2004 Summer Olympics closing ceremony

"Athens 2004 closing ceremony" redirects here. For the Paralympics closing ceremony, see 2004 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony.

2004 Summer Olympics
closing ceremony

Part of 2004 Summer Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics closing ceremony
Date	29 August 2004; 20 years ago (2004-08-29)
Time	21:15 - 0:00 EEST (UTC+3)[1]
Venue	Olympic Stadium
Location	Maroussi, Athens, Greece
Coordinates	38°2′10″N 23°47′15″E
Filmed by	Athens Olympic Broadcasting (AOB)[2]
Footage	Athens 2004 Closing Ceremony - Full Length on YouTube

The closing ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympics was held on August 29, 2004, at 21:15 EEST (UTC+3) at the Olympic Stadium, in Marousi, Greece, a suburb of Athens.^[1][3][4][5]

Proceedings

Victory Ceremony

The medals for the competition were presented by Jacques Rogge, IOC President; Belgium, and the medalists' bouquets were presented by Lamine Diack, IAAF President; Senegal.

The final victory ceremony was held to the three Men's marathon medallists :

Stefano Baldini - Gold
Mebrahtom Keflezighi - Silver
Vanderlei de Lima - Bronze

Parade of Nations

Greek weightlifer Pyrros Dimas (left) and Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang leading the flagbearers during the closing ceremony

The flag bearers of 202 National Olympic Committees entered the stadium in a single file in Greek alphabetical order, followed by the athletes. The Greek and Chinese flag bearers, weightlifter Pyrros Dimas and Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang, entered first as they were the current and next host nation.^[6]

Speeches and Games declares closed

ATHOC President Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, IOC President Jacques Rogge delivered their speeches, the latter in Greek, French, and English. IOC President Rogge declared the closing of the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad in Athens, thanking Athens ("Ευχαριστούμε, Αθήνα. Ευχαριστούμε, Ελλάδα." - "Thank you, Athens. Thank you, Greece.")^[7] and calling upon the youth of the world to assemble 4 years from now in Beijing in accordance with tradition. He also awarded the Olympic Order in Gold to Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalki, President of the Athens Organizing Committee.

Newly elected athlete members of the International Olympic Committee

The four athlete members who were elected are:

1. Frankie Fredericks (athletics, Namibia)
2. Jan Železný (athletics, Czech Republic)
3. Hicham El Guerrouj (athletics, Morocco)
4. Rania Elwani (swimming, Egypt)

Handover of the Olympic flag

Mayor of Athens Dora Bakoyannis, handed over the Olympic flag as the representative of Athens 2004 to the IOC President Jacques Rogge. The flag was then passed to the Mayor of Beijing Wang Qishan, who represented the committee members of the next host city, Beijing 2008, led by Liu Qi.

Both Greek and Chinese flags were raised following the handover.

Lowering the Olympic flag

The Olympic flag was lowered, while the Greek choirs sang the Olympic Anthem in Greek. The flag was raised again in Turin, Italy during the opening ceremony at Stadio Olimpico on the evening of 10 February, 2006.

Extinguishing of the Olympic flame

The cauldron of the Olympic flame was lowered, followed by the Greek 10-year-old girl Fotini Papaleonidopoulou^[8] from SOS Children's Villages lighting a lantern with the Olympic flame with the help of sailing gold medalists Sofia Bekatorou and Emilia Tsoulfa. The lantern was then passed onto other children from around the world, before the flame in the cauldron was blown out.

Dignitaries in attendance

Dignitaries from International organizations

• International Olympic Committee –
  • IOC President Jacques Rogge and wife Anne Rogge
  • IOC Vice-President Thomas Bach and wife Claudia Bach
  • IOC Vice-President James L. Easton and wife Phyllis Easton
  • IOC Member Sergey Bubka and wife Lilia Tutunik
  • Honorary IOC President for Life Juan Antonio Samaranch
  • and Members of the International Olympic Committee

Host country dignitaries

• Greece –
  • President of the Hellenic Republic Konstantinos Stephanopoulos
  • Adjutant to the President of the Hellenic Republic Air Force Colonel Georgios Dritsakos
  • ATHOC President Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki^[9] & husband Theodore Angelopoulos
  • ATHOC Vice-President and former President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee Lambis Nikolaou and wife Tonia Nikolaou
  • Prime Minister of Greece and Minister for Culture Kostas Karamanlis & wife Natasa Pazaïti
  • Ex-Prime Minister Costas Simitis
  • Ex-Prime Minister of Greece Konstantinos Mitsotakis
  • President of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement and Leader of the Opposition George Papandreou
  • Mayor Dora Bakoyannis

Foreign Dignitaries from abroad

• Spain –
  • Queen Sofía of Spain
  • Infanta Elena, Duchess of Lugo
  • Infanta Cristina of Spain
  • H.R.H. Crown Prince Felipe and wife Princess Letizia
• Belgium –
  • H.R.H. Prince Philippe and wife H.R.H. Princess Mathilde
• Sweden –
  • King of Sweden Carl XVI Gustaf and wife Queen Silvia of Sweden^{[citation needed]}
• Estonia –
  • President of Estonia Arnold Rüütel and First Lady of Estonia Ingrid Rüütel
• Denmark –
  • Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and Prince Henrik of Denmark
• China – Wang Qishan, mayor of Beijing, represents the government of the People's Republic of China and the 2008 Olympics committee members

Anthems

• National Anthem of Greece
• National Anthem of the People's Republic of China
• Olympic Hymn (Greek)

Victory ceremonies

• National Anthem of Italy^[a]

Music performances

Various music performances by Greek singers were featured in the Athens Olympic Stadium:

• Dinata — Elefteria Arvanitaki
• San ton Karagiozi — Dionysis Savvopoulos

Other Greek singers featured include:

• Antonis Remos
• Alkistis Protopsalti
• Mihalis Hatzigiannis
• Giannis Parios
• Anna Vissi

• Sakis Rouvas

Notes

1. Anthem played as part of the Men's marathon victory ceremony.

References

1. "Closing Ceremony Under a Full Moon". International Olympic Committee. 25 August 2004. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
2. Official website of Athens Olympic Broadcasting
3. "Hughly successful Athens Olympics close". Chron. 29 August 2004. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
4. Sachs, Susan (30 August 2004). "SUMMER 2004 GAMES: CLOSING CEREMONY; For Greece, Olympics Leave Pride, Relief and a Huge Bill". The New York Times. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
5. "On This Day - Athens 2004 Closing Ceremony". Greek City Times. Retrieved 2020-10-25.
6. "Athletes, fans enjoy Closing Ceremony". ESPN. Associated Press. 29 August 2004. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
7. "IOC President's Speech at the Closing Ceremony of the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad". Olympic Games. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
8. "SOS child takes part in Closing Ceremony at the Olympic Games". SOS Children's Villages. Archived from the original on 26 October 2022. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
9. Το χρυσό μετάλλιο ανήκει σε όλους τους Έλληνες, είπαν Γ.Αγγελοπούλου και Ζ.Ρογκ [The gold medal belongs to all Greeks, said G. Angelopoulou and Z. Rog] (in Greek). In.gr. 29 August 2004. Retrieved 19 October 2023.

External links

• Closing ceremony media guide : Games of the XXVIII Olympiad