I declare that the Seoul Olympic Games will be held.

— Roh Tae-woo, President of the Republic of Korea

Anthems

• Olympic Hymn
• National Anthem of South Korea

Dignitaries in attendance

Most countries were represented by governmental-level representatives, and only a few world leaders came to the ceremony.

Dignitaries from International organizations

• United Nations –
  • Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar
• International Olympic Committee –
  • President of the International Olympic Committee Juan Antonio Samaranch and wife María Teresa Salisachs Rowe
  • IOC Honorary President for Life Lord Killanin and Members of the IOC

Host country dignitaries

• South Korea –
  • President of the Seoul Olympic Organizing Committee Park Seh-jik
  • President of the Republic of Korea Roh Tae-woo^[3]
  • First Lady of the Republic of Korea Kim Ok-suk
  • former Presidents of the Republic of Korea Yun Posun and Choi Kyu-hah
  • Former First Lady of the Republic of Korea Franziska Donner
  • Prime Minister Lee Hyun-jae
  • National Assembly member Kim Dae-jung and wife Lee Hee-ho
  • President of Democratic Reunification Kim Young-sam and wife Son Myung-soon
  • President of New Democratic Republican Party Kim Jong-pil
  • and other prominent South Korean politicians
  • Mayor of Seoul Kim Yong-rae

Dignitaries from Abroad

• Thailand –
  • Vice Prime Minister Tienchai Sirisamphan
• Japan –
  • Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita and wife Noko Takeshita
• China –
  • Second Vice Premier Tian Jiyun
• Spain –
  • Crown Prince Felipe and Queen Sofía of Spain (representing the King of Spain)
• West Germany –
  • First Mayor of Hamburg Henning Voscherau
• Denmark –
  • Crown Prince Frederick (representing the Queen of Denmark)
• France –
  • Foreign Minister Roland Dumas
• Italy –
  • Deputy Prime Minister Gianni De Michelis
• Greece –
  • Former King of Greece Constantine II
• Luxembourg –
  • Grand Duke Jean
• Monaco –
  • Prince of Monaco Rainier III
• United States –
  • Mayor of Los Angeles Tom Bradley
• Canada –
  • Mayor of Calgary Don Hartman
• Iran –
  • Vice President Ahmad Dargahi
• Gambia –
  • Vice President Bakary Darbo and Foreign Minister Sey.O
• United Kingdom –
  • Minister for Sport Colin Moynihan, 4th Baron Moynihan
• Norway –
  • Crown Prince Harald and Prince Haakon of Norway (representing the King of Norway)
• Sweden –
  • King Carl XVI Gustaf
• Switzerland –
  • Vice President Jean-Pascal Delamuraz
• Malaysia –
  • Azlan Shah of Perak
• Brunei –
  • Prince Sufri Bolkiah

References

1. Leyden, Peter (17 September 1988). "One of the burning questions of the Olympic Opening..." UPI. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
2. "When messengers of peace were burnt alive". Deccan Herald. Olympics 2004. Archived from the original on 29 August 2004. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
3. "노태우대통령 내외 올림픽 개막식 참석[윤종보]" [President Roh Tae-woo attended the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games [Yoon Jong-bo]] (in Korean). Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation. 17 September 1988. Retrieved 25 April 2023.

Bibliography