1998 Winter Olympics opening ceremony

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The opening ceremony of the 1998 Winter Olympics took place at Nagano Olympic Stadium, Nagano, Japan, on 7 February 1998. It began at 11:00 JST and finished at approximately 14:00 JST. 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 Games were officially opened by Emperor of Japan Akihito.^[1]

Alan Tomlinson, Professor in Leisure Studies at the University of Brighton, argued that the main theme of this opening ceremony is Peace and Harmony. While elements of Nagano's religious and sporting culture are shown throughout the ceremony, it is shown alongside examples of a hopeful wish in a world peace at the end of the 20th century.^[2][3]

Officials and Guests

Dignitaries from International organizations

• International Olympic Committee –
  • IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch and María Teresa Samaranch Salisachs
  • Members of the International Olympic Committee
• United Nations –
  • Secretary General Kofi Annan

• Japan –
  • NAOC President Eishiro Saito
  • Emperor Akihito
  • Empress Michiko

Dignitaries from abroad

• Luxembourg –
  • Grand Duke Jean
• Monaco –
  • Rainier III
• Norway –
  • King of Norway
    )
• United States –
  • Founder of International Campaign to Ban Landmines and American political activist Jody Williams
• South Korea –
  • Prime Minister Kim Jong-pil
• Belarus –
  • Aleksander Lukashenko

Proceedings

Bell to Symbolize Purification

At exactly 11am JST, a bell at Zenkō-ji temple was rung, by a man who was a teenager during World War II, and was in training to be a kamikaze pilot when the war ended. The bell that was rung was cast in 1667, and reverberates as a symbol of Nagano. It was rung to confer blessing on the opening ceremony.^[2]

Raising of Onbashira to Consecrate Sacred Ground

Onbashira — or "sacred pillars" in the Japanese — are large wooden fir posts which stand at the corners of local shrines in Nagano Prefecture. They are brought down from the surrounding mountains to purify the earth. At this ceremony, hundreds of people performed the Satobiki ceremony, where four 12 meter high onbashira are erected at the two entrances of the stadium. The logs are raised with ropes by hand, and while they are being raised, a ceremonial group of log bearers ride the logs and sing and perform other feats, while numerous men and women sustain a consistent chant. Barry Davies — the commentator for the BBC broadcast showing stated that the chants were "plaintive" being a "prelude to much hard work."^[2] Finally, each post unfurled a yellow steamer which were to call the gods that lived in the trees.

Dohyo-iri Ceremony

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During this act, it was announced on the Stadium loudspeakers that the Emperor of Japan Akihito, and his wife, Empress Michiko arrive with IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch and other dignitaries.

Then Akebono performed the Yokozuna dohyo-iri ring purification ceremony, the symbolic calling of the attention of the gods and expelling the evil spirits from the competition venue. It is more intricate than the normal dohyo-iri ceremony.^[5][4]

Children of Nagano Welcome the Athletes

Giant straw Dōsojin, which appear in Shinto folklore in Ōoka village arrive in the stadium. 150 primary school aged children, local participants of the "One School, One Country" initiative, arrive dressed as Yukinko, traditional straw winter coats and hats. After some dancing, the children take off their straw coats, showing knitted sweaters of country flags representing the 72 nations competing in these Winter Games.^[6] Each child will march with their country during the Parade of Nations, and will appear also during the lighting of the Olympic Flame.

Japanese artist Ryoko Moriyama joined the school children to perform a medley of two songs from the 1996 Andrew Lloyd Webber/Jim Steinman musical Whistle Down the Wind: the titular song and “When Children Rule the World”, sung in both Japanese and English.^[7]

Parade of Nations

2,302 athletes from 72 countries and regions participated in the competition,^[8] including 814 female athletes and 1488 male athletes. Both the number of participating delegations and the number of athletes participating in the competition were the most ever at the time.Three National Olympic Committees were sending delegations to compete in the Winter Olympics for the first time in history: Azerbaijan, North Macedonia and Uruguay.^[9]

Opening Addresses

The Japanese National Anthem, Kimigayo, was played by Gagaku musicians.

• Nagano City Children's Choir – Olympic Hymn
• Gagaku musicians - National Anthem of Japan^[11]

Torch relay and the lighting of the Olympic cauldron

At the end of a 49-day torch relay across Japan, the Olympic flame is carried into the stadium by

Japanese men's Nordic combined skier Kenji Ogiwara took the oath on behalf of all 1998 Olympic athletes in Japanese, while the officials' oath was taken by figure skating referee Junko Hiramatsu in Japanese.

1,998 balloons in the shape of doves were released from the stage of the stadium.

The Grand Chorus

The finale of the opening ceremony featured a choral performance of the 4th movement of

• Ernst Senff Choir at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany
• Sydney Philharmonia Choirs at the Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia
• Boston Symphony Tanglewood Festival Chorus at the United Nations General Assembly Hall in New York City, United States
• China National Symphony Orchestra Chorus at the Shenwu Gate (Gate of Divine Prowess) of the Forbidden City in Beijing, China
• Harmony Singers, Princess Square Singers, and the Cape Town Philharmonia Choir in False Bay Cape Point, near Cape Town, South Africa

Following the performance of Ode to Joy, a flyover was done by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force performance squadron Blue Impulse, leaving smoke trails in the colors of the Olympic Rings behind them as they flew over the Olympic Stadium.

Anthems

Legacy

Alan Tomlinson,^[16] argues that Peace and Harmony is this opening ceremony's theme. While elements of Nagano's culture are shown throughout the ceremony, the main theme shown is how the world is more unified and harmonious at the last Winter Olympics of the 20th century. This is best seen in the massed choir that marked the beginning and the end of this ceremony, with satellite choirs at key symbolic locations of peace. It is also seen through at the flame's entrance by emphasizing the work of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.

Since the 2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, the theme of universalism bringing peace in Olympics opening ceremonies have been dropped for more nationalistic displays, as seen in the 2002 Winter Olympics opening ceremony.^[2]

References