The Opening Ceremony
An aerial view of the fully illuminated Sports Complex Olympic Stadium for the opening ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, on Saturday.
A theatrical mixture of ancient and modern Greece launched the Games.
Spirits were lifted in the birthplace of the Olympics when drums thundering out the sound of a racing heartbeat reverberated under the soaring glass wings of a futuristic oval arena.
The ceremony began with a pre-show. The audience was kept enthralled by Areti Ketime with her performance 'Never on a Sunday'.
Photographs: Getty Images
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