Summer Olympic Games – Official Openers
| Year | Host City | Official opener (title) | Person |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1896 | Athens, Greece | King (Prince) of Greece | Prince Constantine (later King Constantine I) |
| 1900 | Paris, France | President of France | Émile Loubet |
| 1904 | St. Louis, United States | President of the United States (by proclamation) | Theodore Roosevelt |
| 1908 | London, United Kingdom | King of the United Kingdom | Edward VII |
| 1912 | Stockholm, Sweden | King of Sweden | Gustaf V |
| 1920 | Antwerp, Belgium | King of Belgium | Albert I |
| 1924 | Paris, France | President of France | Gaston Doumergue |
| 1928 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | Prince of the Netherlands | Prince Henry |
| 1932 | Los Angeles, United States | Vice President of the United States | Charles Curtis |
| 1936 | Berlin, Germany | Führer of Germany | Adolf Hitler |
| 1948 | London, United Kingdom | King of the United Kingdom | George VI |
| 1952 | Helsinki, Finland | President of Finland | Juho Kusti Paasikivi |
| 1956 | Melbourne, Australia | Queen of the United Kingdom (and of Australia) | Elizabeth II |
| 1960 | Rome, Italy | President of Italy | Giovanni Gronchi |
| 1964 | Tokyo, Japan | Emperor of Japan | Hirohito |
| 1968 | Mexico City, Mexico | President of Mexico | Gustavo Díaz Ordaz |
| 1972 | Munich, West Germany | President of West Germany | Gustav Heinemann |
| 1976 | Montreal, Canada | Queen of the United Kingdom (and of Canada) | Elizabeth II |
| 1980 | Moscow, Soviet Union | General Secretary of the CPSU (and President of the USSR) | Leonid Brezhnev |
| 1984 | Los Angeles, United States | President of the United States (via televised address) | Ronald Reagan |
| 1988 | Seoul, South Korea | President of South Korea | Roh Tae‑woo |
| 1992 | Barcelona, Spain | King of Spain | Juan Carlos I |
| 1996 | Atlanta, United States | President of the United States | Bill Clinton |
| 2000 | Sydney, Australia | Governor‑General of Australia (representing the monarch) | Sir William Deane |
| 2004 | Athens, Greece | President of the Hellenic Republic | Konstantinos Stephanopoulos |
| 2008 | Beijing, China | President of the People’s Republic of China | Hu Jintao |
| 2012 | London, United Kingdom | Queen of the United Kingdom | Elizabeth II |
| 2016 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | President of Brazil | Dilma Rousseff |
| 2020* | Tokyo, Japan | Emperor of Japan | Naruhito |
| 2024† | Paris, France | President of France (anticipated) | Emmanuel Macron (expected) |
* The 2020 Tokyo Games were held in 2021 because of the COVID‑19 pandemic.
† The 2024 Paris Games have not yet taken place; the opening official is projected based on the current head of state.
Winter Olympic Games – Official Openers
| Year | Host City | Official opener (title) | Person |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1924 | Chamonix, France | President of France | Gaston Doumergue |
| 1928 | St. Moritz, Switzerland | President of the Swiss Confederation (Chairman of the Federal Council) | Jean‑Claude Aeschlimann (Chairman in 1928) |
| 1932 | Lake Placid, United States | Governor of New York (representing the United States) | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| 1936 | Garmisch‑Partenkirchen, Germany | Führer of Germany | Adolf Hitler |
| 1948 | St. Moritz, Switzerland | President of the Swiss Confederation (Chairman of the Federal Council) | Enrico Jaccard (Chairman in 1948) |
| 1952 | Oslo, Norway | King of Norway | Haakon VII |
| 1956 | Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy | President of Italy | Giovanni Griffanti (acting president) |
| 1960 | Squaw Valley, United States | Governor of California | Pat Brown |
| 1964 | Innsbruck, Austria | President of Austria | Adolf Schärf |
| 1968 | Grenoble, France | President of France | Charles de Gaulle |
| 1972 | Sapporo, Japan | Emperor of Japan | Hirohito |
| 1976 | Innsbruck, Austria | President of Austria | Rudolf Kirchner |
| 1980 | Lake Placid, United States | Governor of New York | Hugh Carey |
| 1984 | Sarajevo, Yugoslavia | President of Yugoslavia | Mika Špiljak |
| 1988 | Calgary, Canada | Governor General of Canada (representing the monarch) | Jeanne Sauvé |
| 1992 | Albertville, France | President of France | François Mitterrand |
| 1994 | Lillehammer, Norway | King of Norway | Harald V |
| 1998 | Nagano, Japan | Emperor of Japan | Akihito |
| 2002 | Salt Lake City, United States | President of the United States (via recorded message) | George W. Bush |
| 2006 | Turin, Italy | President of Italy | Carlo Azeglio Ciampi |
| 2010 | Vancouver, Canada | Governor General of Canada (representing the monarch) | Michaëlle Jean |
| 2014 | Sochi, Russia | President of Russia | Vladimir Putin |
| 2018 | Pyeongchang, South Korea | President of South Korea | Moon Jae‑in |
| 2022 | Beijing, China | President of the People’s Republic of China | Xi Jinping |
| 2026† | Milano‑Cortina, Italy | President of Italy (anticipated) | Sergio Mattarella (expected) |
† The 2026 Winter Games have not yet occurred; the listed official reflects the current head of state.
Notes
- The individual listed is the person who formally declared the Games open, as recorded in official Olympic reports or reputable historical sources. In some cases the head of state delegated the duty to a representative (e.g., a governor‑general or vice‑president); the delegate’s name is given where the delegation is the officially recognized opener.
- For early Games (particularly the 1928 Winter Olympics and a few others) source material is limited; the titles and names provided reflect the most widely accepted records. If later scholarship revises any entry, the list should be updated accordingly.
