| Part of1988 Summer Olympics | |
 TheOlympic flame at the opening ceremony | |
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| Date | 17 September 1988 (1988-09-17) |
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| Time | 10:30 – 13:47KDT (UTC+10) |
| Venue | Seoul Olympic Stadium |
| Location | Seoul,South Korea |
| Coordinates | 37°30′57.1″N127°04′22.1″E / 37.515861°N 127.072806°E /37.515861; 127.072806 |
| Filmed by | Seoul Olympic Radio and Television Organization (SORTO) |
| Footage | Seoul 1988 Opening Ceremony - Full Length onYouTube |
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| Part of a series on |
| 1988 Summer Olympics |
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The opening ceremony of the1988 Summer Olympics took place atSeoul Olympic Stadium inSeoul,South Korea, on 17 September 1988 at 10:30KDT (UTC+10). The official song of this game was "Hand in Hand", which was performed byKoreana. The Games were officially opened byPresident of the Republic of KoreaRoh Tae-woo.
The ceremony was the last one at whichdoves 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 theOlympic Flame was to be lit. WhenOlympic Torch bearerSohn 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 was the first opening ceremony in which the new International Olympic Committee protocol rules were used. As such, all announcements made over the stadium's loudspeakers are made in the official language of the host country, in English and in French as the official languages of the IOC.
The flag bearers of 160National Olympic Committees entered the stadium, ordered by the Korean alphabet, and behind them marched the athletes.
It was also the last parade that involvesEast Germany,Soviet Union,West Germany andYugoslavia, and the only parade ofSouth Yemen, which ceased to exist a few years later.
SLOOCPresidentPark Seh-jik delivered a speech in Korean, welcoming everyone.IOC PresidentJuan Antonio Samaranch delivered a speech in English and French.President of the Republic of KoreaRoh 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
Most countries were represented by governmental-level representatives, and only a few world leaders came to the ceremony.
United Nations –
International Olympic Committee –
South Korea –
Thailand –
Japan –
China –
Spain –
West Germany –
Denmark –
France –
Italy –
Greece –
Luxembourg –
Monaco –
United States –
Canada –
Iran –
Gambia –
United Kingdom –
Norway –
Sweden –
Switzerland –
Malaysia –
Brunei –| Opening ceremonies |
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| Closing ceremonies |
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