1896: Gigantic choir in Athens
 

On April 6, 1896, the first modern Olympic Games opened in the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, newly restored in white marble, in front of 80,000 spectators, some in traditional Greek attire, others in suits.

The King proclaimed the opening of the Games and the Olympic hymn, written by Greek composer Spyridon Samaras, was then sung by a 150-strong choir, accompanied by nine philharmonic orchestras.

1936: "Heil Hitler" in Berlin
 

On August 1, 1936, Adolf Hitler opened the Summer Games in Berlin as a Nazi German showcase, aimed at presenting foreign spectators with the image of a peaceful and tolerant country.

Swastikas bedecked the Brandenburg Gate as musical fanfares announced the dictator's arrival to a largely German crowd of 100,000, who hailed him with Nazi salutes and cries of "Heil Hitler".

When the athletes filed through the stadium, the German delegation also performed the Nazi salute.

German chancellor Adolf Hitler gives the Nazi salute during the opening ceremony of the Berlin Olympics on August 1, 1936. AFP

1964: Japan's rebirth
 

The Tokyo Olympics marked Japan's great return to the world stage after its defeat and destruction two decades earlier in World War II.

In a poignant symbolic nod to its pacifist credo, the last carrier of the Olympic torch was Yoshinori Sakai, an athlete born on August 6, 1945, the day the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.

Yoshinori Sakai from Hiroshima on October 10, 1964 after lighting the Olympic torch during the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympic Games. Photo courtesy of Olympics website.

1984: Rocket man in Los Angeles
 

Held at the height of the Cold War, boycotted by the Soviet Union and 14 Eastern bloc allies, the opening of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics was designed to show off America's technological prowess.

In a futuristic tour de force that took millions of viewers by surprise, "Rocket man" Bill Suitor flew into the Memorial Coliseum using a hydrogen peroxide-fuelled jet pack.

1996: Muhammad Ali lights up Atlanta
 

In 1996, a global audience of three billion held its breath as boxing superstar Muhammad Ali momentarily conquered his trembling due to Parkinson's disease to defiantly raise the Olympic flame and then slowly lower it to light the cauldron, marking the start of the Atlanta Games.

Ali's participation had been kept top secret. The crowd gasped in surprise as he emerged from behind a curtain in a white tracksuit, his arms and head shaking erratically.

Boxing superstar Muhammad Ali overcomes his trembling from Parkinson's disease to light the Olympic flame in Atlanta. AFP

2000: Aboriginal hero shimmers in Sydney
 

At the millennium Games in Sydney, Aboriginal star Cathy Freeman symbolised the desire to reconcile the people of Australia when she ascended to the cauldron in a cascading waterfall to light the flame.

Ten days later she won the 400m final before an ecstatic crowd in what was to be her last major race.

2008: China flaunts global power
 

The opening of the Beijing Games, a coming out party for a nation whose global power was rising as quickly as its wealth, took place to the thundering beat of 2,008 drums in the "Bird's Nest" stadium.

A host of dancers, acrobats and trapeze artists went on to tell the story of the Great Wall of China, the Silk Road and China's love affair with martial arts in an awe-inspiring display that drowned out the political controversies and pollution concerns that plagued the run-up to the Games.

2012: Queen Elizabeth's London Skyfall
 

The late Queen Elizabeth II played a starring role at the London Olympics, appearing alongside James Bond actor Daniel Craig in a film shown at the opening ceremony in which she appeared to skydive into the stadium from a helicopter.

Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle, of "Slumdog Millionaire" and "Trainspotting" fame was the mastermind of the ceremony, which showcased British history with a hefty dollop of the nation's offbeat humour.

The show included a tribute to the National Health Service, a major source of national pride, with children wearing pyjamas bouncing on 320 giant hospital beds.

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